Maddie woke up with a patch of sunlight in her eyes. She squinted hard against the light before catching a glimpse of her surroundings. She was still in the computer room.

She had fallen asleep using Isaac’s arm for a pillow.

Sitting up, Maddie shook her head. Memories of the previous day came flooding back to her. Trevor, Jessica, Diana, Isaac. Everything washed over her mind like a tidal wave.

Isaac stirred. He squinted against the sunlight and attempted to sit up. “Awe, man,” he muttered. “My arm’s numb.”

Just then, Taylor walked into the room from the stairway. “About time you two woke up,” he commented casually. He smiled as Maddie and Ike shifted uncomfortably. “Mom has breakfast ready downstairs,” he told them. “And, Maddie, I already told her you came up earlier and were working on the computer.”

The blond girl stood up, took Taylor’s hand, and squeezed it. “Thanks,” she said. With that, she loped downstairs.

The kitchen smelled delicious. “Pancakes?” Maddie asked, walking up behind Jessie’s chair.

Jessie looked up and smiled. “Yep,” she said happily, a half-eaten pancake on her plate. She motioned for Maddie to lean closer. Maddie obliged and Jessie whispered, “Puppy worked.”

Maddie smiled. “That’s good,” she told the little girl, kissing the top of her head.

“So, Maddie,” Diana said, turning from the stove, “how many do you want?”

She grinned. “I dunno. Two?”

“Sounds good,” Diana agreed, turning back to the food.

Maddie stood by the small kitchen table. Walker, Jessie, Avie, and Mack were already sitting in the four chairs around it. Maddie decided that when her pancakes were ready, she would sit at the table in the dining room.

Minutes passed. Isaac, Taylor, and Zac came down the stairs just as Diana handed a plate to Maddie.

“Good morning, sleepy-heads,” she said to Isaac and Zac. “How many do you want.”

Yawning, Isaac held up three fingers. Zac held his arms about four feet apart. “This many!” he told his mother.

Diana eyed her son doubtfully. “I don’t think I have enough batter for that,” she said. “Sorry, Zackey.”

Zac made a mock-pouting face before breaking into a fit of silly laughter. He began circling the kitchen table, asking each of his family members, “Are you gonna eat that?”

Shaking her head, Maddie made her way into the dining room. She pulled out a chair and sat down. This was the first time in nearly two years she had actually eaten a home-cooked breakfast. Usually, if anything, she ate cereal in the mornings; something her mother sternly disapproved of. However, seeing as Maddie had seen the woman about a dozen times since her fourteenth birthday, she didn’t care.

“So,” came a voice from the doorway just as Maddie cut into her pancake. “Did you sleep well?”

“I didn’t have any nightmares,” she said as Taylor sat down in the chair to her right. “Which is more than I can say for Jessie.”

His blue eyes widened. “Jessica had a nightmare?” he demanded.

She nodded solemnly. “About being hit again. Only, this time, Isaac was driving the truck.”

Tay’s mouth draped open. “Are you kidding?” he asked. “Awe, man.”

“I know,” Maddie said. “But, she only had one last night, so that’s a good sign,” she assured him.

“How do you know -” Taylor began, just as Zac walked into the room.

Maddie took a bite out of her pancake as Zac took a seat to her left.

“Good morning,” he announced, opening a bottle of syrup and pouring it over the food on his plate.

Maddie looked at him critically. “Let me guess: You like a sugar buzz early in the morning?”

Zac grinned. “How’d you guess?”

She just smiled in return and continued eating her breakfast.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come too?”

Maddie smiled at Jessie. “I’m sure,” she insisted. “You and your family have things to do today. I’ll just be in the way if I come along.”

Jessica’s face fell into a pout. “Well,” she said finally, “only Ike and Tay and Zac really have things to do. I can stay here with you . . .”

She shook her head at the little girl. “It’s okay. I’m used to having the house to myself, Jess. Don’t worry about me.” She smiled. “Go have fun.”

Reluctantly, Jessica agreed.

Diana walked into the living room, Zoë in arms. “Are you ready, Jessie?” she asked.

Jessie nodded. She stood up from the couch and rested her armpits on her crutches. Maddie was surprised at how agile she had become on them in not even a day’s time. Jessie crossed the room and she and Diana walked out of the house.

A photo shoot was scheduled for that day, and Maddie had offered her truck to help bus the entire Hanson clan. However, she had decided to hang back, longing for a little bit of quiet time to reflect on the past day. Time to write in her journal.

After hearing the Neon and her truck pull out of the driveway, Maddie walked into the bathroom. She inspected her right cheek critically. There was a slight gray discoloration in her skin’s hue. The mark would not be detected by a passive glance. However, Maddie knew all too well what to look for. To her, the light bruise seemed to jump out.

Shaking her head, she left the bathroom. She was on her way to the staircase when the telephone rang. With a small groan, she detoured to the phone and picked it up. “Hello?”

“Maddie?”

Her heart pounded. It was Trevor. “What do you want?” she demanded quietly.

“To talk to you,” Trevor replied innocently. “Look, Maddie, I’m sorry about yesterday, and -”

“Don’t even start,” Maddie interrupted. “I don’t want to hear it again. Ever.” She took a deep breath and steadied herself. “It’s over, Trevor. This time, for good. Don’t ever call me or talk to me again, okay?”

“Maddie.” He sounded wounded. “You don’t mean that.”

She took in another breath. “Yes, I do. I’m sick of all this, okay? It . . . it’s gotten out of hand. And there’s no going back now. It’s over.”

“No, it’s not,” Trevor insisted. “Maddie -”

“I’m hanging up now, Trevor,” Maddie said sternly. With that, she rested the phone in it’s cradle.

Trevor Dunn couldn’t believe what had happened. Maddie had tried this before, but never had she been so blunt about it. And she always apologized. “Sorry, Trevor,” she’d say, “I was wrong. I didn’t mean it. I know you didn’t mean it either. Forgive me?”

However, Maddie had not called to take back her words. She seemed dead set this time. And this time, Trevor thought as he walked down the street toward Maddie’s house, she’s just dead.

He walked up to the front door of the Patrick house. Knocking was useless. Maddie wouldn’t answer. Lucky for him, he knew where she kept the spare key.

Trevor let himself into the house.

Maddie turned the computer off. She had just put an entry in her “me” file about Trevor and how she had finally broken it off with him. And this time, she was determined to stick with this resolve.

She walked downstairs. It was odd; she actually missed the continuous buzzing the house had when the Hansons were in it. She hoped they returned soon.

It amazed Maddie how none of the Hansons seemed to resent her. Diana and Walker actually seemed to like her. Jessie thought of her as a friend. Mackie and Avie were almost indifferent; Maddie wondered if they even understood what had happened. Zac had said he didn’t hate her, and Taylor seemed almost empathetic at what she must be going through. Even Isaac seemed to like her to an extent.

There seemed to be something wrong with Isaac, however. Maddie noticed an uneasiness about him, but she couldn’t quite place the origin.

Maddie walked into the living room.

“Hello.”

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, staring into Trevor’s smoky blue eyes.

He stood up from the couch and eyed her carefully. “I came to see you,” he said simply. “You didn’t seem to want to talk on the phone.”

Maddie steadied herself, taking a deep breath. Her hands were shaking. “I don’t want to talk to you at all, Trevor. It’s over. I don’t want you in my life anymore.”

Slowly, Trevor crossed the room. “Why is that?” he asked. He touched the side of Maddie’s face with his fingers and she tried her hardest not to flinch. “Why is that, Maddie?” Without waiting for a reply, he twisted his fingers in her long blond hair and gave a strong yank. “Another guy? Is that it, you slut?”

“Oh, you’re one to talk,” Maddie snapped.

Trevor pulled her hair again. “Don’t get smart with me,” he demanded. He raised her face until she was looking at him and slapped her across the cheek with his free hand. “You love me,” he told her, again twisting her hair around his fingers. “And love hurts.”