the gift ⌯ am

little sister

|austin|

     "Sabrina!" I hear Madison scream from inside her house. I had just pulled up, and I was planning on surprising Madison but I could hear the distress in her voice. It makes me jump out of the car in a hurry before making my way to the already open door. I peak my head in first to find Madison with tears streaming down her face.

      "Madison?" I croak out in worry, and watch as her head snaps over to me. She looks so broken, so I just rush in. I pull her tiny body into my chest, rubbing her back soothingly. Madison cries into my chest, not holding back which is a first. She seems to let me take care of her. I am shocked for a moment, but I continue to hold her.

     "Ssh baby, calm down," I whisper so naturally into her ear. She doesn't even tense up or anything. She actually seems to calm down at the nickname. I have to smile to myself, feeling as if me holding her in my arms is natural.

     "What happened?" I ask Madison while pressing a kiss to her forehead. It makes Madison lift her head up to look into my hazel eyes. Her eyes look completely blood shot, and I had to shiver. She looks very broken and vulnerable, something I'd never seen on Madison.

     "Sabrina's missing," she says, sniffling a bit. I frown down at her, letting my thumb rub her tears away. It makes me smile a bit as I look down at her.

      Even when she is crying she looks beautiful. I just hate seeing her like this though. I don't know why Sabrina would disappear, but Sabrina is a smart girl. I'm sure she wouldn't purposely do anything to upset Madison. I know she wouldn't get herself kidnapped or something. For being in the first grade, Sabrina has some common sense.

     "She's smart, Madison. I'm sure she's okay," I say to Madison. It is then I notice Madison is still in her pajama pants and tank top. She must be a little cold. I decide to warm her up, rubbing my hands up and down the side of her arms.

     She stands there, still looking a little worried. I have to sigh a bit in exhaustion, but I decide to try and get her mind off of it. "Loving the spiderman pajama pants," I say, teasing her a bit. Madison's gaze averts back to me, and she lets out a weak laugh. But it's a start.

     "Cold?" I ask her, still rubbing her arms. She nods innocently, her gaze soon adventuring off to the distance. I hate seeing Madison all worried like this, but I leave her be now. I just kiss her forehead, and rub my hands repeatedly up and down her arms

     I shut the door with my foot, trying to get the house as warm as I can for her.

     "Thank you, Austin. I know I'm a pain in the ass, but thank you for everything," she says, and I swear I feel a weight be lifted off my shoulders. I always feel like a burden to Madison, like she never wanted me around. But to know she's thankful for me makes me the happiest guy alive.

     "I'm not going anywhere, okay?" I whisper to her, placing my lips to her forehead once more. Madison smiles up at me sadly, but soon nods.

     "How are you so amazing?" she asks, her voice cracking a bit. I rub her back once again and pulling her to me. "Ssh," I whisper into her ear, wanting her to calm down. She shouldn't be this broken.

     Right then and there I wanted to ask her, "How are you so amazing?" But I couldn't find myself to do it. I couldn't ask a girl how she was so amazing because she didn't know. She doesn't know how much she means to me. She doesn't know how she makes my heart beat so fast. She doesn't know about how I need to see her almost every day in order to feel like my day is complete.

     There are so many things I want to tell Madison, but I couldn't. I don't have a pair of balls to tell her how I feel. I wish I did though, but she would just reject me. It's not that I fear rejection. I just fear her rejection.

☯

     Sabrina soon came back with her mom. Madison is calm by then, and I'm surprised to see Madison's mom sober. She sees Madison cuddled up into my side when she gets home. Madison doesn't mind either, just glancing to his mom and back to the tv.

     "Aren't you going to introduce me?" Her mom asks, placing her hands on her hips and shooting us a polite smile.

     "Aren't you going to leave a note when you take Sabrina out?" Madison responds back quietly. I can sense the attitude in her voice though which causes her mom to sigh at her. I had to frown a bit, and I take Madison’s hand in mine in between our legs.

     "Mom, meet Austin. Austin, my mom," Madison says softly. I know her mom doesn't remember me which is a relief on her. She probably would have been embarrassed.

     To be a gentleman I got up from my soft, leaving Madison. I went up to her mom, sticking my man out politely. She smiles down at it, before taking it in hers and shaking it. I wanted Madison's mom to like me. I really did. As embarrassing as it sounds but what her mother thinks of me means a lot to me.

     "I didn't know you had a boyfriend," Her mom says, glancing over to Madison. Madison immediately starts to blush, making me chuckle a bit. I don't dare deny it though, leaving it be. That's exactly what I wanted to be. "I'll leave you two love birds alone," her mom continues, letting go of my hand and shooing me back over to Madison. I don't interject either, heading back to Madison.

     I sit down next to Madison, watching as she crawls her way back into my side. I wrap my arm around her waist, smiling down at her. Madison lifts her head up to look into my eyes.

     "I'm really sorry about that," she apologizes, but I just shake my head.

     "I didn't mind." And I really didn't.