WON'T BE LONG

Before the incident in the woods, Madeline hardly likes going out, she prefers staying indoors and finding activities she could engage in to avoid her foster parents.

She doesn't understand them at times, one moment they're loving and would want to hear about all the things she's been up to, and other times they just don't care. She didn't meet her foster parents while sneaking into the house with her bloodied dress and dirty hair the other night the rude stranger saved her though.

She'd wanted to understand why she wanted to comfort and love the stranger so badly and so she had been going to take strolls around the area where she'd been attacked just to see if she'd run into him again.

She did so happily and hopefully but on several occasions regretted running into him at all because he was even ruder than the previous times and twice as difficult. She recalls the conversation she just had with him earlier this evening, his insolence and harshness had nearly brought tears to her eyes.

"Hey, hey," calls out Madeline in a friendly tune while she lightly jogs to catch up with him.

Adrian just keeps on walking, if he hears anyone trying to draw his attention he doesn't show it at all.

Finally, Madeline catches up with him.

 "I wanted to properly thank you for the other day, I've seen you around a couple of times but we didn't get to talk," she says with a smile and reaches out to lightly tap him on his shoulder. 

But immediately Adrian feels the tap on his shoulder, he suddenly stops walking, still as a statue with a murderous look on his face. Damn that arousal scent again, damn this crazy girl. He has noticed her following him around a couple of times and he is sick of it. 

If looks could kill, Madeline stands no chance now as he turns to face her, his amber eyes deepening in color with anger.

"What exactly is your problem? Can you shut the fuck up and stay as far away as possible from me?" He deadpans emotionlessly.

"But–" Madeline attempts to speak but he cuts her off again, the anger in his voice is quite palpable now.

"You're irritating, do you know that? And I didn't save you to come to bother me either. Maybe I should have let those men have their share of fun with you, that would have been much better!" His face is stoic and cold without any form of remorse as he says those words.

Madeline winces with each scorching comment he throws at her, the next comment more hurtful than the previous one.

She sags against a tree as she feels the strength leave her body and watches him swagger away from her, head held high like a very proud king. Who the hell does he think he is anyway? She thinks bitterly.

"If only I could figure out the cause of my attraction to him, I'd be one step closer to getting over it all," she laments.

Recently she feels her emotions have been in constant turmoil.

By the time she gets back home, she feels quite miserable and tired. Abnormally tired and weak because she has taken longer walks than the one she took today but she didn't feel this weak after.

She mentally checks if she stayed up late last night, but it comes off that she didn't. She had gone to bed before 9 pm because she had felt tired too. Wait, what? That was strange as well. The bouts of tiredness are becoming a steady thing and they are inexplicable, she can't fathom why she keeps feeling that way a lot recently.

"Madeline, you're home. Come set the table for dinner. Your dad would be back soon," Aida, Madeline's foster mum says.

"I don't feel too well, ma'am. Can I go lie down upstairs instead?" Madeline replies.

"It can't be all that bad, come set the table first and you could go lie down after. Plus I made your favorite; pasta and meatballs seasoned and flavored to your taste," Aida kisses her fingers and gives a chef kiss in Madeline's direction.

"Okay, coming," replies Madeline resignedly.

But as Madeleine carries the plate from the cupboard across the hall to the dining table, she feels her body suddenly give in and collapses to the floor, dropping the stacks of ceramic plates onto the polished floor with a loud crash. Shards of broken plates fly everywhere and Aida screams rushing forward and starting to shake Madeline.

"Madeline, Madeline. Wake up, Madel. Open your eyes. Please," she cries, wiping the blood on Madeline's finger with her handkerchief where a piece of broken ceramic had cut her.

As if on cue, the door flies open, and in walks Nathan, Madeline's foster dad. A bumbling big forty-ish-year-old man.

"I heard the crash and your scream. What happened?!" He questions Aida.

"It's Madel, she came back not quite long ago and said she wasn't feeling well when I asked her to set the table. But I convinced her to and told her she could lie down after like she wanted," she sniffs in reply.

"What could be wrong with her?" Nathan questions further but yet doesn't show any form of concern.

"I don't know. She only said she was feeling weak. That's all," a teary Aida replies.

"Here, loosen her shoes and her dress bands. Get a band-aid and put on the cut on her finger. I'd lay her down on the couch and get the smelling salts," Nathan says, taking control.

Aida meekly does as he says, too baffled to argue. When Nathan returns, he looks at Madeline who still has her eyes blissfully closed, and then glances over at Aida and asks, "Could it be Madel's family's secret coming to light? Do you think it's time already?"

"Oh. I didn't think of that earlier. It could be, maybe it wants out," whispers Aida fiercely and in awe.

"Hush, Aida! We don't know how deep she lost consciousness when she passed out."

Nathan gets close and holds the smelling salt underneath Madeline's nose, she inhales and starts coughing, eyes still wide with shock as she tries to come around.

"What - what happened to me? My head feels awful. I fell and broke the plates, didn't I?" she sputters.

"We think it's just stress, honey. You blacked out a little right there. Nothing serious at all," Aida soothes.

"It's okay, darling. You're alright now," Nathan also croons as he secretly shares a knowing look with his wife. It certainly won't be long now and they smile at each other.