(JOHNNY'S POV)
It had been a minute after Madeleine had left to go to the restroom, taking her scone with her.
Knowing Maddie, she was probably going to chuck the food in the trash, completely forgetting the hunger that screamed for attention.
But, with her gone, that left Squee-gee and Johnny standing alone, in the middle of the dining section of the hospital in complete, awkward silence.
Noticing this, Johnny smiled at Todd who clutched tightly onto his worn-down teddy bear, Shmee. Smirking at the last encounter with the little bear, Johnny thought back to when he had tore the fluff out of the stuffed animal with one of his very own knives.
Of course, that damn stuffed bear pissed him off, saying he was a terrorist without a heart, thus angering Johnny and forcing him to stab the toy.
Learning his lesson, Johnny stayed away from Shmee with all do respect.
Digressing off of the current flashback at hand, Johnny let his mind wander to Madeleine. There was something important going on tomorrow that had something to do with her, but Johnny couldn't quite put his finger on it…
Looking about the room, Nny spotted a room which was connected to the café, it's glass walls showing off what it had inside.
Of course, it was a gift shop with cards, stuffed animals, toys, flowers and balloons.
Balloons; that was it! Tomorrow was Madeleine's birthday; Johnny cursed himself for forgetting the memorable event before looking to the child below him, sparking up a conversation, "hey, Squee-gee, would you mind helping me?"
Nny bent down, studying a wide-eyed Squee before continuing on in a hushed whisper, "I don't know much about celebrations, but I know that you might help me. Tomorrow is Maddie's birthday; I have no idea whatsoever to get her; perhaps you have an idea?"
Squee's face brightened a little, but his eyes still held caution in them as he smiled, "ooh, it's her birthday tomorrow? Uhh…"
The child shrugged after a few moments of consideration before whispering back, "I dunno… you know Madeleine better than I do… are you going to throw her a party," he asked with a grimace on his face.
Johnny narrowed his eyes at the child questioningly before sitting back down in the booth, "I wasn't thinking about a party… but I could take her somewhere nice, maybe get her a gift. Besides, we don't know that many people to host a party."
"Don't girls like… diamonds or something? Jewelry? I dunno…," Todd said before looking away, spotting Maddie walking towards them.
Jewelry? Was Maddie the type to appreciate diamonds or anything like that?
Madeleine stopped before them, tugging at her shirt with one free, exposed hand while she leaned over the table to retrieve her coffee with the other hand. Placing one hand on her hip, Maddie turned back around to look at Johnny with an extremely tired and worn expression.
It was then that Todd squeaked loudly in alarm, making Maddie jump before interrogating Madeleine in a high voice, "What happened to your ARMS?"
"SHIT," Maddie whispered angrily before sticking the coffee back onto the table, realizing that she had left her arms exposed to publicity. Todd, however, had a shocked look on his face as he stared at the cuts that swelled on her arms, gaping at the damage.
Madeleine turned to Squee, putting on a sympathetic, yet painful face as she pulled out her gloves and tugged them back onto her wrists, hiding the swollen, gruesome scars.
"Squee-gee… it's a seriously long story. I might tell it to you sometime, about how I got these… cuts, but I'm afraid you won't understand. Don't worry kiddo, I'm fine," she said in an assuring voice before looking away from him with a slight shine of tears in her eyes.
Truthfully, Johnny wanted to comfort her right there and then instead of watching her eyes fill up with tears, but Madeleine had already started to walk off with her coffee, checking the hallway parallel to the cafeteria.
(MADELEINE'S POV)
Gritting her teeth, Maddie tensed as she studied the hallways and corridors of the hospital; she mumbled curses to herself as she tried to shrug off the intensifying awkwardness that radiated between her, Johnny and Squee, but came to no avail, only getting eerie silence as they found their way back to the lobby.
Pursing her lips, Madeleine's mind raced with mortifying names as her own conscience whispered them to herself, picking away at her eardrums and piercing the nerves in her neck. Her throat had started to swell as light tears picked at the rims of her eyelids.
Taking one last, deep breath, she looked through the blur that covered her eyes before noticing that they were standing right before the lobby, a frantic nurse looking about the room.
Cocking her head to the side, she watched the nurse with interest, desperately trying to drown out the noise that jumbled in her head: bitch, whore, you know what you are…
Madeleine jumped once again, hearing a light 'squee' sound behind her before Todd quickly grasped onto the calf of Madeleine's leg as a rush of doctors and medical surgeons raced past them with a patient who's head held the wound of a bullet.
The man in the bed continued to moan as his screams were muffled with a cloth.
Shielding her eyes, she looked back to the nurse who then spotted Todd clutching onto his teddy bear, hiding behind Maddie's leg, and mumbling jibberish about how the world was a good place.
Johnny snorted as he heard the child's mumbling, shuffling his feet before taking a spot at a nearby couch. The nurse, however, ran to Squee before looking at Madeleine.
"Miss, I'm sorry, but this child must come with me; he needs to visit his mother," her eyes held a rather sad tone in them as she shot Maddie a look, making her understand that this would probably be Todd's last time seeing his own mother in person.
After a second of consideration, Madeleine nodded slowly before setting herself into a crouch to face the child who had a sickly pale face now. He was staring at the ground, keeping his eyes from flashing from her wrists to her face, and back to the ground in a submissive state.
"Todd, sweetie…I don't exactly know what's going to happen, but I believe…that there will be a few men and women who will have to talk to you after you see your mommy. They will most likely meet you… either outside of your mom's room, or in the lobby, here, but they're just policemen. They'll ask you questions, and probably will take you somewhere," Maddie mumbled under her breath, most likely an orphanage…, before wiping her eyes and continuing with a wavering voice, "Todd, listen to me, everything will be fine. If you can call me in any possible way, whether it be using someone's cell phone, or a telephone, call this number."
Maddie took a pen off of the visitor desk before taking Todd's arm and carefully writing little numbers on his skin.
"It's all going to be okay…," Maddie took Squee in a warm, tight hug before letting him go, and stepping away, thus signaling for the nurse to take the child away.
"It's all going to be okay…"
Dragging her eyes to the hallway, she watched Todd grasp onto Shmee while his other hand was preoccupied with the nurses hand. The child, however, kept looking back with a wary lonliness in his eyes as he walked farther and farther down into the hall until they changed direction and turned left, disappearing behind the tiled corner.
Getting back on her feet, Maddie steadied herself as she rested the back of her hand on her forehead, feeling a few beads of sweat sketch on her clammy skin.
Slice it open…no.
Locking her jaw, Maddie pressed her lips into a thin line, waving her hand in Johnny's direction to catch his attention before pacing to the exit of the hospital.
Her breath caught in her throat as she held back an unexpected sob. A wave of thorough emptiness washed through her as Todd's shocked and terrorized face left an imprint in her head. His large eyes staring at the mess on her pale skin; he wasn't supposed to know.
Sketch it into your skin…NO…..
Popping her neck, Maddie held open the door for Johnny, leading the way back to the car as more hushed voices rammed into her ears, pushing out the sound of her comfort.
"J-Johnny…," Madeleine cleared her throat as she stopped at the car, glancing over her shoulder to look at Nny directly in the face, taking a few moments to figure out her words. WOULD everything be okay? Could she keep the noise out long enough to contain herself? What will happen to Todd? WHY did Aunt Darla send them condoms? Could Maddie even bring herself to…
"What's wrong, Maddie,…?"
Johnny walked a few paces closer, standing a foot away before he laid a hand on her head, narrowing his eyes as he tested her temperature. Madeleine just leaned into Johnny's cool hand before saying in a cracked voice, "will you drive us home?"
Maddie dug into her pocket before tugging out her keys and putting them into Johnny's hand before pulling away and opening the passenger door, getting in and laying her head on the cool glass.
Taste it…want it…
Grumbling to herself, she ground her teeth in a defensive fashion, ignoring the screams, whispers, and curses that mixed and tore into her mind.
First day after the marriage, and already she was dealing with the same familiar torment she was given so many years ago… but now with a murderous husband whom she couldn't help but love, a child with no parents and one of which was dead from drug overdose, a prophecy warning her of pregnancy, and Todd finally found out her secret. To top it all off, her own relatives sent her condoms as a wedding present; when or if she would use them, she would never know, but it just added to her stress.
Shutting her eyes, Madeleine mentally swayed Johnny's personal mixed CD, which held a collection of both classical and rock genre; the rock genre being dedicated for Maddie's own personal taste. But at the moment, it was just regular piano music playing a rather melancholy beat.
Biting her tongue from saying more, Maddie leaned back in her chair, imitating the notes of the piano with her fingers before her tension slowly but surely faded and she fell into a light sleep, swimming in clouds of grey. Promise Reprise being a sedative to her…
"It's…..all going to be okay."
(AUTHOR'S NOTE)
I'M ALIVE!
But my chapters will probably take a lot longer to update… I do apologize, but highschool is terrifyingly busy, and I have had little to no time to my writing…
And for those of you who care… at all…. I have also been busy to do my new relationship with someone… (as useless as this is to the story, I am telling you this so you understand why it will take longer to update the chapters)
Okay, so…. Todd knows Maddie's curse of cutting, Maddie's feeling a little under the weather with all of the shit that storms around Todd, Johnny and herself, thus pressuring her and making her somewhat sad…
The song…Promise Reprise…is from the game Silent Hill. I have not actually played these, but I hear they're sickeningly awesome. I've seen the movie; scariest shit you'll ever see…
Disclaimer: I do not own Johnny or any JTHM characters; they belong to Jhonen Vasquez. I do not own the song Promise Reprise or Silent Hill. I do, however, own Madeleine and her crazy ass family who sent her condoms…
Horrid, no?
OMGZ, TOMORROW IS MADDIE'S B-DAY…. I wonder what will happen…? ;) you will see sooner or later…
I do, HIGHLY suggest that you listen to 'Promise Reprise', it's an amazing song, and it's only piano music; nothing more, nothing less; beautiful within it's own perfection.
I'm ranting…
So…What's Johnny gonna get for Madeleine's birthday?
REVIEW PLEASE!
"I HAVE POWERS ONLY PINTO BEANS COULD DREAM OF!"
Happy Noodle Boy/ Johnny C./ Jhonen Vasquez
