Back story in this one on what happened that night and why Madison left Haven in the first place. Thank you for taking the time to read I'd love to hear what you think!

Chapter 5

The question on everyone's mind was if Madison was going to stay this time. If she was being honest with herself she wasn't even sure what the answer was going to be. She told herself that for the time being she was on an extended vacation. Not being able to afford to stay at the bed and breakfast anymore she swallowed her pride and walked through the front door of her childhood home. It reeked of stale cigarette smoke and old takeout boxes.

Setting her suitcase down in her old room, she sat on the bed and looked around at the posters on the wall. Madison felt as if she was a teenager again. Her dad hadn't touched a thing since the day she left.

Out of curiosity she went over to her desk, pulling out the second drawer and feeling for the taped baggie on the bottom. She smiled to herself as she pulled it out; a joint that she had hidden there as Jason would have said 'in case of emergency'.

Jason and Duke stood watch behind Madison as she worked on the lock of the Haven Herald. The streetlights had been turned off at eleven and now all she had to work with was the light the moon offered.

"I teach you to pick locks and this is how you're using that very valuable skill?" Jason whispered.

Madison groaned in annoyance; it was taking her longer than she thought it would. "C'mon," she pleaded to the lock as if it were listening to her.

"It's all about-" Duke tried to help but she cut him off.

"The tumblers. I know." She fiddled with the lock and couldn't contain the pure excitement that spread across her face as the door opened. She squealed in joy and Jason hushed her as she high-fived Duke.

Making their way into the dark office, Jason closed the door behind them carefully so if anyone happened to be driving by they wouldn't notice anything different.

"So, you want to tell us why you wanted to break into the Herald and not the convenient store for some tequila," Duke pulled himself up to sit on the counter.

Jason stayed by the door, not that anyone would be awake in the town that was asleep by nine, but he didn't want to chance them getting caught. Madison's dad being a cop would only get them out of trouble so many times before they wouldn't be able to use that get out of jail free card so to speak.

Madison made her way to the back of the store, hopping over the small gate. "The Teagues kind of skimped on my paycheck this week saying I wasn't actually working since some of the residents didn't get their paper delivered."

"Did they?" Jason peeked out to the street again before turning his attention back to the dark store.

He could almost see Madison roll her eyes, "I only missed two houses but what am I supposed to do? The Andrew's have a dog the size of a freaking horse and Mrs. Harper…well, she failed me on the last history test."

"So you didn't deliver her newspaper?" Duke laughed from his spot on the counter. "You really showed her. You're such a rebel."

"We could have just egged her house," Jason commented with a shrug.

Madison poked her head out from the back room, "Just wait here I'll be two minutes and then we can go."

When she was out of earshot Jason moved to where Duke was sitting. "Are you ever going to grow a set and tell her how you feel?"

Duke jumped down from the counter, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Whatever, man. But don't come sulking to me when someone else snags her." Jason patted him on the shoulder. He glanced toward the back room. "Wuornos, what the hell are you doing back there?"

Madison came out from the back room with a baggie in her hand, "I found Vince's stash. I knew that medical card was bullshit. Now we can really have some fun tonight."

She grabbed on to Duke's arm to steady herself as she hopped over the small gate and Jason slightly shook his head when he noticed Duke keep a hand on her arm for longer than what was needed.

"Wish you were here, Jay," she whispered, putting the baggie back in the drawer although she was no longer worried about anyone finding it.

X-X-X

Madison walked into Rosemarie's Bakery with the intent on buying cupcakes as an apology for how she had treated Audrey. Even if she wasn't dating Nathan, all she tried to do was help and Madison had been overly rude to her. It wasn't who she wanted to be; that angry little girl with no respect for anyone outside of her circle.

The woman behind the counter noticed her immediately. "You," she shouted, a finger pointed at Madison. "You get out of here!"

Madison stopped short, looking behind her to see who the woman was talking to when she realized she meant her. "I was just-"

"You're not welcome here, Madison." The woman came from around the counter ready to physically remove her from the property if needed.

Madison stared at the woman in front of her. The years had aged her to the point Madison was surprised she hadn't even recognized her. "Mrs. Clark." Suddenly, Madison didn't want to be there any more than Mrs. Clark wanted her to be. "I'm sorry," Madison mumbled, walking out the door and onto the street.

Her mind was still reeling from what had just happened when Vince and Dave came to welcome her back to town.

"Maddie Wuornos," Vince smiled as Dave gave her a hug she kindly reciprocated.

"How are you holding up, kiddo?" Dave questioned.

Vince noticed how uncomfortable Madison was and tried to change the subject, "Farmer's market is opening at ten today if you still love snow cones as much as you used to."

"Yeah," Madison mumbled her mind still on seeing Mrs. Clark after all these years. The last time she had seen her was the day of her son Jason's funeral. "I'll catch you guys later."

"If you need anything you know where to find us," Dave called after her as she made her way to her car.

Stopping at the farmer's market wasn't something she had planned to do but she thought that maybe after a sweet treat she'd feel even just the tiniest better. As much as she'd prefer a glass of liquid elation it wasn't even lunch time yet. The sun shone down on the small town and while Madison usually kept covered up, she wasn't thinking as she took her long sleeve button up shirt off and tied it around her waist, leaving her in a tank top that showed off her scar.

Back in New York City no one would have given her a second glance and she had almost gotten too used to the idea that no one knew her in the busy city. Haven was a different story though and it wasn't long before she caught the side glances and hushed comments. If it weren't so hot she'd cover back up but she tried to remind herself that she survived. The accident wasn't her fault. It was a mantra she repeated in her head repeatedly but it didn't stop her from seeing the pointed fingers in her direction.

It all became too much though.

"Take a picture it'll last longer," she shouted, spinning in a circle with her arms out feeling as if she was the freak show entertainment. "In fact, why don't you get the Teague brothers down here to write an article about it!"

The town's people stared in disbelief at the outburst but no one seemed to move until Stan came up next to her. "Alright, break it up," he gestured with his hand to get the people moving and waited until it was just the two of them. "You alright?"

Madison put her over shirt back on, buttoning it so there wasn't a chance it could fall off her shoulders and show her scar. "I really wish people would stop asking me that."

"Maybe if you told someone the truth we would all stop asking."

"Not likely."

X-X-X

Madison entered the Grey Gull in search of her favorite Crocker who she found behind the bar drying a couple of glasses.

"So," Madison hopped up on a stool in front of where Duke had been working. "I need a favor."

Duke set the glass on the shelf and grabbed the next, "Hello to you too." Madison gave him her best innocent smile hoping it would work as well as it used to. Duke sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as if he were fighting off a headache. "Is this a 'I need gas money' kind of favor or a 'we need to hide a body' kind of favor?"

"No, nothing like that," Madison rolled her eyes. "I just need to borrow a bottle of vodka and two glasses."

Duke thought about it, a smirk spreading across his face, "You know I prefer tequila."

Madison did in fact know that he preferred tequila and while the thought was tempting there was something she needed to do first. "It's not for you."

Duke almost immediately frowned, "Who is it for?"

"Can I have it?"

"You're not answering my question."

"You're not answering mine either."

Duke placed the bottle of vodka on the bar and two tumblers next to it but kept hold of the bottle. "Don't make me regret this. I'm an upstanding citizen now."

Madison snorted in response but pushed herself up to be able to reach him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Crocker."

Duke watched her walk out and had to fight the smile off his face. He was a grown man now and she had him feeling like he was right back in high school with a stupid crush. He sure did miss Madison while she was gone and now that she was back he was only hoping she would stay.

Madison stood in front of Audrey's door trying to convince herself this was the right thing to do. She knocked before she had the chance to chicken out and waited a few minutes. She was about to turn away to leave when Nathan opened the door.

"Mads?" The shock on his face matched that of his sister's

"Well, this is awkward," Madison motioned to his shirt, feeling the blush rush to her cheeks. "You missed a button."

Choosing to ignore his own embarrassment, Nathan asked her, "What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping Audrey would be up for a girl's night," she raised the bottle and the glasses, "But tell her to call me later or something because this is…yeah. You two have fun."

Madison was just about to the stairs when Nathan caught up with her, "Hey, everything okay?"

"Yeah, just figured I could tell your girlfriend some childhood stories," Madison easily lied but Nathan wasn't buying it.

"Saw Vince and Dave earlier, said they ran into you coming out of Rosemarie's."

Madison tried to keep her face as emotionless as possible but wasn't sure how well she was pulling that off. "I didn't know Mrs. Clark worked there or I would have never gone in. I wasn't trying to start any trouble." Madison forced on a smile she had gotten to used to wearing before she left Haven the first time. "Go on back to Audrey, I'm fine."

Nathan watched as she descended the stairs, "You used to be better at convincing me."

X-X-X

Madison left the glasses Duke had given her on a table on the patio, taking the bottle of liquor with her to the cemetery. She didn't bother to look at the names on the headstones as her feet unconsciously carried her to the reason she was there.

Jason Clark

Beloved Son

"Hey Jay," she whispered, taking a seat in front of the headstone, and opening the bottle of vodka. She took a long pull from the bottle before pouring a bit onto the ground, "Don't judge me for the choice of liquor."

"Where to?" Jason asked as Madison climbed into the front seat of his car and slammed the door behind her.

She buckled her seatbelt and put her feet up on the dashboard to get comfortable. "Anywhere but here."

"Your wish is my command," he laughed, peeling out of her driveway, and cranking up the music so loud it vibrated the windows.

The longer they drove the more Jason could see Madison's anger melting away. He turned the music down a little and grabbed the joint he had tucked behind his ear, lighting it, and taking a few hits before he passed it to Madison. She took a hit, holding the smoke into her lungs as long as she could before exhaling.

"God, my dad is such an asshole."

Jason took the joint back, tapping the ashes into an old bottle of soda. "Well, you are the daughter of a cop."

The rain started and Jason watched as an easy smile passed across Madison's face. She had always loved the rain. A crack of thunder had her jumping in her seat and Jason laughed out loud.

She put her feet back on the floor of the car and playfully hit Jason in the chest, "Don't be a dick. That scared me!"

"I'll protect you from the big bad storm," Jason teased, taking a hit from the joint before passing it back to Madison. "Relax, will you?" Madison took a hit of the joint, letting the smoke fill her lungs once again. She blew out a smoke circle and rested her head on the cool window. "You know you can call me whenever but I have to say I'm kind of surprised you didn't call Duke."

Madison would never admit to Jason that he was her second choice. She had in fact called Duke first but his phone had gone straight to voicemail and she needed out of the house. "Crocker is nothing compared to the all-powerful Clark," she teased, taking another hit from the joint.

"Think you've had enough of that," Jason took the joint back. "This isn't the Wizard of Oz."

A gust of wind pushed their car into the other lane and Madison held onto the door, "Jesus Christ. You were saying?"

"It's this freaking storm," Jason got the car back under control.

She watched as the smaller trees around them were bent in half by the wind. Baseball sized hail started to fall from the sky. "We need to get off of this road!"

"We have to keep going. My dad has a cabin about ten miles from here. We stop now and we are screwed."

A piece of hail broke through the windshield, hitting Jason in the hand easily breaking it. Trying to control the car with one hand with how powerful the wind was blowing was nearly impossible. Another ball of hail fell in the car hitting Madison in the knee who cried out in pain.

"Jay, what do we do?!" Madison cried as Jason did the best he could to navigate the car.

A large pine tree fell across the road and Jason hit the brakes a little too hard causing them to hydroplane. When he tried to get the car under control a tire hit one of the branches and flipped the car. It rolled twice before landing on the hood.

Madison gasped for breath as the seatbelt cut into her skin, looking around she could see her own blood dripping onto the roof of the car. "Jay," she called out, closing her eyes for a minute hoping the wave of nausea would pass. "Jason!"

She reached over the best she could and grabbed his hand. Squeezing it a few times she tried to wake him. "Jay, c'mon. I need you to wake up. Jay. Jason, please."

"What are you doing here?"

The accusation broke Madison out of her memory and she turned to see Mrs. Clark with a bouquet of flowers. She blinked a few times trying to get the memory to clear from her mind. "It was late. I didn't think anyone would be here."

"I see some things never change," Mrs. Clark's line of sight landed on the half empty bottle in her hands. "Why did you come back, Madison? We were all getting along just fine without you."

Madison pushed herself up from the ground, dusting the back of her pants off. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to bring my son back."

Madison nodded in response because she was sure if she opened her mouth to reply the tears would come and that wouldn't have helped the situation any.

"Why you, huh?" Mrs. Clark questioned. "Why did that accident take my Jason and not you?"