Twisted Mercy~ JJ

the end of an era

Growing up on an island, Mady had learned to find comfort in storms, rather than fear them.

When she was 6 years old, OBX was hit with a devastating hurricane. She can still recall the way she shuttered everytime there was a crack of lightning, or the thunder rumbled so loudly she felt the house shake around her.

He would never admit it now, but Cole was scared too. Sometimes when she'd tiptoe across the hallway to his bedroom, he'd welcome her with open arms. A few times, she found an empty room, and ended up joining him at the end of their parents bed.

Mady would lay on the couch with her head in her father's lap, and Jason would run his hand through her hair with the tips of his fingers.

Tanya, on the other hand, was not much of a cuddler, and didn't display affection for her daughter often. While Jason would cuddle his kids and tell them they were okay, Tanya would take a different approach.

When Mady would cry as the wind whistled outside her window, her mother would pull her off the couch and towards the door.

She would swing the door open wide, and skip out into the storm.

The rain would often soak her in seconds, and the wind would blow her hair in so many different directions.

"Come on Mady!" She would often shout. "Look! It's beautiful!"

When Mady would shake her head and utter some form of complaint about the cold rain or the way the trees blew so hard they looked like they might blow over, her mother would shake her head.

"Nonsense! It's all about perspective. You've got to face your fears head on, Mady!" She would constantly remind her. "Never be afraid of what you can't control."

Those are words that had stuck in her head for the past 10 years, and she remembered them everytime she was faced with a difficult situation.

Every time, Tanya and Mady would end up dancing circles in the rain. They'd jump in the puddles, spin eachother round in circles, and dance across their large driveway until Tanya would sweep them back into the safety of their home.

To this day, this was one of Mady's fondest memories of her mother.

"Never be afraid of what you can't control."

It was a good thing Tanya broke Mady's fear, because as she sat inside this tent, she was perfectly calm. Despite the aching in her heart as she waited to hear about the location of her friends.

The rain pelted so hard against the plastic tent that Mady thought it might cut right through it. The wind had it coming down sideways, so it was pouring in through the opening, which was now 6 feet closer to Mady because of her punishment.

She didn't really mind, because it gave her time to think. Everyone had fallen silent now, and their previous confidence had turned into nervous anticipation.

Sargent Mason kept sending glares in the girls direction, but she barely noticed as she dug deep into her own thoughts.

What if I never see my dad again? Or Cole? One of these days the cops are gonna have to listen to us.

They'd be locked up for life.

"Gonna wanna have search and rescue standing by." A man shouted from outside, but the teens were too focused on their own thoughts to hear.