As it says in the title, this chapter is based solely around Madeleine. It's set about 10 minutes after Amber, Jack, and Maddie leave Sandy and Michael's house.
Hippiechic81: Although I'm not going to send her a mental hospital or a juvenile detention center, she will be going somewhere.
I wanted to go ahead and get this up, I am working on the Christmas chapters for Get Ready and will try to have them up or at least one up sometime next week.
I want to say thanks to: HaleyAlex2013, Aaliayah13, and xxYoungWriterxx.
And a big thanks to Hippiechic81 who has reviewed each and every chapter.
This is more of a filler chapter so…
Enjoy!
Jareau Household, (Jack and Amber). General P.O.V.
Once Jack and Amber arrive back at their house, Madeleine stomps upstairs and to her room.
Jack sighs as her throws the key on the counter and turns to his wife.
"Amber…" He says trailing off.
"I know, Jack, I know. It's just…I didn't think it would actually come down to this."
"I don't like it any more than you do babe, but we've tried everything. We tried to get her to talk to us, we've tried grounding her, and we've even tried making her go to a therapist. But nothing has worked."
"Maybe what she needs is a little tough love. Now how about this: how about we put in a movie, and afterwards we'll…have the talk with her."
Amber nods and heads to the living room to find a movie to put in. As she's looking through the bookcase she begins to wonder where her and Jack went wrong with raising Madeleine.
She's wondering where the sweet little girl of hers went. She remembers when it was Breanna and Elena's third birthday, Maddie was ten and had spent the entire day doing whatever the twins wanted too. She remembered when Maddie still called her 'mommy'. She was Daddy's girl and Mommy's Princess from day one and Amber couldn't imagine where that little girl went.
At first she had put it off as teenager drama. But then she noticed little things, like Madeleine blowing off her sisters to go hang our with Jacob. Amber and Jack's first impression of the boy was that he was great. He had manners, didn't cuss, and he dressed nicely.
That only lasted about a month. After the first month was when Madeleine started blowing off spending time with she sisters in favor of handing with Jacob and his friends. Madeleine came home one night a whole half hour past her curfew which was 10:30 (p.m.). She smelled like alcohol but insisted that a friend of Jacobs spilled some on her.
Then there was the time Amber arrived home from work. She found Jack and Madeleine in a heated discussion in the kitchen. She got in there just in time it hear Madeleine cuss at Jack and then stomp up to her room.
"Babe, did you pick out a movie?" Jack asks, interrupting his wife's thoughts.
"Yes, I picked Maddie's favorite." Amber holds up a movie Maddie has loved since it came out at stores.
"Well do you want to put that in and I'll go see if she's cooled off enough to talk to us?" Jack suggests.
Amber nods and pops the vcr movie into the player while Jack goes upstairs. He pauses outside her door and listens in. He knows he shouldn't do it, shouldn't invade her privacy like this, but he can't help it.
"I know, Jake! They're being so unfair! I mean come on, the little brat ruins everything and then I'm the one that gets into trouble!" He can hear Maddie putting extra emphasis on 'I'm' and talking to what seems to be her boyfriend Jacob. Jack holds back the anger he feels towards the other young man, the same young man that might as well have stolen his niece's innocence.
He quickly knocks on the door and he can hear her tell the person on the phone that someone's at the door.
The door opens and Madeleine frowns when she sees it's her father. But she quickly smiles and puts on the good girl act again.
"Hi, Daddy. What's up?"
Jack smiles back, "Hey princess, mom and I put on a movie downstairs if you want to come watch it with us. It's your favorite."
"Ok, let's go." Madeleine says, thinking if she can get them to forget about earlier, then she won't be in trouble.
The two walk downstairs and sit on the couch. Jack and Amber both have a hard time watching the movie because they are both anxious about the talk they need to have with Madeleine, and when it's over, Jack switches the TV off.
"Maddie, sweetheart, your Dad and I have something we want to discuss with you." Amber starts out gently.
Maddie, not knowing where this was going, just nods. "Ok…what-what is it? Is it about this afternoon? What happened with JJ? Because I'm sorry I lost my temper, and I'm sorry I hit her, it's just…she makes me so mad sometimes."
"It is-it is about that actually. And how you've been acting these past couple of years. And Dad and I just want to know why. What's going on with you? Is it school? Has something happened and you just don't want to tell us?"
"Is that what this is about?!" Madeleine asks her anger getting the best of her. "I keep telling you that nothing happened! I'm fine, school is fine. Everything is fine!" She stands up and makes a move for the stairs but is stopped by Jack.
"Madeleine, just sit down and talk to us."
"No! I don't want to talk! Just tell me what there is to tell me!"
"We just want to help you! And if you won't let us or Dr. Robert help then we have no choice but to get you some real help."
"Real help. What are you talking about?"
"This will help you. It'll give you a chance to get better and to sort through the things you're dealing with." Amber says. She looks to Jack and nods at him. He goes to the kitchen and gets the pamphlet for a place called: Wingate Wilderness Therapy.
"You can go here and you can get better. This place will help you. You'll go, work through your problems, and then you can come home at the end of the summer." Jack tells her, handing her the pamphlet.
"This is wilderness boot camp! You're going to send me to some stupid camp in the woods so I 'can get better'? I don't need to get better! I told you, I'm fine, there is nothing wrong with me!" Madeleine argues back.
"Dad and I think this is best for you, Maddie."
Madeleine scoffs, "And what do you mean 'I come back at the end of summer'?"
"You'll leave the day after school ends. You'll be gone for the entire summer, and at the end, if you've made enough progress, then you graduate, and you can come home." Amber tells her.
Madeleine is quiet as she takes this in. Then she remembers something. A couple of years ago when all let this crap got started, Amber and Jack threatened to send her with her grandparents on end father's side. They were strict andbitter people. The no-nonsense, no-attitude kind of people.
Madeleine had worked her way out of going by putting on her good girl act. She took a deep breath and made her voice small, fragil, hoping to get out if it again.
"I'm sorry about what happened today, Mommy. JJ just makes me so angry, and I lose me temper with her sometimes. Please just-just don't send me away. Take me back to Dr. Roger t and I'll talk to him. But, please, don't make me go, Mommy."
Amber just sighs. As much as she would like to believe her, she can't, not after what happened today.
"Madeleine, you got physical with her today. And it's not just today. It's the two and half years. Ever since you started dating Jacob, you've started having this-this attitude. You started blowing off your sisters, you have an attitude when your around your other family members."
"The decision has been made Madeleine, you leave the fist of June, we will come visit you every chance we get. It'll be over before you know and then you'll be home." Jack tells her.
"Can I go to my room now?"
"Yes, but, one more thing."
"What could you possibly have to say still?" Madeleine asks with a bit of an attitude.
"Until you leave this summer, we are…grounding…you. You'll go to school and come straight home everyday and your curfew on the weekends will be knock back half an hour." Maddie's curfew as of now is 10:00 p.m. It goes up half an each year. 14: 9:00 p.m., 15: 9:30 p.m., and 16: 10:00 p.m., etc.
"Ugh! Fine! Just so you know, you've both ruined my life. What are my friends going to think? Huh? Being sent to-to boot camp for the summer? Being sixteen and having to come home at 9:30 for now on?"
"Well, sweetheart, if they are really, and truly your friends, then this trip won't change the way they look at you." Amber tries to reason but Maddie is already walking up the steps to her room.
"She hates us!" Amber says. "She hates us and isn't going to forgive us."
"No, no, no. Babe, she's just upset. She may be mad at us, but she's going to realize, she needs to realize what she's being doing and the way she's been treating her sisters and cousin is not okay. She's upset, really upset, but hopefully she'll get over it. Okay?"
Jack wrapps his arms around his wife and kisses her forehead.
Six Weeks Later. East Allegheny Airport, Gate 6, 7:55 a.m.
"Maddie? Maddie, would you like Dad and I to wait with you at the gate?" Amber asks.
It's June first and Madeleine plane takes off at 8 a.m. The flight will be around four hours long and it will be about a week before Jack and Amber can go visit her. She will need time to adjust to being away and get to know the rules at the camp.
"Nope. I'll be fine mom. Just leave me alone, that's what's going to happen the whole summer anyways, right?"
"Madeleine, your mother and I just want what's best for you. Now, please, we don't want you to get on the plane when you're angry with us."
"What ever Dad. I'm not mad, okay."
Before Jack can reply, Madeleine's plane is called and she picks up her carry-on bag and walks away.
Amber sighs, "Let's go see our other babies, and we can hope she feels differently by the end of the week."
Like I said, this is a filler chapter. I'm now working on the Christmas chapter for Get Ready without any more interruptions.
Please review!
