EYES LIKE RAZORS

(20)

"Mads?" Tommy asks, knocking on his youngest sisters door.

"Fuck off, Thomas." Madison replies, she didn't want to face anyone right now, the diary Jacob left had gone and she couldn't find it. She'd searched everywhere she'd been since she'd been given it and couldn't find it.

"Madison, open this door." Tommy says. "No." Madi responds, "Madison Shelby, I swear to fucking god- open your shitting door." Tommy states.

Huffing, Madison rolls out of bed, knowing he'd kick it down if she refused any longer. So with tear stains down her face, her mascara running, her hair in a messy bun and her body covered by one of Tommy's large t-shirts, she opened the door.

"What do you want?" Madison asks. "I want- why are you crying?" Tommy replies, his tone softening as his eyes meet hers. "I-I don't know." Madison sighs.

"Well there's got to be a reason." Tommy says, "sometimes it's just good to let it out." Madison shrugs. "I know it's more than that." Tommy replies.

"I lost something. It was important, very important. And I fucking lost it." Madison says, hugging him, and crying into his chest, it took her surprised brother a few seconds to recover from the shock before he wrapped an arm round her, and gently placed a hand on her head, stroking her hair. "What is it?" Tommy asks.

"A diary."

"Belong to a guy named Jude?" Tommy questions, "how did you know?" Madison asks. "You left it in Arthur's office." He states.

"And you read it?" Madison asks. "No- just the first page. We didn't know what it was. Why's it important?" Tommy replies.

"Can I have it?" Madison asks quietly.

No matter how much he wanted to demand information from her like he would everyone else. No matter how much he wanted to just read the diary and find out why it was important for himself. He decided against it. Seeing his sister like this... he hated it. He absolutely fucking despised it, and if this could cheer her up, you'd be damned sure he'd do it.
Anything to put a smile on her face.

"Yeah, you can have it." Tommy nods, going to pull away, buy being forced back into the hug. "Don't leave yet." Madison pleads, looking up at him tears still in her eyes.

"Alright." Tommy says, wrapping her back up in his arms, he'd stay forever if she asked him to.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, the silence being broken by Madison, "Tom... am I an idiot?"

"No. The fuck are you talking about?" Tommy replies. "It's just, Victoria right. I knew she was Moss' sister, and I know I didn't tell her anything about the business, but was I stupid to think... well to think she could actually love me. Should I have been expecting it? Was I stupid not to?" Madison says.

"No, you're not stupid. You were in love. You didn't even want to imagine that she'd do that to you." Tommy tells her.

"It's just now... ever since her. I-I'm doubting myself, that because of everything I've done in life, I somehow deserve to feel like this. I feel like I deserve it." Madison admits.

"Now that is stupid." Tommy replies, "don't doubt yourself, ever, alright? Especially not because of her."

"I want to be alone for a bit, can I have the diary?" Madison asks. "Yeah." Tommy nods, heading for the door.

"Tom... i know you want to know about Jude. I promise I'll tell you... just give me some time." Madison says, when he returned with the diary. "Got all the time in the world for you." Tommy smiles, closing her bedroom door behind him.