Ace of Hearts

The apartment was deadly silent. The only sound was Madison's hysterical sniffling, her breathing quick and uneven as she tried to calm herself down. The front door was still wide open, the paint scratched from where Blair had slammed it against the wall, as she showed Rosalie and Theresa out. All of that had happened a good hour ago.

Slade had done everything he could to stop Madison crying. He followed her into Blair's bedroom, leaving Blair to clean up the parental mess left in the living room. He sat with Madison, his arms wrapped around her, as sobs dominated her frame. She cried into her hands, not looking up at him when he spoke quietly into her ear, trying his hardest to make the situation somewhat better. He just wanted her to stop crying, that was all.

Blair was pacing the length of her bedroom. She was still seething from the vicious attacks from her mother. Rosalie had carried on making it clear that she wanted Blair and Austin to have an annulment, but Blair was having none of it. She scraped both of her hands through her hair, clawing at her scalp. Her eyes were full of hatred, her breathing heavy.

Madison wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She rested her head on Slade's shoulder. Finally the tears had stopped. She had cried her eyes dry. "What are we going to do?" She asked, her voice raspy from it's lack of use.

"Anything. Anything to take my mind away from them, and how they want to fuck our lives up," Blair hissed, she inhaled deeply in an attempt to soothe herself and settle her nerves.

Slade stroked Madison's knotted hair, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Let's go somewhere."

The shrill sound of the phone cut through the lightened atmosphere and Blair swept out of her bedroom, letting the door swing shut behind her.

"Where do you want to go?" Madison asked, lifting her head up and looking Slade straight in the eye.

"Anywhere to cheer you up."

She nodded, clambering off the bed and bringing herself to her feet. She snatched a hair brush up from Blair's bedside table, pulling it through her hair. She studied her reflection in the mirror for a moment, before reaching for a box and picking out a few items, as she applied make up to her raw skin.

The door opened and Blair strode in. She picked up a bag, throwing her phone into it. "I'm going to see Austin," she announced, before walking across to Madison, kissing her cheek. "Everything will be okay, I promise you, it will." She shot Slade a smile, before leaving the apartment.

"So, where are we going?" Madison asked, turning to look expectantly at Slade. Her eyes were now rimmed with black eyeliner, her face was perfectly made up. A stranger wouldn't believe she had been in hysterical tears only minutes previous.

"That, is a surprise," Slade grinned, jumping to his feet and holding out his hand to Madison, which she didn't take. "You have to trust me this time, I trusted you when you took me to that field. For all I know, you could've taken me there to bludgeon me to death."

For the first time that day, Madison smiled. The feeling felt so foreign to her. She reached out for Slade's hand, letting him pull her out of the apartment. They walked the few blocks into town, the pair of them keeping quiet. It seemed like they had run out of things to say.

It wasn't long before Slade came to stop outside the aquarium, pulling Madison to a halt beside him. He grinned up at the building, before smiling down at her. She simply nodded, going along with what he wanted to do. She had to put her trust in someone, so it might as well be Slade.

Excitedly, he pulled her through the doors into the air conditioned building. He paid for the pair of them and walked through the gates, looking around like a small child would. It was as if he'd never seen the wonders of the ocean locked in glass tanks before.

"So this is my cheer up trip?" Madison asked, smiling at Slade as he looked around dreamily.

"Yeah. What's not to like about the aquarium?"

She stayed silent for a moment. "Well, there's the fact that all the little fish are captured and locked in glass prisons for the rest of their days."

"Maddy! Don't ruin it, the fish are happy."

"Yeah, who says so?"

"You trust me, right?" He let go of her hand and snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him.

"I do," she smiled, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"So believe me when I say the fish are happy, and by the end of today, you will be too."

And it was because she trusted him that she allowed him to drag her further into the aquarium.