No One Knows You Like I Do

Madison sat on the couch painting her toenails as she waited for Nick to return. She was getting more impatient by the minute and her nails were suffering because of it. She continued to mess them up because, really, she didn’t want to be doing her nails, but it was the only task she could focus on.
When Madison heard keys outside the door, she quickly screwed the top of the nail polish onto the bottle and threw it onto the couch. She blew on her toenails in attempt to dry them, so the polish wouldn’t get on the floor or the couch.
Nick stepped inside and caught Madison’s gaze.
“Hey,” he smiled.
“Hi.” Madison got up from the couch and went over to him. She attached their lips as she wrapped her arms around Nick’s neck.
A cough from behind Nick interrupted. Madison pulled away and looked up. “Oh,” she blushed. “Hi, Johnny.” She smiled awkwardly and ran a hand through her hair as she walked back over to the couch. She leaned against it and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Hi,” he chuckled and stepped inside. “Sorry to startle you. Nick said he’d let you know I was coming.” Madison glared at Nick.
“What? I texted you!” He said as he closed the front door.
“My phone’s dead,” she sighed as she walked over to the table to retrieve the dead phone.
“I could go….” Johnny said.
“No,” Madison managed a smile. “Stay. I’m sorry. It’s nice to finally meet you in person.” She stuck her hand out to shake his.
“Likewise,” Johnny smiled.
Madison went downstairs to plug in her phone while Nick and Johnny continued the conversation they had previously been having.
Madison grumbled to herself as she stood in her and Nick’s room alone. It’s not that she was mad about Johnny being there; it was just that she needed to talk to Nick about what happened with her mom. She’d told Johnny to stay because Nick and him hardly get to see each other. It would be unfair for her to ask him to leave when she gets to be with Nick everyday.
After awhile, Madison trudged back upstairs to the kitchen. Nick and Johnny were laughing about something as they sipped on their beers, lounging on the couch. Madison pulled open the fridge to grab herself a Dr. Pepper. She pulled herself up on to the counter to sit while she drank it.
Nick entered the kitchen and walked over to Madison.
“What are you doing?” He chuckled and she shrugged in response. Nick sighed. “I’m sorry I invited him over.”
“I’m not mad.”
“But you are! You’re sitting in here sulking into a can of Dr. Pepper instead of being out there with us.”
“I don’t want to get in the way.”
“Are you kidding? You’re my fiancé; you couldn’t get in the way.”
“I…I’m just gonna go to bed.” She hopped off the counter, leaving her half-empty can in her place.
“Madison,” Nick whined.
“I’m just tired, okay?” She pecked his lips lightly. Nick nodded as Madison left the kitchen to go down to bed.

******

Nick said goodbye to Johnny at the front door.
“Hopefully I see you soon!” Nick said as he hugged one of his best friends.
“Yeah and hopefully it’ll be in my neck of the woods.” He chuckled.
“Definitely!”

Nick cleaned up around upstairs before shutting off all the lights. He quietly made his way downstairs to see if Madison was still awake.
“Madison?” He whispered at the bottom of the stairs. Madison rolled over in the bed and looked up at him. A ghost of a smile played on Nick’s lips as he walked over to the bed. “I’m sorry about before, but it’s just you and me, now.”
“You should be allowed to hang out with you friends. You shouldn’t be sorry for doing so. I guess I just felt lonely because Mackenzie is so far away and you’re all I have here.” She sighed.
“I don’t want you to feel lonely because you do have me. So, I have to be sorry.” Madison sat up and placed a hand on Nick’s shoulder.
“I love you.” Nick leaned closer so their foreheads were touching.
“I love you, too.” He pecked her lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I went to see my mom today.” Madison blurted out.
“Without me? What happened? No wonder you felt so alone!” He hugged her tightly in a way to comfort her.
“Nick, it actually went well.” Nick leaned back and gave her a look, so she would explain further because he was confused. “I don’t know, I guess I just made her feel bad for everything her and my dad said and did. She says that if I’m happy with you, that’s all that matters.” Madison couldn’t stop the grin spreading across her mouth.
“That’s amazing! I can’t believe this right now.” He grinned as well.
“But…”
“But what?” Nick frowned.
“I still need to talk to my dad. He won’t be as easy as my mom. He’s a stubborn lawyer that stays on one side ‘til the end, but I’m his only daughter, he’ll have to come around eventually.”
“I sure hope so, for your sake.”

******

Nick had to drive in to the FBR offices and work on some band-related things. Madison took it upon herself to go to her parents to see her dad. However, this time, Nick knew she was going to be there, but since he was gonna be in New York overnight, there wasn’t much he could do for her.
“Call me right after you get back, okay?” Nick said to Madison, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder.
“Okay,” Madison chuckled. “I’ll call you. I can’t promise things will go over well, but I’ll call you.”
“Alright, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you tonight.” Madison hung up with Nick as she climbed into her car.
When she arrived at her parents’ house, her nerves sharply increased. She knew her dad would be unhappy to see her, but she hoped he wouldn’t be too brutal on her. She didn’t want to poke the bear and make things worse, but she also didn’t want things to stay the same.
She was nervous and a little scared, but she was ready to get things back to normal. Or as normal as things could get with her crazy, messed up family.

Madison finally gathered up the courage to knock on the door and, as soon as she did, she regretted it. She suddenly wished that she wasn’t standing there alone.
“Madison, what are you doing here?” Her mom stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind her. “Your father is here in his office.”
“I know, that’s why I’m here. I need to talk to him.”
“I haven’t had the chance to talk to him about this, yet.” Madison sighed.
“It’s been two weeks, Mom. I don’t care anymore. I can’t live with knowing that my own father hates me.”
“He doesn’t hate you,” her mother sighed.
“No, he just doesn’t ever want to see me again.”
“Madison--”
“I’m going to talk to him. Now.” She gently pushed past her mother and entered the house.
“Just…be warned, he’s only become more stubborn than before.” Her mother sighed again as she entered the house and closed the door. Madison shrugged as she walked down the hallway to her father’s in-home office.
She took a deep breath before knocking on the door. She didn’t want to barge in because he wouldn’t listen to anything she had to say if she interrupted in a rude manner. That’s how it always had been with him. Her father cleared his throat and said, “Come in.” She slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside. Her father didn’t look up when she entered, so Madison decided to speak up.
“Hey, Dad.” He looked up from his paperwork and he didn’t see, very happy to see his daughter.
“Well, have you come to tell me you’ve broken up with this teacher of yours?”
“First of all, he’s not my teacher anymore. I graduated and he’s not teaching anymore. Second, I actually came to tell you just the opposite. I’m still going to marry him someday because I love him. I wanted to see if I could change your mind about him.”
“Oh? How do you plan to do that?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“By reminding you that I’m your only daughter. Isn’t it every father’s dream to walk his daughter down the aisle? Don’t you want to be there to ‘give me away?’?” Her father said nothing. “Mom changed her mind, ya know. She said that if I’m happy, she’s happy.”
“So, you went behind my back and changed my wife’s mind to support your idiocracy?”
“She’s not just your wife, though. She’s my mother.”
“Only because I allowed her to do so.”
“Dad--”
“No. You’ve spoken. It’s my turn, now. You are not allowed in my house again. If your mother decides to support you, then that is her choice. I will allow her that, but I am not supporting anything of this nature. I’ve never asked a lot of you, Madison, but I suppose that was my own transgression that I cannot undo. I would like to return to my paperwork, now.” He turned back toward his desk and away from Madison.
“But--”
“You know where the door is. I really do hope that you are happy with the choices you’ve made. Goodbye, Madison.”
Tears sprang to Madison’s eyes, but she wiped at them quickly, as to not show weakness in front of her father. She had nothing more to say, not that she would have been permitted to speak again, anyway. She grabbed the door handle and exited the small office.
Once she stepped into the hallway, she became nearly face-to-face with her brother. He’d been listening in the whole time. Madison opened her mouth to speak, but Josh leaped forward and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“I’m so sorry, Madison. This is all my fault. I wish I hadn’t said anything, but I was so worried about you.” He sounded like he was crying, but Madison couldn’t see his face to confirm it.
“Shhh,” Madison whispered as a tear slipped down her cheek. “Don’t blame yourself for this. I should have told Dad myself and maybe things would be different right now. But no matter what, none of this is your fault, okay?” She put Josh at arms’ length away to get a good look at him. He had been crying. Madison had never seen him cry before. Ever.
“You really love Nick, don’t you?” Madison nodded with a small smile.
“And he really does love me.”
“You won’t disappear forever, will ya?”
“Of course not! You know my number and if you ever want to come see me, I’ll give you the address to the apartment.” Josh nodded. “I’ll call you soon, okay?”
“Not if I call you first!” They both chuckled and hugged once more. Madison kissed the top of Josh’s head before making her way to the front door.
Her mom stepped out of the kitchen and looked at Madison as she wiped her hands on a dishtowel. Madison hugged her mom without any words, because her mom was smart enough to know what happened, and continued out the door.
Madison got into her car and drove home. She waited until she was safely inside to let everything set in. Tears began to spill from her eyes and a sob escaped her lips. She wished Nick were there with her instead of in New York. She needed him to hold her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay. Calling him wouldn’t be enough, but it would obviously have to do. Even if he left right now, he still wouldn’t be there for nearly 5 hours.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and typed in Nick’s number. It rang repeatedly and she hoped that he hadn’t already fallen asleep.
“H-hello?” He mumbled sleepily. Madison sighed.
“I’m sorry I woke you.”
“It’s fine!” Nick rubbed a hand down his face and turned on the lamp beside his bed. “How did things go with your dad?” Madison bit her bottom lip to hold back the tears.
“When will you be home?” She whispered so Nick wouldn’t hear the quiver in her voice.
“Tomorrow afternoon. Is everything okay?” Madison took a deep breath.
“No.” Another batch of tears made their way down her cheeks. “I need you.” She wiped her nose and tried to stay calm. Nick sat up in his hotel bed.
“Do you want me to come home now?”
“No, no. You have another meeting in the morning, don’t you?” Nick sighed.
“Yeah, but--”
“Then finish up there and then come home. I don’t want you to mess anything up because of me.”
“Madison, I--”
“Just talk to me until I fall asleep.” She lay down in bed and closed her eyes as she continued to cry quietly.
“Okay.”

******

When Nick returned the next day, he held Madison in his arms as she told him everything that happened. He told her that everything was going to be okay and that he lover her, just she’d needed him to.
When she finally pulled herself together, she hopped into the shower. She needed to get her eyes to stop burning and her nose to stop running. She wanted to be done crying over this. She still had her mom, Josh, and, of course, Nick. She had Mackenzie and Garrett, even though they were so far away. And of course Justin, Halvo, Andrew, and Loren. Every one of them loved her and would always be there for her. If her father didn’t want to be apart of her life, she didn’t need him to be.