Authors: Rebecca Ann Drake
Madison
squeezed the toothbrush into the small pocket in the front of the large
suitcase. Gripping the handle of the suitcase and headed towards the staircase.
The suitcase slid down each stair with a thud as she struggled against the
heavily weight of it as it slipped and wobbled at her side. Lifting the
suitcase down to the foot of the stairs, she began to pull the suitcase along
the corridor towards the front door – the wheels of the suitcase moved
unwillingly along the thick carpet. Madison stopped as she passed the doorway
of the lounge. She stood motionless, horrified by the sight of Phil’s war
path.
The room had been completely
turned upside down, torn up newspapers and magazines covered the carpet. The
coffee table had been thrown across the room at the TV, bits of wood and glass
covered the floor on the far side of the room. The unexplained
bang
Madison had heard earlier was the screen of the TV smashing as Phil launched
the coffee table at it. Empty whiskey bottles had been smashed against the
walls and the sofa had been tipped over onto its back, there was a strong smell
of whiskey and urine wafting around the room. The cushions from the sofa had
been ripped and were damp from where Phil had urinated on them.
Madison was
in complete shock by the amount of destruction Phil had caused. She hadn’t
heard half the destruction he had caused while she slept, only waking towards
the end of his rampage. She stepped into the room carefully, trying not to step
on any glass. Glass crunched under the black Ugg boots Madison had put on
before leaving her bedroom. She headed towards the arm chair as it appeared to
be the only item of furniture left standing. She stared around the room in
horror, anger flickered in - she hated Phil for what he had done to her and for
repeatedly ruining their home.
Without a
second glance, she grabbed her black leather handbag from the back of the arm
chair and rushed back to the corridor to retrieve the suitcase. She took one
last look at the destroyed room as she threw the strap of her handbag over her
shoulder before pulling open the front door and carrying the suitcase out onto
the garden path. Madison closed the front door behind her. She glanced up one
last time at the three bedroom house. The light from Madison’s bedroom and the
living room, made the house appear occupied and homely, but there was no family
in that house. It was an empty shell – lifeless. The house had always been full
of life and joy when Heidi was alive, but the atmosphere and house had died
alongside Heidi.
A gust of
wind hit Madison, pushing her hair out wildly behind her. The icy breeze sent
shivers flying down her spine, she felt anxious and uncomfortable in her own
skin. A heavy weight weighed down on her chest restricting her breathing and
she knew that leaving was the only way to relieve the pressure on her chest.
She turned
towards the road, looking left and right - checking whether one of the
neighbouring houses curtains were twitching with nosy neighbour syndrome. The
street was silent and empty. There was a dim orange glow from the windows of
the neighbouring houses, but no indication that they had heard any of the
commotion that had happened in the Davies household earlier.
All of the neighbouring houses had become
accustomed to Phil destructive behaviour. The first few instances when they had
called the Police, Phil only got a warning, but as the rampages continued the
Police did less and less – he hadn’t caused any harm to anyone and it was his
property he was destroying, so they didn’t care. They concluded that Phil was
harmless towards the community and that he should seek professional help for
his alcohol addiction and the cases against him were dropped. Of course Phil
never did anything about his addiction and the neighbours stopped calling the
Police as they never did anything about it. Everyone within the street just
ignored what happened in the three bedroom house - they ignored both Madison
and Phil.
Madison
signed loudly. A ball rose in her throat as she realised this was the last time
she would be at the house where she had grown up in. She swallowed hard,
forcing down the lump and pushing the sorrow to the back of her mind. Although
the tears had stopped, the intense pain and emptiness inside her was still
present. Grabbing the grey handle of the suitcase, Madison headed down the
garden path pulling the large suitcase behind her. The wheels of the suitcase
wobbled on the uneven concrete, shaking the suitcase vigorously. She turned
left when she reached the end of the garden path - heading down the sidewalk,
her body limp as she struggled to find the energy to pull the heavy suitcase
behind her. Her mind was absent. Her body seemed to know exactly where she was
going without her making the conscious decision. She looked like a zombie
shuffling slowly down the sidewalk, wearing foundation an inch thick and her
hair sticking out in all directions from a restless sleep. Her outside
appearance meant little to her, she felt a lot worse inside then she did on the
outside.
Stephanie’s house was only down
the road and Madison knew they would accept her without any questions, but the
thought of Julie and Stephanie seeing her broken and battered was too
humiliating for her to bare.
She fought
very hard over the years to prevent herself from portraying any kind of sorrow
in front of people. She didn’t want anyone to know what sort of life she lived
- she didn’t want anyone to pity her. The last time Madison shed a tear in
front of another person was when her Mother died. Since then, she always
ensured that her appearance was like stone, even though sometimes she was
falling apart inside. Some people probably saw this as being heartless, but
Madison saw this as not showing weakness. She didn’t want people to know what
sort of life she had and she preferred them to believe the cool exterior she
held most days. Anyway, Madison knew Julie’s and Stephanie’s would be the first
place Phil would look for her if he wanted to find her. Stephanie’s house
wouldn’t be far enough away for her to escape from Phil’s wrath. She would have
to go somewhere where Phil would never think of - somewhere he would never
suspect.
A thought
Madison had never expected jumped into her head, the muscles in her legs
tightened as they forced her to quicken her pace, her body now moving with
determination and purpose. A destination had formed in her mind, somewhere no
one would suspect apart from one person - Stephanie.
Madison
approached the train station in the same determine and eager pace. Although her
body seemed to be coherent and as raring to go as before, her facial features
were blank with shock.
Madison’s mind
found it easier to deal with the stress and pain if it shut itself off, it was
the only way she had been able to cope with everything over the years. Sadly,
this was another attribute that she had unwillingly inherited from Phil, the
incapability of being able to cope with immense sorrow. Madison always held it
all inside, covering it with layer upon layer of falseness and hard exterior.
Whereas Phil was more open to sharing his pain, punishing everyone around him
with his sorrow, but at the same time never truly letting it out.
The
surrounding road to the train station was dark and quiet. A large stream of
light shone out onto the street from the station, lighting up the long concrete
steps which lead up to entrance. The sound of large metal wheels screeching to
a halt on metal rails surrounded the train station. Madison’s handbag vibrated
at her side. She pulled the suitcase up onto the pavement from the road below,
standing in front of the large stone steps ahead. Pulling her handbag off her
shoulder, she searched through the many pockets and compartments until she
pulled out a small black object. She flipped open the small oblong phone and
pressed the
OK
button. It was a message from Stephanie:
Hey,
Hope your
ok?
Are you
still up for a drink tomorrow after work?
I’ve got
some gossip for you! Xx
Madison
read the message twice. She had completely forgotten she had arranged to meet
Stephanie after work for a few drinks. The large golf ball rose in Madison
throat. Clearing her throat, she tried to force the ball which had formed back
down again. Her eyes welled up with fresh tears, but they did not spill out
over her cheeks. Her heart ached as she struggled to think of the words to
reply to Stephanie with, she had never been apart from Stephanie before and
already a lost feeling was creeping in under her skin. After a few moments of
contemplating what was the best thing to say, Madison gave up and threw the
mobile phone back into her handbag. She decided that it was easier to call
Stephanie once she had reached her destination, Stephanie would only freak out
if she knew what Madison was planning and what had happened.
Madison couldn’t cope with her best friend
crying down the phone to her, begging her to stay. She knew she would crack if
that were to happen - she hated it when Stephanie cried. Grabbing the handle of
the suitcase, Madison pulled it up the steps towards the entrance of the train
station. The muscles in her arm screamed with the weight of the large suitcase,
she struggled to the top of the stairs walking through the automatic doors into
the train station. An old man with white hair sat behind the counter at the
ticket office in the entrance of the train station. He sat behind a large
screen of glass that protected him from drunks and yobs that probably caused
agro on a daily basis. He looked up as Madison as she approached the desk.
“Where
too?” he asked, a false smile forced across his face.
“Waterloo”
Madison said, unwilling meeting his eyes.
“Do you need the underground?” he asked, his
eyes meeting with the large bulge underneath Madison left eye.
“Yes,
please” she said, embarrassed.
“That‘ll be
£29.30, please” he said as he slid the train ticket under the opening at the
bottom of the glass.
Madison grabbed
her purse out of her bag, unzipping each compartment and searching through the
many receipts for some money. She had taken out £50 yesterday from the cash
point when she was in town on her lunch break. Now though, her purse was
completely empty, even the small amount of change she always had in her purse
was missing.
“
Phil
” Madison muttered, realising he had
stolen her money once again.
“Sorry?” the man behind the counter said,
looking confused.
“Umm….do you take cards?” Madison said holding
up her debit card.
The old,
white haired man pointed towards the
chip & pin
machine to her left.
She
inserted the card and fingered in her pin code. When her payment had been
accepted she pulled out her card and placed it back inside her purse. She
collected her ticket and suitcase, turning towards the platforms.
“Miss?” the
man called after her.
Madison
stopped dead in her tracks, turning slowly back towards him - eyeing him
suspiciously.
“Are you
okay?” he asked, his eyes narrowing onto the reddish bulge on Madison’s face.
“I’m fine”
she said sharply, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
The lump in her throat grew twice the size and
throbbed painfully. Madison flashed him a weak, false smile and continued
towards the platforms. The train station was dimly lit by large orange
lampposts. A few vending machines lined the walls of the platforms and a small
shop stood in the end corner of the platform, but it was closed. Large metal
grills covered the windows and door of the shop. Litter scattered the platforms
and the wind thundered around the station from the opening in the ceiling
between the two platforms. The train station in Thatcham was very small and
only two trains ran at a time on each platform. A steep stair case that went up
thirty feet into the air which led onto the bridge divided the two platforms.
There were no cafés or warm seated areas for Madison to wait for her train -
both platforms were exposed to the elements.
Madison
glanced at her train ticket, it stated that she needed to be on
platform A
.
Glancing up at the platform signs, Madison headed towards the platform on her
left. The train was already waiting by the platform. She jogged towards it,
towing the suitcase behind her. The train hissed loudly as the driver realised
the hydraulic brakes. The breeze carried a strong metallic smell from the
trains burning brakes, the whistle blew as Madison approached the rear of the
train.
Opting for
the closest carriage door, Madison jumped through the doorway into the rear
carriage. Her right arm complained painfully as she tried to hull the suitcase
onto the train quickly alongside her. The door slid close as soon as the
suitcase was clear of the gap. She sighed loudly as she stared into the empty
carriage - a dozen empty seats lined either side of the carriage. Madison
grabbed the handle on the top of the suitcase and carried it towards the closet
seat to the right. She left the suitcase in the gangway and slumped down into
the seat, her right arm throbbed as she let it lay limp on the cushion of the seat
next to her. Carefully, she ran her fingers along the lump on her left cheek. A
flicker of pain like a spider web of electricity ran through her head from the
pressure of her finger tips. Madison winced and took a deep breath - letting
out another loud sigh. The train jolted to life, pulling Madison torso forward
as it built up speed. The large metal wheels clicked on the tracks, until there
was smooth humming noise as the train reached high speed.