Disclaimer: Nope, don't own.
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Do you feel like a man, when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the grown?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has….
Face down in the dirt she says, this doesn't hurt she says I finally had enough.
Face down in the dirt she says, this doesn't hurt she says I finally had enough.
The following day, the rangers brought Madison to Rootcore. Madison was so sick of lying and keeping all that had happened from the ones she loved and decided to tell them. They watched as Udonna held Madison as if she were her own daughter, hugging her and rocking her gently, saddened by the fact that something so horrible had happened to one of the young people she had grown to love these past few months. Clare and Daggeron looked on sadly. Every so often Clare would lightly touch Madison's shoulder, wanting to comfort her friend but unsure of what to do. Udonna offered to give Madison some more Avandra leaves to take care of the bruises but Madison declined the offer. She felt that she needed to see these bruises, not hide them away like she had done before. She needed to see them until they healed on their own, reminding her of the things Ben did to her. Reminding her why she was no longer going to listen to him. She also handed Udonna the broken pieces of her morpher, apologizing as she did so. Udonna shook her head, stroking the girls chin and told her it wasn't her fault before taking it. She set it down on the table and stuck it with her wand and the pieces came back together as if it had never been broken. She handed it back to Madison. Afterwards, the five teens left together. Vida put an arm around her sister's shoulder.
"Mom and dad are coming home tonight," she told her. Madison nodded.
"Yeah……..I know, I have to tell them," she said.
"Hey, I'll be right there with you," Vida said. Madison looked at her sister. There was a light bruise on her jaw from when she fell down the night before. She gently touched the spot.
"I'm sorry," she said. "He shouldn't have touched you,"
"He shouldn't have touched you either, ever," Vida clarified. Chip touched Madison's shoulder.
"Hey, we can be there too when you tell your parents, if you want," he said. Madison smiled and looked at Chip before looking at Nick and Xander.
"Thanks," she said. "But I think I need to take care of this on my own. Just me and my family," she said.
"Are you sure?" Xander asked. Madison nodded.
"Yeah," Madison said. Nick took hold of Madison's hand and gently pulled her towards him.
"You can call us, if you need anything, anything at all," he said. Madison nodded. She hugged him tightly.
"Thank you," she said.
---
After the friends had parted ways, Vida attacked the room she shared with her sister with empty boxes; clearing away all of the things Ben had given Madison.
"Blue dragon, is that one?" Vida asked, picking up the stuffed toy from Madison's book case.
"Yeah," Madison said. "So is the blue teddy bear." Vida nodded and stuffed both in the nearly overflowing box.
"Anything else?" Vida asked. Madison got up from where she was sitting on her bed and walked to her dresser, opening her jewelry box.
"Yeah," she said. She pulled out a few earrings and bracelets and tossed them on the dresser. Vida came over and threw them in the box. Madison stopped as she pulled out the last item, the heart necklace. "The first thing he gave me," Madison whispered. Vida put an arm around her sister's shoulders. "The first time he hit me……………When I came home with my cheek skinned……" Vida put her head on her sister's shoulder and tightened her hold. "The next day, he apologized and gave this to me,"
"You're doing the right thing, sis, Vida said. Madison nodded.
"I know," she said. She stepped back and threw the necklace in box, giving a little more force in her throw. "That felt good," she said, smiling.
"Yeah it did," Vida said, throwing her arms around her sister as the two hugged laughingly.
Later that night, Madison sat against the headboard of her bed, clutching a blue unicorn stuffed animal her parents had given her when she was a child to her body. Vida had one identical to it except it was pink. Vida sat next to her on the bed. They heard the front door open and closed and looked towards the door.
"Girls?" They heard their father call.
"Do you want them to come up here?" Vida asked. Madison nodded.
"We're up here," Vida called out. The parents entered the room.
"Hey girls, we…" Mrs. Rocca's voice cut off at the sight of Madison. "Oh my god, sweetie, what happened?" She asked, rushing over to the bed. Vida got up to let her come over and take a closer look at Madison.
"Vida?" Mr. Rocca asked, catching sight of the bruise on her jaw. Madison looked down.
"I……I have to tell you guys something," she said. Mr. Rocca and Vida joined Mrs. Rocca and Madison on the bed. Madison took a deep breath and told her parents everything. All the things Ben had done to her, all the lies she had told everyone, every thing came out of her. She couldn't bring herself to look at them as she spoke, and once she was done, she finally chanced a look at them. Her mother's eyes were shining with tears and her father's face was red with rage.
"Where is that son of a bitch now?" He demanded. Madison shook her head.
"I….I don't know. Home I guess…"
"I……I can't believe this……..All this time……" Mrs. Rocca said as her tears spilled out. They had welcomed Ben in their home, even had him over for dinner. To them, it looked like this boy loved their daughter immensely, how could they have not known the truth?
"I'm going to kill him," Mr. Rocca growled, getting to his feet. Madison's hands shot out and grabbed his arm.
"No, daddy, please," she said. "I'm never going to see him again,"
"We're going to the police," Mr. Rocca said in a tone that said there would be no question about that. "We are going to the police, god damnit," he said.
"Okay," Madison said, nodding.
"We're getting a restraining order and everything," he said.
"Okay, daddy," Madison said. He sighed and sat down on the bed next to her, stroking her face. The marks on her face only seemed to fuel his anger.
"Oh, baby," Mrs. Rocca sobbed, pulling her daughter close and hugging her tightly. Madison held her mother to her as her tears leaked out.
"I'm so sorry mom," Madison sobbed gently. "I'm so sorry I lied to you,"
"Shh, baby, its okay," Mrs. Rocca said. Mr. Rocca sighed and hugged her daughter from behind. Madison cried as she sat there, sandwiched between her parents. Vida sat back on the bed, watching the scene before her before her mother leaned back and pulled Vida into the hug as well. The Rocca family sat there together, holding onto each other as they hoped for the strength to get through this together.
---
Nick walked into The Rockporium the next day. He saw Vida, Xander and Chip standing by the counter together. Chip had an arm around Vida's shoulders as she talked to them quietly. Nick went over to them.
"Hey guys," he said. They looked at him and opened up their circle to include him. "How's Maddie?" He asked Vida.
"Good…….well……better," Vida said.
"God, you should have seen her at school today," Chip sighed.
"She went to school?" Nick asked, surprised.
"Yeah. Everyone kept staring at her," Xander asked. "We kept telling her she should go home, but I guess she just wanted to go on like normal."
"How was last night?" Nick asked.
"All right," Vida said. "Dad wanted to go over and kill Ben after Madison told him everything. We're going to go file a restraining order against him tonight. Our parents called the cops and a lawyer last night, the whole nine yards."
"That's good," Nick said. He turned to the side and saw Toby and Madison come out of his office. She was still dressed in her clothes from school and was holding her work overshirt in her hand. Nick left the group and approached them as Toby put a hand on Madison's shoulder.
"Madison, if there's anything I can do, don't hesitate to ask," Toby said. Madison smiled.
"Thanks, Toby," she said.
"And if that jerk tries to bother you here, don't worry, I'll take care of him," he promised. Madison smiled again.
"Thanks," she said. Toby pulled her into a hug before walking away, giving Nick a pat on the shoulder as he passed him.
"Hey," Nick said to Madison, walking over to her.
"Hey," she said. She walked to the backroom, Nick following her.
"So, how are you?" He asked. Madison sighed.
"I guess I've got to get used to everyone asking me that, huh?" She asked as they entered the room together. Nick shut the door behind him.
"Sorry," he said.
"It's okay," she said. She walked over to the table in the room and set her work shirt down. Madison pulled off the blue sweater she was wearing, leaving her standing there in her black tank top. Nick's eyes widened at the sight of a large bruise on her shoulder. He hadn't seen it the other night.
"Maddie," he breathed out. He walked over to her, his eyes fixated on the bruise. Madison looked down.
"Yeah…." She said. She numbly lifted her work shirt off the table and pulled it on. Nick reached over and helped her pull it on. "Thanks," she said, she paused as the two stood there, looking deeply into each others eyes. Nick cleared his throat, breaking their joint reverie.
"Uh, are you sure you want to work today?" He asked, stepping back.
"What else is there to do? Sit at home all day?" She asked, shaking her head as she sat down at the table. "Toby said I should go home…….But……I just, don't want to be alone right now…"
"Yeah," Nick said, understanding. "The others told me you went to school," he said. Madison nodded.
"Yeah…….I…….It was weird, people staring, asking questions. Vida kept running interference with the whole thing," she said. "Toby's letting me just take care of some of the store's bookkeeping today. I'm not sure if I can handle working out there and having more people stare at me. It's weird. I don't want to be alone, but I don't want to be around people either," she said. Nick crouched down next to her and put a hand on her leg.
"I understand," he said. Madison wrung her fingers in her hands as she looked down at her lap.
"My parents are putting us all into family counseling," she said. "They…they think it's their fault that they didn't see what was happening. They actually think they've been neglectful parents or something." She sighed and leaned back in the chair. "I feel like everyone around me is blaming themselves…..and it's my fault,"
"Maddie," Nick said.
"No, it is………I mean……I could've told someone…….I should've told someone. You knew what was going on before anyone else did, and what did I do? I just denied it and even had the gall to get mad at you." She sighed and looked at him. "There's so many people I've got to apologize to……you most of all," she said.
"Maddie, no one expects you to apologize for anything. None of this is your fault," he told her.
"I know……I mean….I know that what Ben did to me wasn't my fault…..But I shouldn't have let it go on so long……And I shouldn't have let him make me treat everyone differently. I just thought that……that if I just kept him happy and didn't give him a reason to be jealous everything would be fine. I became such a horrible person," she said.
"You weren't horrible," Nick said. "You were just scared." Madison sighed again and looked at him.
"How can you be so nice and understanding after all this? Especially after how I treated you?" She asked, thinking about all the times she practically gave him the cold shoulder in effort to keep Ben happy, especially after she found out how he felt about her. "I…..I'm sure you don't still….." She said, her voice trailing off. She shook her head and stood up, making Nick lean back as she walked around the table. "What am I saying, of course you don't," she said. Nick got up from the floor and walked up to her, making her face him. "How could you like someone so pathetic a-" Nick cut her off as he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lips gently. He then looked at her. Her eyes were lowered to the ground.
"I…..I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," Nick said. How could I do that? It's not like she likes me too. "I'll…..uh…..leave you alone…" he said as he stepped away from her and made his way to the door. Madison's hand shot out as she took a hold of his arm, stopping him.
"Wait," she said. Nick looked at her. "It's not that I don't……….," she said, looking away. She sighed and stepped closer to him, planting a kiss on his cheek. She stepped back and looked at him. "I just can't…….at least not right now……I mean," she stammered. Nick smiled softly, his cheek still tingling from the feel of her lips. He nodded.
"Right…." He said. "I...I understand," he said. He cleared his throat, looking deeply into her eyes. "I can wait," he said. Madison blinked. He was being so understanding.
"……I don't expect you to wait or anything…….I mean, I don't know how long it'll be before I can…" she said, her voice trailing off. Nick took her hand in his, trailing his thumb against the back of her palm.
"Maddie," he said. "I'll wait," he said. I'll wait forever if I have too, he thought. Madison smiled.
"Thank you," she said. The two hugged for a long while before Nick left her. He exited the room and saw Vida standing outside the door with her arms crossed over her chest.
"You break her heart; I'll break your neck, understood?" She asked. Nick nodded. "Good," she said, giving him a smile before walking to the turntables.
---
An hour later Madison was just about to finish all the bookkeeping when Vida poked her head in the door.
"Hey, how's it going?" She asked.
"All right," Madison said, looking up at her. "What's up?"
"Toby's giving us all a break, we're going to go to the ice cream parlor down the street, do you want us to bring you back anything?" She asked.
"Hmm, I think I'll join you guys, I need some fresh air," she said.
"Okay," Vida said. "Are you sure?" She asked. Madison fixed her with a look.
"Yes, I'm sure," she said as she got up and the two sisters left the room to join Xander, Chip and Nick.
"You're coming with us?" Xander asked. Madison nodded as the five of them left the store.
"I'm seriously craving a chocolate…." Her voice trailed off as they came out of the store and saw Ben leaning against is car that was parked across the street. "…milkshake," she muttered.
"What the hell?" Xander said.
"What is he doing here?" Chip asked.
"Oh, I'm going to take care of this," Vida snarled as she went to go at him. Madison grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her back.
"No, I'll do it," Madison said. Nick looked at her. "I need to talk to him," she said.
"Talk to him?" Nick asked. "Maddie, what-"
"I got it," Madison said. "…If things look like they're getting out of hand, you guys have full permission to swoop in," she said, assuring them as she crossed the street.
"Hey," Ben said. He leaned towards her and kissed her, a kiss which Madison didn't return as she simply stood there. Nick's hands clenched shut at the sight of Ben kissing her. "Listen, about last night. I'm sorry about your sister and I forgive-"
"I'm getting a restraining order," Madison blurted out.
"What?" He asked.
"I'm getting a restraining order, I threw out all your gifts and my parents are talking to the cops and we might be taking this to court."
"….Restraining order? Cops? Court? Madison, honey, I-" he said as he went to touch her arm. Madison slapped his hand away.
"You can't call me that ever again," she said, forcing her voice to remain even. "I'm just telling you this because the decent human being in me felt you should know what's going to happen," she said.
"Maddie, look, okay, I get a little angry sometimes. I'm sorry. I can fix it, I promise."
"No, you can't." Madison said. "You can't fix it……at least not on your own. You need help, Ben." Ben grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. Nick, Xander and Chip flinched, ready to run across the street and beat the stuffing out of him but Vida kept them back, giving Madison some more time with him alone.
"Okay, okay, you're right Madison, I need help, but you can help me." Ben said to her. "You can help me, please," he begged. Madison closed her eyes.
"No, I can't," she said, pushing him away. Tears filled her eyes. "We're done, Ben," she said.
"Okay, okay, I'll get help. I'll go to anger management, I'll do whatever you want, just-" he begged.
"Just nothing, Ben. Its over. I let you do whatever you wanted for too long. No more. You screwed up, Ben. You screwed up big time, and you need to live with that…..Or don't…….I really don't care. You're nothing to me," a single tear slipped out and she quickly wiped it away. "So just get in your car and drive away,"
"I'm not leaving,"
"You can either leave on your own……or," she said, casting a look behind her at the others. She looked back at Ben. "Goodbye Ben," she said. She turned around and walked back to the others.
"I love you, Madison," he called out to her. Madison stopped and bit her lip. She turned back to him.
"No, you don't." She said. "And you never did," she said. Madison turned back and joined the others as Ben got in his car and drove off angrily. Vida put her arms around her sister and hugged her.
"You okay?" She asked. Madison nodded against her shoulder.
"Yeah. I just really needed to do that," Madison said. Vida let her go as Madison wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes. "So," she said, putting on a smile. "How about that milkshake?" She asked. The others laughed. They all walked down the street. Vida and Chip walked on either side of Madison with their arms around her shoulders and Nick and Xander walked behind them, their hands also on Madison's shoulder as the five of them chatted and laughed together. Madison smiled, feeling genuinely happy for the first time in months.
END
Note: Hey guys, well, there's the end. Hope you guys liked it. Also, there is going to be a sequel dealing with Madison/Nick and Madison getting over the things Ben did to her and moving on with her life. I've going to start writing it in a few days, since I churned this out nonstop in the course of 2-3 days, lol. Need to work on other stuff.