Ace of Hearts

The room was unbearably warm. The crack in the curtains allowed a block of harsh sunlight to pour through, drowning the room in bright light. That light illuminated Madison's sleeping figure. The sheets clung to her body, her skin was sticky with sweat as she tossed and turned in an attempt to get comfortable. She squeezed her eyelids closed against the light and turned over, reaching for Slade, who should be sleeping soundly beside her, but her hand fell through the air.

Her eyes snapped open and Madison found herself alone in the spare bedroom at Blair's apartment. Her paint splattered dress lay dead on the floor, alongside her shoes. She looked down at the familiar pair of pyjamas she always borrowed whenever she stayed Blair's. She looked around the room again, before peeling the sheets away from her sticky body and slipping out of bed. Catching sight of her reflection, she pulled a face of complete distaste. The orange neon paint was smudged across her cheeks, joined by the remainders of her make up. Her once neatly curled hair was sticking up at all angles, still solid from the hairspray that had been applied the night before.

Madison stepped out of the bedroom, hoping no one else would be wandering around the apartment just yet. She didn't really want anyone to see her looking the mess she did as present.

But, of course, everyone was up, standing around the kitchen counter. All of them looked equally as messy as she did, neon paint was smudged across each face, some worse than others, but it was a present feature, nonetheless.

"Hey, sleeping beauty's up," Austin chuckled to himself, spooning more cereal into his mouth.

Madison yawned and walked across the living room to the kitchen. She sat herself down on a stool beside Adam and looked around the group. Greg, Mike, Blair and Austin all looked back at her, each one with a bright smile. "Where's Slade?"

"He went out. He said he left you a note in your room," Greg informed her.

She nodded. Her stomach growled and her throat burned, the alcohol from the night before hadn't yet taken it's evil effect on her body just yet, and for that, she was thankful. Blair on the other hand, looked incredibly hungover as she sipped on a glass of water.

"Last night was fun," Adam commented, chewing on a piece of toast, drowned in butter.

"Yeah, till Taylor got involved and tried to screw everything up," Blair grumbled.

"Taylor's not that bad," Mike defended his friend.

"He groped Maddy's boobs and tried to hit on me. If Austin hadn't gotten involved, he might've groped me as well."

"I'm the only one allowed to grope her," Austin interjected.

Madison rolled her eyes and slipped off her stool, heading back for the spare bedroom. She gathered up some of the clothes she had stolen from Blair that she'd been wearing whilst she'd been staying here. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for the note from Slade. She located a piece of paper, folded up on the beside table. Picking up she read and re-read his words, gritting her teeth as she did so.

Filled with annoyance, she stormed out of the bedroom and across to the bathroom. She scrubbed at her cheeks, until her skin was raw. She brushed her teeth viciously, making her gums bleed. She could feel a bubble of anger building up inside her as she changed out of the pyjamas and into the clothes. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun, before gathering her much needed possessions together and leaving the apartment.

Blair's apartment wasn't far from town. It was close to the nightclubs in which Madison had stumbled in and out of only a week ago. It was also within spitting distance of the club in which her dad worked.

Madison approached Diva's, her face red with anger, and a swelling in her chest that she had long forgotten about. She wrenched the door open and stepped inside. The bar man, Ben, looked up at her and a smile broke out across his face. "Madison! I haven't seen you for a bit, how's - "

"Where is he?" She hissed, looking around at the empty club. The chairs were still sitting on top of the tables and the floor had yet to be cleaned from the night before.

"Dressing room," Ben pointed towards the door with a sign above it reading 'backstage'. Madison stormed across the club and pushed the door open, making it hit the wall with an almighty crash. She walked along the corridor, until she reached her father's dressing room. Without knocking, she burst inside.

"I honestly think you've got the legs for it, if you shave or wax them of course. Hairy drag queens are more unconvincing."

Madison was fuming. She glared at her father, who was talking casually to Slade. Neither of them had noticed her entrance, or they had noticed, but didn't want to say anything about it. She stepped inside and slammed the door, grabbing both of the men's attention.

"Maddy," Slade smiled brightly at her, as he held up a purple dress to himself. "What do you think?" He pouted and batted his eyelids.

"Looks great," she snapped, folding her arms across her chest.

Slade faltered in his comical position. He hung the dress back on the rail. "Are you okay?"

She stayed silent.

"It's good to see you, honey. You know me and your mother have been trying to get hold of you since you left me that night," her father explained.

The angry bubble inside Madison burst at the mention of her mother. "How could you do it, dad? She left us! She walked out on us all those years ago. You raised me by yourself, and you know how hard it was. On both of us. You told me you didn't know where she was or what she was doing. You always said it didn't matter, all that mattered was that we always had one another. She didn't matter anymore. Obviously, you lied."

"Maddy, you know I never stopped loving your mother. I mean, she gave me you. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have you, my beautiful girl."

Madison felt tears sting her eyes, turning to Slade. "What are you doing here?"

"I just - " he began, before falling. He shook his head.

"He came to let me know that you're okay," Christopher looked at Madison, his eyes pleading with her for forgiveness.

"So you came all the way here to tell my dad that I'm okay?" She asked.

Slade nodded. "Maddy, babe, I know he's been calling you and calling you since you left that night. You never pick up. Can you imagine how worried he's been? I just came to tell him that you're doing okay. That's all."

"This has nothing to do with you, Slade. I know we might have something, but what's going on between me and my parents is not your business. I don't know why you feel you have to get involved with everything and try and make everything better, because you can't, okay? You can't fix this, so quit while you're ahead."

"I was just trying to help."

She shook her head. "Well you fucked up there, didn't you?" She hissed, before leaving the room and walking straight out of the club.

It was only out in the Arizona heat that Madison allowed the tears to fall freely down her cheeks. She began walking away from Diva's and towards Blair's apartment. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and shut the world out. She wanted to forget everything and everyone.

"Madison?"

She looked up and wiped her eyes, only to see her mother standing before her. Theresa looked at her daughter sympathetically, moving closer to her. Madison shook her head, gently pushing Theresa away. "Why can't you all just leave me alone? You, dad and fucking Slade! Just stop it!"

It was right then that Madison snapped. She broke into a run, heading straight for Blair's apartment. That place was her sanctuary, away from everything she had once known and everyone she had once loved. She wanted to forget her parents, and Slade Echeverria.