5.3 Guilt

Madison peered down at the sparkling rock on her finger as the phone rang in her ear.

"You what?" Lexi screamed into the receiver at her daughter.
"I got married," Madison beamed into the phone, "I'm now Madison Brandon!" Although Lexi couldn't see her daughter's face, she knew she was smiling.

She wasn't sure how to cope, so Lexi strummed on her guitar, producing hideous sounds. Lexi knew this was her fault. It was her fault that she had left her daughters alone so much. It was her fault that she didn't have a father figure around. She inevitably drove her own daughter into the arms of a man half her age.

Ty tried to make her feel better, but he knew it was a lost cause. Instead Ty purposed a short trip to help her clear her mind. If there was anything he knew about Madison it was she was as stubborn as her mother.

Madison and Dequan returned home to an empty house. Instead of returning to the everyday grind of life, the two buried themselves in each others arms for a few lustful hours of newly wed bliss.

5.2 Carbon Copy

Lexi bought a one story ranch across town for Riley and Blake. The two decided against a large wedding and wanted to go ahead and marry at the family house. Riley made a beautiful bride. Not to long ago, Madison thought she'd never marry. She'd be like her mother. Single and happy.

That was until she met Dequan. Yes he was plenty older than her, married, and had a daughter that went to school with her, but to Madison, it meant nothing. He was her Dequan and he would always be.

"I don't want a large wedding either," Madison said as Dequan drove her back to the house. Dequan smiled and agreed, "It's whatever you want." He had learned early that it didn't matter what he said, the woman had already made his mind up for him.
"I'm not sure what though," Madison finished, "what about you?"

The only bad thing about Madison was she hardly made his mind up for him. It took getting used to, but it was one of the things he loved about her. "How about now?"

Madison looked across the car seat confused, "Now?"
"We can go to that drive up place on the ocean, The Shack."

With a sharp turn of the wheel, Dequan turned the car in the other direction and headed towards The Shack.

5.1 Shameful!

Instead of the party she planned with her friends, Madison spent her birthday across town, walking hand in hand with Dequan. She could recall the look on her mother's face when he kissed her, and she smiled. Truth was, it was hard hiding their relationship from her. Madison was so much happier now that they were public.

Lexi always reminded her, of course, about his daughter who was two years younger than herself. Madison usually just smiled and went on with her life. Madison actually enjoyed when Nellie would come over after school.

Madison was deeply in love with Dequan. It wasn't anything that anyone could persuade her against. He was all she thought about, dreamed about, or cared about.

So when he popped the question, Madison knew she'd say yes.

4.27 Many Surprises

Just like all the previous birthday's, Lexi and Ty accompanied Madison and Riley around the table. Blake took off work to spend this day with Riley, as he had intentions to propose after wards. Ty's daughter decided to stop by and, much to Lexi's disgust, Dequan Brandon also turned up.

Madison was the first to age up. The guests crowded around her and cheered as Lexi finished lighting the candles. Madison closed her eyes and mouthed words soundlessly before blowing out the candles. Madison opened her eyes and planted a long kiss on Dequan's lips.

A confused gasp rang from the guests. Lexi's eyes narrowed at her daughter. She was ashamed for her daughter. She had her suspicions, but nothing to confirm them. Dequan was far to old for Madison, and Lexi didn't want to consider how long this had been going on.

Ty quickly lit the candles on the second cake to help diffuse the situation. Riley stepped to the table and quickly blew her candles out. She closed her eyes as her body matured.

When she opened her eyes, Blake was down on one knee. "Marry me," he said softly. Riley squealed with delight and hugged him close.

Ty looked from his daughter to the twins. Proud that his family, or what he considered his family, was around him. His eyes eventually met Lexis, and he smiled at her. Lexi grabbed Ty and held him close, kissing him for the third time ever.

4.26 Almost over

Lexi finally aged into an elder. She did it the only way she knew, after a performance.

The teens were currently maturing. Madison had recently broken up with her on again off again boy friend, Jeremy. Lexi secretly hoped this would be the last time. It turned out it was the last time, but it didn't take long before she was in love with someone else.

Riley, on the other hand, was settling down way too fast with her high school sweetheart. It worried Lexi, but she tried to think of Mason and his wife Layla, who were both married after these many years. Lexi tried to push Riley to pursue her writing instead of the family road. But Riley was truly a person of her own and she wouldn't follow her mothers foot steps.

As the teens quickly raced towards adulthood, Lexi realized the emptiness in her life. Ty filled this emptiness a lot. After his split with his wife, Ty's visits became rare as he became a single father. But now that his daughter was grown, Ty spent more time with Lexi and her daughters.

On the eve of the twins birthday, Lexi finally accepted her feelings towards Ty.

4.25 Busted Again

Madison avoided her family for another two days, preferring to skip school and stay locked in the library. Her mother wouldn’t know where she was but as long as Riley knew, Madison would be okay.

This was her favorite spot, tucked in the dusty library, in front of the easel. Madison slid her paintbrush across the canvas carefully.

“What are you doing in here!” Lexi’s enraged voice boomed behind her, “get out! OUT!”

Madison looked up from the easel and dropped her paint brush, splattering blue paint on the floor.

Lexi’s once sophisticated look library was purple. “MADISON!” She yelled throughout the house. Lexi stopped and looked around the room. The art was amazing.

“Madison?” Lexi said, slipping open her daughter’s door.

“Go away,” Madison whispered.

“Have I told you why the library is closed off?”

Madison shook her head, wiping a tear from her eye.

“My brother loved that room, well mainly the easel. Back then, it was on the balcony. It was his favorite way to spend time. Then he hit this rough spot with our father. When he ran off, I was scared. Just like I was when you ran off.”

4.22 Missing

Lexi loved the ocean, it always reminded her of her father, as it was his favorite place too. Lexi sat alone, thinking of the past. Lexi had missed the girls’ innocent days. It wasn’t long before they wanted jobs and car keys. Lexi was at the height of her career. Her name was known around the world from the tombs of Shang Simla to the hills of Champs Les Sims. Again she was sad. This time is wasn’t over the loss of her parents or the surprise pregnancy, but this time it was herself. Yes her job was important, but it shouldn’t have been more important than her daughters. She knew that now, but she hadn’t always. She started to think about retiring while she still had time to spend with her daughters.

Her phone buzzed beside her and Lexi casually flipped her phone open, “Lexi Parkes.”

“Mom,” she heard Riley frantically yelling into the phone, “Madison. Madison,” Lexi jumped up, cutting her daughter off mid statement. “Riley hon, calm down, Madison what?” Riley paused and collected herself before continuing. “Mom, I didn’t see Madison at school yesterday, she didn’t come home last night, I can’t find her anywhere, and her phone’s off.”

There was a brief pause as Lexi remembered the fear she felt when Mason ran away. Her father had known right where to go to find him. Lexi didn’t know anything about her daughters.

“Mom,” Riley asked into the phone, “are you still there?”

“Yes I’m here. Call Ty and let him know.”

Lexi snapped her phone shut and proceeded to police department.

4.21 Days of Youth

The girls were growing quickly in Lexi's absences. Still wanting to have some parental influence in the house, Lexi invited Ty to stay at the house. This meant the girls were able to spend many days and nights with Ty. They loved him, almost like a father.






Ty's extra time at Lexi's caused strain at his house, and it wasn't too long before Ty was kicked out of his own house.








Even with her absences, Madison adored her mother. She would cry every time she left and would often wake up early just to listen to her mother practice. She admired her mother. Ty was concerned for Madison, after all Lexi hadn't led the best life. He felt extra protective of the girls. Mostly out of guilt.

But the girls birthday's were quickly approaching and he was powerless to stop the forces that had already taken place. He couldn't undo Lexi's bad parenting, but he could try to steer them in the right direction.

4.20 Unearthed Secrets

"Madison!" Riley exclaimed loudly, "what are you doing in here?" Riley had wandered around the house looking for Madison. The meal she had cooked was currently getting cold on the dinning room table.

In the library, Madison jumped. "Mom will kill you if she finds you in here. Come on!" Riley demanded, grabbing her sisters arm.

"Riley wait," Madison yelled. "Haven't you ever wondered why mom doesn't want us in here?"
Riley looked around, "No I don't. I'm sure she has her reasons, now let's go."

"Ok, but look at this," Madison said, pushing her sister in front of a large canvas, "I've been practicing."

It really was beautiful, the painting at least. The rest of the library looked neglected. Even the evening light couldn't shine though the dust on the balcony doors. The room itself was empty, abandoned with time.

Riley pulled her sister downstairs just as Lexi pulled into the drive way.

4.19 Shift of Focus

After the twins entered school, Lexi put all her efforts into her career. IT wasn't long before her girls were listening to her songs on the bus and Lexi was performing sold out concerts at the stadium. All this sucess meant that Lexi spent a lot of time away from the house and her girls. While Lexi was away, the girls were left to take care of themselves.







Riley was the responsible one. Forced to grow up fast, she quickly learned how to cook and clean. Riley took good care of herself and her sister. She felt it was her duty to make sure Madison was up for school every morning and fed breakfast.

Madison, on the other hand, disliked authority and anyone trying to ex

ercise it over her. Without a father or mother present, it was hard for other adults to tame her. Sometimes, she felt that Riley was bossing her around too

much and she would lash out at her sister. When this happened, Madison would sneak into the library, the only part of the house that was “off limits.”

After stumbling into the library after a fight with her sister, Madison couldn’t figure out why it was off limits. It was a library with books, a comfortable chair, a desk, and a painting easel. It didn’t take Madison long to steal watercolors from the local store (it didn’t matter anyways, she reasoned, her family owned the market).

Painting was one thing that could sedate Madison. It was her true love. She could sit for hours and paint, and soon the room was full of paintings stacked deep.