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.

4.18 Quickly growing

Many sleepless nights followed the homecoming of the twins. But it was well worth it in the end when the tearful babies became eager toddlers. Lexi had her work cut out. Being a single parent meant that all of the teaching had to come from her. Between nights at the theater and with the twins, Lexi stayed tired. But all her hard work paid off and soon the toddlers were aging into beautiful little girls ready for school.

Ty was actively involved in the twins' lives. He would come over to eat dinner and babysit occasionally. This gave Lexi much needed time to herself. Although she usually spent this time sleeping.

It wasn't long until the twins would go to school. Although Lexi had spent more time at work and less with the girls, she still felt some tinge of sorrow. Her babies were growing and they were growing quickly.