Abundant Recall

"Alice, what are you doing here?" Madelyn is surprised to see her friend.

"I've been staying here for a while," she reminds her.

"I know but… Well, I thought you would head home now."

"I can't," she shakes her head. "The real owners of my parents' company have filed a lawsuit to figure out how my parents got control for so long. They won't be able to push the paperwork through to cancel my disowning until they sort through all that."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Austin pats her shoulder.

"It's ok. I like it here," she smiles at him.

"Hey, Madelyn," Sheryl waves to her from the couch.

"Mrs. Gale, are you ok?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she stands up.

"No reason," she lets out a sigh of relief.

"What about Mel?" Austin interrupts.

"Didn't you hear?" Alice chirps. "He was misdiagnosed and the treatment killed him. His parents are planning to sue the hospital."

"Oh dear," Madelyn's eyes pop. "What about me?" she looks at Austin. "What about my parents?"

"I think you know the answer to that," he shakes his head sadly.

"Yeah," she starts to sulk.

"Didn't your mother kill your father and then herself?" Alice asks.

"Yeah," Madelyn nods. "He deserved it though."

"So where do you live?" Alice is curious.

"Here," Sheryl answers. "She was in foster care for a year before they legally emancipated her and she moved in with us. Officially she pays rent from her parents' trust fund but I've never taken a penny of it. She's like family; ever since the day Austin found her under our front porch…"

"We know," Austin and Madelyn shout at once.

"What? I've never heard this," Alice interrupts.

"Well come over here," Sheryl leads her into the kitchen. "I'll tell you all about it."

"This is perfect," Madelyn jumps up and down excitedly.

"Not everything," Austin reminds her, "poor Mel."

"I know," she coos. "It's too bad, right. What about us? Where do we stand?"

"Well I'm no longer pointlessly in love," he answers.

"What? Really?" she frowns.

"And I assume you aren't either," he continues.

"Not exactly," she admits. "I think I'm getting my old feelings back though. I remember the small boy who used to brighten my day every time my parents were fighting."

"I remember the sad little girl who couldn't go a day without sneaking into my window just to say goodnight," he laughs.

"It's so weird that we live together now," she sighs happily.

"Not really," he shrugs. "It was always gonna happen some day."

"I thought you said you weren't in love with me anymore," she places her hands on her hips.

"Not pointlessly," he corrects her. "Now I have a reason. I finally know why I fell for you. And you know what? I'm glad I did."

"Me too," she leans toward him so they can press their lips together happily.

"Hey, no fair," Alice shouts from the kitchen. "I wanted him."

"What?" Austin is surprised.

"Well too bad," Madelyn sticks her tongue out at her playfully.

"You knew about this?" Austin asks.

"It's pretty obvious," Sheryl chuckles. "You can tell when a maiden is in love. Looks like my boy is a player."

"Don't start," Austin groans.

"Here," Alice pecks him on the cheek enthusiastically. He grins shyly.

"No fair," Madelyn kisses the opposite side. "He's mine."

"Not forever," Alice grins. "He might change his mind."

"Well no matter what, he'll always be mine," Sheryl laughs before kissing him on his forehead. He immediately wipes it off while making a grossed out face, causing the three others to laugh at him. After a moment of pouting he starts to smile as well. The four of them sit down in the living room to continue discussing everything that happened.

Madelyn sits next to Austin and links their hands. Alice watches jealously but does not interfere. The two of them steal glances at each other repeatedly until they both catch each other staring. They share a momentary look that says that with no more feathers, everything is finally the way it's supposed to be.

The End