Madison - #2 in the ice series

Madison - CHAPTER 41

"Are you ready to talk about it?" Cameron slides a cup of coffee to Madison.

She had been givng him the silent treatment for 3 days. "Has the thought of living anywhere else become bareable to you?" She snaps.

"Why is it okay for you to want to stay in Nashville but not okay for me to want to move back home?" He asks her.

"Because I'm already making a big move for you, Cameron. You'd just be moving back to a place you already know and love for me. I don't know Toronto, and I don't know anyone there but you. I feel no comfort there but I will find it for you. You can't tell me I don't bring up a good reason."

"So you can't make my home yours?" He asks.

Madison shakes her head and laughs. "You are not making me the bad guy."

"Oh, so I am?" He sanps this time.

"That's not what I said."

"Someone has to be."

"You're being complicated, Cameron."

"That's a little hypocritical coming from someone who didn't talk to me for 3 days."

Madison scuffs. "Yeah and I might do it again if you keep it up with the attitude."

Madison hates that they're fightning. She doesn't understand why and she thinks he's slipping away. That she messed up. But she doesn't feel like putting her future on the line either.

Cameron knows this is normal. Fighting is normal. It doesn't mean he likes it. But he can tell she isn't used to it although she's good at it.

"Ah yes, let's postpone this conversation longer."

"I doubt you would call this a conversation."

He shakes his head but agrees. "I think we both know that if I call it what it really is it will become real." Silence. That shut her up. "We can't avoid this."

Madison chews her lip. He's right. "You already know what I think, and I know what you think. Unless you have something to add maybe we should just-"

Cameron shakes his head. "No."

"Only for-"

"I'm not fucking giving you up, Madison. I refuse to live in a world without you in it. I did it for 28 years, I'll be damned if I do it once more." He steps near her and this feels just like the first time they kissed. It shouldn't but it does. Like nothing else in the world matter. Like they would deal with the consequences later. He gave her so many butterflies she might've grown her own wings. "We'll figure it out."

She sighs. "I hope so."

"No doubt in my mind. And hey we might end up in Arizona for all we know." Cameron teases. Madison hates Arizona.

There's a pause before Madison talks again. "You have practice to get to."

"You should come." Cameron suggests.

She shakes her head. "I have lunch plans."

"Oh yeah? With your other boyfriend?"

"Yeah his name is mom and dad." Madison jokes with him with a dead expression but his definitely changes.

He sets his coffee down that he lifted up half way before Madison responded. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"What for?"

Madison taps her coffee cup, getting nervous just thinking about lunch. "Actually I called them. Well, I called my dad but he said 'We will be there' sounding really excited."

"I can skip on practice, you know? It's optional-"

"No. I need to do this on my own. It's been long enough."

Cameron hugs her. "I'm proud of you, you know that, right?"

"Yes and I'm proud of you."

Madison gets to the restaurant and her parents are already there. "I'm sorry I'm late. I lost track of time." She apologizes. Cameron also lost track of time.

"Yeah seems like you've forgotten how to act since you started dating that boy." That wasn't her dad talking. She looks next to her seat. Anthony.

"No, no, no." She shakes her head putting her jacket back on. "I am not doing this."

"Oh but you are. Anthony introduced me to TMZ and I learned about Haven Moore." Her mom says.

"It's Gilmore now." Madison mumbles.

"Sit." Her mom ignores her.

Madison listens.

"What were you thinking? Getting involved with a married man?" Mrs. Kelly taunts her. "Do you understand how bad it makes us look? Makes you look and Anthony? How you cheated on him?"

"Obviously I wasn't thinking." Madison says sarcastically and after that she asks the bartender for the strongest drink she saw on the menu. "Cameron and I didn't do this on purpose but we realize it was for the best anyway."

"What does it matter, anyway?" Her dad says. "Our daughter is in a good relationship with someone who has a stable job, she's opening her own studio making her own money in Toronto and I've never seen her more sure of herself. Did she handle this situation worse than others would? Yes but we all have to do stupid things in life."

Madison blushes. "Thank you."

"Of course, honey." He smiles at her. "Now you," He points to Amthony. "Leave."

"But Sir-"

"No. Leave."

And he does.

"I still want you to breakup with Cameron." Her mom says.

"Yeah and I want pigs to fly." That makes Madison's dad laugh. "He makes me happy, mother. Do you not want that for me?"

She doesn't respond.

"He takes care of me when I'm sick, cleared out one of his kitchen cabinets to fill it with my favorite snacks and gave up half his office so I could use it to paint. He wants to show me the world and give me things I could never imagine even thinking about owning. He listens and supports me and makes sure I know that. We might fight sometimes but that won't make me love him less. We figure shit out because the last thing we want is to lose each other. Tell me to give that up one more time and I swear mom, I will make this harder for you than it should be."

She sits back. "Okay." Her mom says. "I'll give him an honest chance."

Madison smiles.

—

im back from the dead