Madison wasn't always this fully consumed with her career and education. There was a time when she, too, had a social life all for herself, friends that she could spend her time with, aspects of her life that her parents had nothing to do with. Despite it only being a year or two since those days, they still felt like a distant memory to her. When the weight upon her shoulders didn't feel so heavy when she could find the time to breathe without feeling like she was wasting precious seconds that she could put to a better cause. She was never the type to dwell on the past but as the steaming water from the showerhead struck her body, her mind began to drift to places she wanted to keep locked up and out of sight.
Amy had come to Parlis Bay when Madison had started high school. She already had a group of friends of her own, people that she had known since kindergarten, but there was something about the newcomer that immediately pulled Madison towards her. Their friendship was easy, no complications, no backstabbing jealousy, no bitter fights that couldn't be resolved with a nice cup of hot chocolate. Madison had not realized when, but she began to feel safe with Amy. That was probably her first mistake, getting so comfortable with another person. Sophomore year was when the pressure of her parents to go the extra mile had reached an all-time high, aside from her schoolwork, she had to be tutored in extra subjects that would help her run the company. Even her extra-curricular activities, like being on the swimming team, had just turned into another chore that she had to finish to be an impressive candidate for a good college. She was a mere college application to them and over time, she felt like one to herself too.
Her day was a timetable of things that she needed to learn, things that she had to become better at; even the weekend was just extra time that her parents would find her something for it to occupy.
Throughout this entire flood of work, Amy had been nothing but supportive. Madison never managed to tell her why she had been involved in so many things, there was a degree of shame that came with being a puppet for her parents. A shame she couldn't own up to, not even to Amy. But she was still a great friend, constantly on her side, even going as far as to do her assignments for a few classes to ease some of the burdens but she could only do so much. Madison didn't have time to see her friends outside of school unless it was at some fancy event that her mother had arranged, school dances were allowed but short and eventually meaningless, and parties were out of the question. Soon, her friends started to stop inviting her to things, and even though she knew she wouldn't be able to go, it still hurt her. Her group drifted away from her, taking her lack of interactions as dismissal and she slowly lost contact beyond casual greetings.
Madison couldn't tell them, no matter how much courage she mustered up within her. She couldn't tell them how she counted on her parents' approval. How she was prepared to do anything to please them. Because she knew her friends would never understand, no matter how hard they tried. Madison didn't either, she didn't know why the words of Thomas and Cheryl meant so much to her. Why a single look of disappointment was enough to wash away years of hard work. She was ashamed of the fake image that her family was able to put up in front of the public, the one in which all imperfections could be covered up with a dazzling smile. Her entire family counted on that image and once again, Madison could never let them down.
So, she let down the people around her and they accepted her defeat. One by one, slowly but eventually, to the point, even Amy had given up on her. It was the start of Junior year and Madison had been enrolled in several AP classes, classes that would've seemed like hell for a fellow student were just routine for the golden girl. Amy was confused, concerned for her best friend, but she still tried.
For those first months of that term, Amy fought for their friendship, she fought long and hard. Going out of her way to visit Madison at home during one of her rare breaks, being overly friendly to her parents so she could hang out with their daughters for a few hours and Madison was grateful for it. The arrangement was strenuous but their friendship was worth it and they weren't prepared to let it go until her parents picked up on what they were trying to do. And if there was one thing that Thomas and Cheryl Pierce hated more than imperfections, it was obstacles that pulled back from success. In their eyes, Amy was the biggest obstacle of them all; she was a dead weight that held their daughter back from achieving her true potential.
Madison didn't take them seriously at first, when they had brought up her ending her friendship with Amy, she thought it was just another dramatic thing that her parents had come with, another silly lesson that they would try and teach her but it seemed that Thomas and Cheryl paid a lot more attention to Madison than she might have hoped. They couldn't accept the fact that their daughter could hold on to something as insignificant as a high school friendship. And when her parents talked, Madison listened. So, she broke it off with Amy, in the harshest way she could muster so that the curly-haired girl wouldn't blame herself. It was easier for her to just hate Madison.
That's what she kept telling herself as she finally left the showers, in a bright pink sundress, the color vibrant against her olive skin. She had left her long wavy hair to dry naturally and could feel the moisture from the raven locks on the back of her neck. But the sun was out on the country club and as she made her way to the restaurant of the club, she could bask in the warm weather that Parlis Bay always had and she loved. To be completely honest, Madison had not been looking forward to this particular lunch, as it was with her complete family and not just the ones that were easy to talk to but putting one sandal-clad foot in front of the other, she entered the restaurant with her usual confident posture and tried to look for where the rest of the Pierces' were seated.
It wasn't long before she spotted the bright streaked hair of her little sister, the dark green highlights colorfully clashing against the jet-black locks that she shared with her mother. Thomas and Cheryl had not been thrilled about the youngest daughter's preference in hairstyles but Heidi was stubborn and Madison admired that in her.
As she walked up to the empty seat at the table, the conversation came to a halt as Kate dramatically exclaimed, "Finally! Some good company. No offense, Heidi!"
"None taken," She easily replied.
Madison grinned at her aunt as she eased into her chair before her mother spoke up, her voice snippy, "Couldn't you have touched up your makeup? You look so messy."
"I just took a shower," Consciously reaching a hand to tame her messy hair, she muttered, "I'm not wearing any makeup."
Cheryl huffed, "That explains the dark circles then."
Madison gulped, averting her eyes from her mother and inwardly cursing herself for not bringing her beauty supplies with her to the pool. She was supposed to be the organized one, dammit.
"Don't listen to her, lovebug," Kate sent her older sister a glare before smiling at Madison, "You look great."
"Well, I wish I could be a two-faced person as well but I prefer honesty," Cheryl said, her tone anything but friendly.
"I don't think you could be a two-faced person, sunshine, your true nature would always slip through the cracks," Kate smiled a menacing smile, "Like mold and cheap Botox."
Cheryl's grin dropped as her eyes narrowed in on her younger sister. Madison exchanged a glance with Heidi, they both knew this was just a teaser for how this lunch was gonna go.
Fortunately, Thomas spoke up before Cheryl could drop whatever remark she had been thinking of, "How is William doing, Kate? I heard you spent a couple days in Covington before coming here."
Covington Estate was the name of the land that Madison's grandparents owned including the mansion they lived in. It had belonged to her grandmother, Sheila, and had been passed down through generations. After Sheila had passed away, her grandfather, William, lived there with her uncle and his family who decided to move in with him.
"He's doing fine," Kate said, "Just a bit lonely."
"He probably misses grandma," Heidi said, solemnly.
Madison looked to her father in a hopeful expression, "Maybe we could go see him before summer ends."
Kate smiled at her as Thomas nodded, "I think he'd really like that."
"God," Cheryl let out a humorless chuckle, narrowing her eyes at Kate, "You are such a master planner."
Kate furrowed her brow at her, "Excuse me?"
"Are you really trying to involve my daughters in your twisted schemes? Because it won't work, Katie."
Madison exchanged a confused glance with Heidi at this.
"If I had any twisted schemes, you'd be the last person to find out about them. You see, I'm not a blabbermouth...like you."
Cheryl pointed an accusing finger at her, "I know what you're trying to get your hands on and I won't let you."
"Seriously, that's what you've been bitching to me about?" Kate looked at her with an incredulous expression before scoffing, "Grow up, Cheryl."
"If it's so unimportant to you, just back off and let me take what I deserve," Cheryl said, making Madison's confusion grow.
"You know how much it meant to Mom, and I don't want it but I sure as hell am not gonna give it to you," Kate said, a growl lacing her tone.
"Can we have this conversation at a different time?" Thomas looked pleadingly at his wife who completely ignored her, dark eyes zeroed in on Kate.
"And why the hell not? We can't keep it, we're gonna need to sell it off. So why can't I?"
Kate's eyes lit up in anger that Madison rarely saw her aunt with, "Because you're a selfish insensitive- "
Wards loud voice cut off the end of that sentence. "Thomas, hey!"
All six heads whipped towards the direction of that voice, suddenly mindful of all the people around them that must be listening in to the tense exchange. A few feet away, Michael Walters stood with Nick in tow, the latter making her heart beat faster in fear? Anticipation? She would never know. Both men had neutral expressions on their faces, a grin covering Michaels, a barely hidden scowl on Nick. It didn't seem like they had heard much of the yelling match. But his next sentence still made Madison's stomach drop.
"Mind if we join you?"