Authors: Melissa Johns
"Maddy, I really wish you wouldn't leave," Carter said.
"I agree. I think if you just take a deep breath and realize that you need to learn more about Hunter, you will be ok. No one is holding a gun to your head that says you need to marry him tomorrow. A relationship is hard work and it takes time. If you don’t like the way Hunter handled the situation, talk to him about it.”
Madison
sighed. "It was just a wake up call. As I heard those comments about Hunter and having just dealt with my parents, it has been a little bit more than I wanted to handle right now."
Alicia turned in her seat and faced her. "
Madison, listen to me. You are overacting, plain and simple. All these big moments are happening at the same time and you flipped out. Every child dreams of the day that they can tell off their parents, then you enjoyed a very intimate moment with Hunter, which every woman deserves. Don’t let a moment of negatives take away all the positives.”
Madison
nodded. "I never thought that all of that would happen in a million years."
"It was overdue, in my opinion. Then we introduced you to Hunter and all those dreams of kissing a guy and starting a relationship became a reality. You fell for him and I understand why, he's a great guy and hot as hell."
"Excuse me?" Carter piped.
"I won't take it back, he's hot. Anyway, then we have this incident where Miller started to scream about Hunter's love life and your brain started to go into overdrive.
Madison, I know how you feel about him and I know what path you were about to head down.”
Carter sighed. "I feel like I missed something along the way."
"Don't be stupid, Carter. She loves him."
"She barely knows him, Alicia."
"When you fall in love, you just know. Haven't you heard of love at first sight?"
"Yes but she's only twenty one."
"Why the hell does that matter?"
Madison
cleared her throat. "Do I get a say in this conversation?"
"Of course you do," he said as he pulled into the driveway.
Madison hopped out of the car as soon as it came to a stop and headed to the patio. Alicia ran over to her and grabbed her arm. "I want you to think everything over before you make a final decision, ok? Between us, when you find that certain someone who rocks your world, you hold onto them with both hands and never let go."
Madison
nodded. "I'm going to take a walk on the beach, I will be back later." She skipped down the staircase and out onto the beach. She slipped off her sneakers and carried them as the water lapped at her feet.
She walked down the coastline and thought about her options. She could return to Carter's, grab her belongings and return to the life that she knew but hated or she could stay here for the next few days and talk things over with Hunter and try to figure out what's going on between them.
If she had past boyfriends or experienced anything that compared to a relationship maybe she wouldn’t be so scared and would know of some options to help her in this situation. Alicia was convinced that she was in love with Hunter but Madison was doubtful because she didn’t know what love felt like. She had to make up her mind because it was time for her to either sink or swim.
She turned around to walk back to the house when she spotted Hunter approaching her. "Before you tell me to get lost, please hear me out."
Madison didn't say anything and then slowly nodded.
“I’m not going to say that I made a mistake because in my mind I didn’t. I stood up for someone who has become a very important part of my life. Neither of us have had the time to really get to know each other yet but that’s what we need to do. I will say that I’m sorry because Miller was a mouthy jerk and you shouldn’t have seen or heard any of that,” Hunter paused and whispered. “Please don’t leave. Let’s finish your vacation and if it makes you feel better, I will keep my hands off of you until you give me the sign.”
Madison chuckled at him. “I quickly got myself wrapped up in the idea of having a boyfriend and being close to someone. I think we can honestly say that we are attracted to each other but I need time, Hunter. I haven’t decided if I’m heading home yet but I know that I need time to sort out my thoughts.”
Hunter nodded. “I would like to have dinner with you and we can talk about anything. We can get to know each other better and you can ask me any questions that you may have.”
“I should head back, let me think about dinner,” she said knowing in her heart that she was saying goodbye to him.
As they headed back towards Carter’s house,
Madison watched the water splash over her feet. She was going to miss the feel of that. She wished that she could feel that confidence and strength that she had built up but her old gloomy self returned and she just wanted to be alone.
When they walked up onto the deck,
Madison said good bye to Hunter and headed upstairs to her room. She packed her suitcase and made sure she had all of her stuff.
“You are leaving, aren’t you?” Carter asked as he walked into the room.
Madison nodded. “I loved seeing you Carter but I’m just not ready for all this craziness. I never expected our parents to show up here and then everything with the fight. It’s too much for me. I’m used to living under a rock and I think that’s what I’m destined for.”
“Just tell Hunter that you need to slow things down and stay here, Maddy. I know that you and I need to work through things too.”
“Yes, we do but we will talk on the phone. Maybe after the season is over, you can come home and visit me. Do you still have Toronto to play this season? I can come down and see the game.”
Carter smiled. “I will send you tickets for that game. I wish I could change your mind though. I felt as if we were finally making progress between us even though we had a few setbacks.”
“I know but that’s ok. I learned a lot about myself this trip. I’m still happy that I got to see you and Alicia.”
“I feel like this is my fault. If you didn’t meet Hunter, you wouldn’t be leaving me right now. I knew I should have put my foot down.”
Madison smiled at her older brother and kissed his cheek. “I’m happy that I met Hunter too. He’s a nice guy and I’m sure we will still talk on occasion. I just need to step away for awhile and regroup.”
In the morning,
Madison gathered her bags and Carter drove her to the airport. They exchanged her tickets and they hugged good bye.
“Please tell Hunter goodbye for me. I didn’t have the heart to say it myself last night.”
Carter nodded and hugged her again. “Take care of yourself, Maddy. I love you.”
Madison
started to cry as she heard those words. “I love you too, Carter.”
She turned around and headed towards the security gate. She was sad to say goodbye to her brother and Alicia but knew this was the correct decision to make.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The morning after
Madison returned to Canada, she woke to a snowstorm. She strolled to her apartment window and couldn’t see the parking lot. She was relieved that she was still on vacation and didn’t have to venture out to work.
She turned on the coffee maker and sat at her kitchen table. She found herself thinking about Hunter. He had sent her a few text messages asking her to call him or text him back but she wasn’t ready to open that door. She talked with Jessie and found out that she was heading back into town within the next couple of days and couldn’t wait to see her again.
As the snow fell, Madison curled up on the couch and flipped through the television channels. She threw the remote on the opposite end of the couch when she couldn’t find anything that kept her interest. She reached for her book and lost herself in the romantic world of make believe.
About an hour later, she heard her cell phone ringing next to her, realizing that she had fallen asleep. She answered. “Hello?”
“Madison? Hey, it’s Hunter.”
She didn’t say anything right away. “Hey.”
“I’m surprised you picked up.”
“I didn’t realize what was going on, I fell asleep on the couch.”
Hunter was quiet on the other end and then finally spoke. “I miss you.”
She sighed. “I know. I miss you too.”
“We will be in Toronto next week, can we have dinner?”
Madison
sat up and put her head in her hand. “I don’t know, Hunter. Carter arranged for me and my friend, Jessie to go to the game.”
“We leave town right after the game. There is a place that all the guys eat before the game. It’s across the street from the Centre. I will be there around five, if you can make it, I look forward to seeing you, if you can’t, I understand and wish you all the best.”
Madison sighed and closed her eyes. “I will think about it, Hunter.”
With that he hung up the phone and
Madison started to cry. She heard a soft knock on her door as she quickly wiped her tears on her sleeve on her shirt. She looked through the peephole and saw Jessie standing on the other side.
“Jessie!”
Madison yelled as she swung open the door. “What are you doing here? Are you crazy? There's a blizzard out there!”
“I walked here, it’s not that far. I had to see you and make sure you were ok.”
She pulled Jessie into her apartment and locked the door behind her. “I thought you were coming home in a few days. How’s school?”
“Oh, who cares about that, I want to hear about you and Hunter. Maddy, why aren’t you with him anymore, what happened?”
Madison sat on the couch and put her head in the palm of her hands. “I’m scared, Jessie.”
“Why? Maddy, I told you to take things slow with him. He's a professional athlete, I'm sure he has a lot of stories to tell. But, what's the real problem? Was it the fight or what the other guy said about Hunter?"
“It’s everything. He’s in a different league than I am. Hell, everyone is in a different league than I am. I don’t know anything about romance except from what I read about it. I don’t know what goes on an adult world because my parents didn’t allow me to grow up in a normal way. Jessie, I’m not his type and it's better this way.”
“Is it, Maddy? From what you told me, you were so happy. For once in your life, you allowed yourself time to explore your emotions and you smiled and had the time of your life. I could hear it in your voice that you were different,” Jessie explained as she sat on her coffee table and looked at her. “Maddy, whatever you decide, you know that I will stand by your decision but I want you to realize that these opportunities don’t come along every day. Don’t let your insecurities stand in the way of your happiness.”
Madison looked at her and leaned towards her to hug her. “Thank you, I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too. I hate knowing that you are still here. You need to move, Maddy. Even if you decided not to make it work between you and Hunter, it's time to start your life.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
Jessie frowned. “No but I do need to tell you something.”
“What’s wrong?” Madison asked.
“Once I graduate, I’m not returning to
Huntsville. I’m looking at apartments in Toronto right now and I’ve lined up a job in the city. Maddy, I would love for you to realize that there is nothing here for you.”
“I can’t believe you are leaving me.”
Madison pouted.
“It’s time for the next part of my life. I will be back to visit my parents, of course. But, I can’t wait to experience the real world. Isn’t there something you really want to do?”
Madison leaned back on her couch and put her feet up on her coffee table. “I want to go to school and become a nurse.”
Jessie jumped up. “That’s wonderful! Let’s make that happen.”
Madison couldn’t help but laugh at her. “Jessie, I have no means to make that happen and where would I go?”
“There is always financial aid, Maddy. You have nothing holding you back from starting over anywhere in the world. So pick a place to start over, wherever you want! It’s exciting to think about it.”
Madison’s thoughts quickly went back to the beach. She fell in love with the ocean and the way the sand felt on her bare feet. She loved walking along the shore at night, watching the moonlight on the waves, thinking back to her first kiss on that very shoreline. She sighed as her thoughts to Hunter. She missed him so much.
“I loved the beach and Carter’s house. That town was perfect for me. It was small and quaint. It had everything that I wanted,”
Madison frowned as her trail of thoughts stopped.