I'm Adopted: Vengeance Edition.

Matt's POV

The.

Toughest.

Thing.

Ever, had to be taking Jackie home finally. Don't get me wrong, I was way more than excited, but... there was something different. Oh right, the whole recovering addict thing, ontop of the fact she forgot none of us spoke Spanish and she slipped up. A lot. Ok, like, a ton. Almost every other phrase was in Spanish and someone had to physically get her attention and snap her out of it. Zack thought it was getting worse the longer we kept her clean.

Which was a grand total of, ready for this? TWO DAYS. She was already starting to freak out and we all knew it was downhill from here.

"Jackie... JACKIE!" Brian shouted, grabbing her shoulders, and snapping her out of a string of Spanish words about how Michelle shouldn't have come over. Suddenly Jackie didn't approve and if Mich hadn't known she was going through DT's and becoming delirious, she would have been crushed.

"She shouldn't be here." Jackie huffed, scratching at her neck. "She gives me malas ondas." We all stared at her, waiting. "Bad vibes." She rolled her eyes "I can always go back to Kara-"

"I'm out." Michelle threw her hands up "Love you guys."

"Bye." Brian gave her a kiss, knowing that whoever we could keep around that she liked, the better. For when she finally flipped.

"And another thing," Jackie began, pacing the same circle in the living room that she'd been pacing for the past forty-five minutes. We all sighed and looked around the room "I don't know about this... this... parents thing." She waved her hands "I mean, mi dios! I can't even think of dealing with Mom and Dad." She sat.

Finally.

"Jackie you need a support system. We need Mom and Dad here and around to help you." Zack put his hand on her's as she sighed "Come on, please?"

"Why? Why do you think I need so much help?" She asked, her feet fidgeting on the floor.

"Because you're going to relapse." Jimmy piped up "Hard."

Jackie looked down, rubbing the back of her neck, letting her hair fall into her face. We all looked around, knowing how badly the truth of Jim's words hurt. She knew. So did we. If we let our guard down after even like a week clean, she would relapse and probably never come back. We would lose her.

For good.

"But.." Jackie whispered "I don't know if I can handle this." She looked around at all of us, making firm eye contact with everyone "When I'm sober... All I think about is Maddy, the mistakes I made in her life, how much of a failure I am, how badly I fucked up. When I'm high.. When I'm high," She looked up, her smiled widening "I don't have to think about that. There's so much more in my brain than Maddy, life, mistakes. It's... wonderful. I never think about anything serious, I can just let it wander and go." A tear slid down her cheek "I'm going to have to face reality now and... I don't know if I can do that." She looked at me "I'm sorry."

"I don't care." I shrugged "You're going to face reality, you're not taking the easy way out."

"But I can't, Matt. I can't just have this life. I don't want to have a kid," I felt my skin burn "I don't want to be in a serious relationship." My heart caught fire "I want to be free... single... live." She looked back down.

"You can do that without drugs, Jaclyn." Zack tipped her chin up.

"I'm not saying we're getting back together." I added in "And I'm not saying you have to go back to having Maddy twenty-four seven. You just need to be in her life. Visit her so she knows her mother. Go out with different guys," The words tasted so foul in my mouth I almost gagged "Jackie... you just need to stop doing drugs and ruining your life."

"But Matt-"

"No. No but's. You're going to get clean and be an example to your daughter, you're going to be in her life. You're going to turn this around. You're going to find a guy," I took a deep breath "That you love, that loves you, that you can spend forever with. That might not be now, might now be for a while, but you'll do it. I promise. You're going to make a life for yourself and you're going to make everyone proud."

Her eyes trained on mine "So.. you mean you." She acted like no one was in the room "You're talking about you." I shook my head like I hadn't been wishing, hoping, praying she would realize how much I wanted her in my life "You know, Matt, that there will always be something there. Maddy." She stared at me. "She's always going to bring us back together. Birthdays, recitals, parent teacher confrences." She laughed "Matt, there's no turning back."

"So why the fuck do you think you can?!" I stood and shouted "Why do you think suddenly you can have this amazing life of a nineteen year old?!"

"Matt-" Zack warned. Her arms were shaking and her body followed.

"No. No, Zack, no. Jackie, why do you think suddenly this can stop? It's not a fucking train you can't jump off. Life is a fucking rollercoaster. You're stuck. Strapped in. For every goddamn curve, drop, loop, and bump it fucking has for you and you don't have a choice. You don't think I've wanted to go fuck around? Have fun? Mess my life up and forget I have a daughter, responsibilities? I have. I've made my fair share of mistakes, Jackie. But I gave that fucking shit up for you two. For you." I stood infront of her, grabbed her arms, and yanked her up "Snap the FUCK out of this Jackie! This is reality and you have to face it wether you want to or not!" Tears trickled down her cheeks "Don't fucking cop out, don't cry, don't use that as a crutch. I know you, I know what you're really feeling. You're fucking scared, I know. You don't have to be with me, but we both fucking know you love me. I don't care who you're with but you need to fucking be a mother to Madeline. She's my fucking daughter too and as her father I want you in her life."

She shimmied from my arms as I felt a hand on my arm. I turned around and saw Brian standing behind me "Matt, stop." He shook his head.

"You lying piece of shit." Jackie whispered, trying to control her shaking. You could physically see in her eyes the effort it was taking.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"You didn't give up drinking and being a drunk." She shoved past me.

Fuck.

"Jackie what in the name of fuck are you doing??" Zack shouted and followed her, hearing glass breaking "Matt, what the fuck did you do?" He asked slowly as we all found ourselves in the garage.

"This?! This is giving it up?!" She asked "You may as well redline me some goddamn Jack Daniels!" She hissed "You think I have the problem?! At least I'm not lying to the one fucking person on this planet I love. At least I didn't lie that I was using. At least I didn't attempt to hide it, I didn't tell you it was fine and that I gave it all up for you. You lying," She shoved my chest "Piece," another shove "OF SHIT!"

"Jackie I can-"

"Explain?!" She screamed through tears "Please do! Please explain how there's beer on your breath right now and you left bed last night and went downstairs and came back reeking of booze." She crossed her arms "And how you were in the shower before I even woke up? How I found a bottle of Captain on the counter this morning?!"

"Matt." Zack turned to me "Are you serious."

I felt my face burn, and realized I was crying "How else am I supposed to deal with the fact my fiance is killing herself because she doesn't love me or our daughter." I whispered "How?"

Zack's POV

"How?" Matt asked, wiping at his eyes with his sleeve.

"When? Why? ... How?" Brian asked as he grabbed the broom, looking down "Oh fuck, Jackie." He hurried to her side and lifted her up.

I looked down and closed my eyes and shook my head "Matt... Just..." I watched as Brian carried Jackie into the house, her feet covered in glass and blood "Fucking fix yourself. We'll take care of Jackie."