Downfall

Maddee Jones (Madison-Lee Jones) is usually the sweetest, funniest girl you could ever come across. Now days, her life seems out of control. So many recent misfortunate occurences have led Maddee to feel pain, hurt, sorrow and anger. Some may think that Maddee is normal feeling these sorts of things, but Maddee and her family are far from lucky. This is just one day in Maddee and her family's life, and in just that one day, so many things can go wrong.
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*BEEP, BEEP, BEEP* Maddee’s alarm clock sounds, she flicks a switch and the radio comes alive with her favourite songs. She knows she needs to get up before her mother starts to shout; she removes the doona from over her head and sits up straight, staring into her curtains imagining what the day will bring.
“MADDEE!!” Screams her mother, prompting Maddee to leap out of bed and jerk open the bright patterned curtains to reveal the sandy, amber sun; allowing it to lively shadows upon Maddee’s jade bedroom walls. Smiling, Maddee turns to face the shadow of her; she then smiles the biggest, brightest smile she could possibly form before her smile literally became ear to ear – Today is going to be a great day.
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Today was a great day for Maddee. The reasons being;
1. She aced her final maths exam for the semester.
2. The sun shined all day, making it perfect to hang out with her friends.
3. She was going to spend the weekend with her family.
4. Her brothers were planning a huge surprise for her.
This is a list of reasons that Maddee has to be happy, however today is the day that her life begins its journey down the steep downward slope.
“Hi mum,” Maddee bounds through the door with a 100 watt smile on her face, her mother doesn’t seem as happy as she would normally be; something’s wrong.
“Hi sweet heart, how was school?” Maddee’s mother can’t bear to look at her daughter in fear of crying again. Once se starts she just won’t stop.
“Fine, what’s wrong? Has something happened?” Maddee looks worried; she hasn’t seen her mum like this since her grandfather died over a year ago. Maddee’s mother turns to face her, her eyes are bloodshot and puffy; she’s been crying. She manages to string a few words together;
“We need to talk”
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Everything surrounding Maddee suddenly turns into one big blur, like dozens of different coloured paint heaps mixed together. No distinctive colour, shape or pattern to be seen, just a blur. Laying on her bed everyone and everything seems forever away, her iPod in her ears with the music playing loud; colours slowly fade to black and white; her life just took a turn – definitely not for the better. It’s crazy to think that just one little thing can turn everything upside down. As Maddee slowly and gradually lifts her head out of her pillow, her eyes now red and puffy just like her mothers were when she first came through the kitchen door after school. As her mum knocks on the door calling to her daughter, Maddee turns her music up louder, drowning out the rest of the world, forgetting her woes.
“Madison-Lee, you can’t hide in your room forever, just talk to me!” Her mum is now becoming more and more impatient, she however is clueless as to the fact that her daughter is blasting music through her headphones, unable to hear, anyone or anything else. Maddee, after careful consideration, decided she did not want to be bothered by her surrounding family so she lifted herself off the bed and grabbed a piece of paper and a black Sharpie® and wrote in big, bold, capital letters; ‘I’M NOT COMING OUT! LEAVE ME ALONE!’ she slid the paper under the door and returned to lying on her bed; and she was going to stay there.
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Jackson, Nate, Jordan and Travis Jones; sons of Tracy and Dave Jones; brothers to Madison-Lee Jones. Jordan, Nate and Travis are sitting at the old wooden dining table in the dimly lit, pale green dining room awaiting the return of Jackson with Maddee in tow. Mum wanted to talk about the current ‘situation’ they were facing. As she waits, Tracy fidgets with her hands and fingers; her sons staring at her, knowing she must be nervous. Travis stands from his broken seat and moves towards the window, his mother worried; she looks up from her strong focus on her hands and stares strangely, worryingly at her son as he reaches for the window. The hinges creek eerily, breaking the awkward silence between mother and sons. Just as Travis sits uncomfortably on his chair whilst it squeaks, Jackson moves slowly into the room dragging Maddee in behind him. Maddee, sour-faced, sits facing the wall behind her mother; she can’t bear to look at her mother’s pale, tear-stained face.
“We need to talk” says Tracy to her angry looking children sitting before her, her voice almost a whisper, unable to make a louder sound. “I know you’re all angry, but…” her voice cracks slightly as she gains confidence in what she has to say.
“But…. You’re going to try and explain anyway. Right? Because we can’t figure it out for ourselves, or anything. We’re not kids anymore, Mum.” Travis; the eldest of the four is now becoming more and more defensive in his anger. Unable to contain his feelings anymore he begins to blurt out regretful comments. “It’s not like it was a shock. We knew that it was coming; what with all the fighting, screaming, yelling and hurtful looks and comments, CONSTANTLY! We just expected that before you made these sorts of decisions you’d at least have the decency to talk to us about it; TOGETHER! Don’t you get it? We’re only angry because you and Dad didn’t tell us earlier.” Travis has gone a bright shade of red. His anger is so out of control that he already regrets blurting out those hurtful things.
“You listen to me, Travis. Why do you think your father and I held on so long? For you four: Not because we enjoyed all the fights, awkward silences, screaming and hurtful things; but because of our kids. YOU! You may not realize it but we held off for about a year because we didn’t want to hurt the five of you. But this time, your dad did something unforgiveable; THAT was the final straw.” Tracy is now standing looking her son directly in the eye. Shaking, she sits back on the old kitchen chair; her tears have gone, her voice strong; she needs to be strong and not show her weaknesses, again for their sake. “Don’t think for a minute that we don’t love you; because both of us do, we just can’t be together anymore.” Maddee turns her gaze from the plain wall behind her mother and stares into her mother’s eyes before claiming the courage needed to say what she wanted to:
“If you both loved us, you would have talked to us about this before now; before it was too late. I honestly don’t care, but really why on earth did you leave it this late?!” Maddee’s eyes are strongly fixed upon her mother’s now weeping face. If looks could kill, Maddee would have killed off all evil by now; her Mum was now facing one of her strong gazes.
“Maddee…” Tracy looks at her daughter before turning to her sons, pleading for help. Maddee wasn’t one to give up easily.
“Don’t Maddee me, Mum. I’m not the problem in this. You can beg Trav, Jordan, Jackson and Nate to calm me down, but I’m not giving up. Why didn’t you and Dad think this was important enough to tell us about earlier? Why isn’t Dad here telling us now?” Maddee, now shaking, is not refocussing her gaze; it remains fixed upon her mother.
“Maddee, Dad’s gone, he left this morning. We didn’t want to worry you guys earlier so we didn’t tell you. Now Dad has done something that I cannot forgive and that’s why he’s gone, that’s why I’m telling you now. You may not like it; but he’s gone.” Tracy’s eyes are now on her daughter. Her voice has strengthened and she now knows her place. Maddee turns away from her mother and wipes away a single glistening tear, and leaves the room. Tracy, Nate, Jackson, Jordan and Travis sit in silence listening to Maddee’s footsteps running up stairs before she slams her door shut. The tension hangs in the eerie silence. Tracy hangs her head in her hands and allows the tears to flow, breaking the silence.
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Travis, Jackson, Jordan and Nate all climb into Travis’ car. The red Barina has seen better days, but that’s the least of their worries. Travis sits in the drivers’ seat, he pushes the key into the ignition, starts the car and leaves the driveway of the memorable house. At the first intersection Nate breaks the silence between brothers;
“Jackson and I are going to go to the park and kick the footy around. You guys wanna come?” Travis and Jordan look at each other and they instantly know what each other are thinking.
“Nah thanks but Trav and I are going to drive around for a while. Clear our heads; might go to the skate park for a ride later.” Jordan turns to the back to look at Nate. “We’ll catch up with you guys a little bit later though.” Nate nods ‘okay’ towards his brother as Travis pulls into the car park at the local park. Travis and Jordan wave their brothers goodbye not thinking about anything else in that moment. Jordan continues to wave as Travis starts to drive away, both of the boys are still angry at what their parents have done to mess up their family.
“Poor Maddee, she has been effected the most by this. We have no idea how she feels at the moment.” Jordan begins, hoping to bring out Travis’ emotions and feelings. “I mean, we all have an idea but it’s not really the same. We all know she doesn’t cope well with things like this.” He’s now trying to bring up happier memories.
“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Travis says; “Remember when her little striped fish died? She was upset for about a month or two. And she was even worse when Grandad died, she wasn’t herself for at least two years and even now she’s still not completely recovered.” Travis smiled. “She’s really something isn’t she?”
“Yeah, she certainly is. We’re lucky she’s ours, huh?” Jordan adds. Travis, Jackson, Nate, Jordan and Maddee have always been close, but the boys seemed to have paired off according to what their hobbies were and who had the most in common. Jordan and Jackson were twins, yet they hadn’t paired off together; Jordan and Travis had and Jackson and Nate had. However when it came to Maddee; they were all closer than best friends, but to Maddee, they were her best friends and they always would be. Travis; being the oldest, took well to the twins when they came along; then Nate was born a few years later. After another few years Madison-Lee was introduced into the Jones family; the only daughter to her parents and the only sister to her brothers. This precious little girl banded the family together, like the glue to a broken vase. Jordan decided to send Maddee a text message to say that they all loved her;
‘Maddee, just wanna say on behalf of me and your other brothers; Jackson, Travis and Nate, WE LOVE YOU! You may find this a little weird but we just wanna let you know. Sorry we left in a hurry, but just remember the five of us will be together forever, no matter what! Xxxx’ Jordan wanted to make sure Maddee always felt loved, and at this point in time, she would nee some cheering up; this was the perfect time. Travis pulled the car over and sent a message much the same;
‘Maddee, just wanna say on behalf of me and your other brothers; Jackson, Jordan and Nate, WE LOVE YOU! You may find this a bit weird but, you know, we just wanna let you know. Sorry we left in a bit of a hurry, but just remember the five of us will be together forever, no matter what! Xxxx (One kiss from each of us!)’ Travis sent the message then started the car, as he started to pick up speed toward the intersection ahead, the light suddenly changed to red. Jordan shouted;
“BRAKE! BRAKE!” Travis slammed on the brakes; the screech of the tires pierced the boys’ ears; Jordan covering his with his hands, whilst Travis tried frantically to stop the car. The tires continued to screech; Jordan took his hands off his ears and turned to his brother. “I love you brother, always have and always will.” Travis repeated his brothers’ words, both scared of what might happen to them in a matter of minutes, even seconds. A trail of skid marks following the car, a truck unable to stop is coming directly for the car. Travis swerves the car to avoid serious damage, before a piercing finial screech of the tires before; the smash of windows and a car crashing into an electricity pole, bringing the innocent boys to a final stop.
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Maddee, Nate and Jackson are lying on Travis and Jordan’s beds’ pushed together; the four of them in tears. The once vibrant, lively, fiery red room; now filled with sadness, regret and wishful memories. Tracy moves closer and closer to the door of the bedroom her sons once shared. She is less than a metre away, yet she stops, turns and walks in the opposite direction; she can’t face the hurt that waits for her within. Maddee looks up from the pillow her face was buried in and notices a photo on the chest of draws beside her; she reaches for it. The photo is from the last lot of school photo’s they had together earlier in the year. As she picks it up more tears begin to leak from the corner of her eyes, her cheeks already stained from the tears cried earlier.
“Maddee, where did you find that?” Jackson asks, his face showing pain; he has lost his other half. Maddee and Nate feel hurt and saddened but they won’t know how Jackson feels; to them, they lost their brothers, to him, he lost his twin brother and his older brother. “That was Jordan’s; I gave him that for our birthday this year.” Now Jackson is really unhappy. Everyone has lost them not just him, but Jordan was his better half.
“It was just there on his draws” Maddee tells Jackson, explaining why she has it. Jackson looks even more hurt now that Maddee hasn’t seemed to acknowledge that Jordan was his twin brother and that was one thing they had shared and he felt that she was disrespecting that by moving it.
“Well, can you put it back please?! I’d like it back where it was, so I can remember everything where it was?” Maddee stared at him, she was just as hurt as he was; at least in her mind. But nothing could compare to Jackson’s hurt, woe and sorrow; he was heartbroken. “I’m sorry Maddee, it’s nothing to do with you, I just want to remember this room the way it was. I know you guys would want that too.” Jackson looked sorry; he didn’t mean to upset his little sister, they needed to come together during this time of grieving.
“Yeah, I get it. But, I’m hurt too. You’re not the only one who lost your brother. HELLO?! Nate and I lost them too.” Maddee was angry and frustrated; she didn’t see things from Jackson’s point of view.
“Jordan was my twin brother, he was MY better half, the one who completed me, now; one half of me is gone! Why don’t you get it?” Jackson looked more hurt; this time he was blinking away tears that suddenly started to build up in his right eye. Maddee stood up beside the bed. She was far from happy. Nate looked at her and tried to stop her from doing something stupid.
“Mad, what are you doing? Don’t get angry and do something you’ll regret, c’mon you know that Travis and Jordan wouldn’t want you to do something stupid. Calm down; both of you.” Nate’s eyes widened as he spoke, his voice became louder as he went on. He found the strength within himself to speak up for the first time in his life; he knew exactly what to say. Maddee turned her stare to Nate, then back to Jackson. She put on a sour face like she was good at, then she turned her body toward the door and walked out. She ran down the stairs of out the front door, slamming it behind her. Nate and Jackson looked at each other; Jackson picked up the photo and placed it back in its original place, everything was perfect.
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Tracy walked through the front door, moping; her cheeks glimmering slightly when the light hits them, from the tears she’s cried. Ten minutes ago she was asked to visit the scene where her son’s car had crashed earlier today, to identify the bodies of her boys. She was completely shattered as she approached the police tape, ambulances and police cars everywhere. The body of her son’s in the back of an ambulance. The hurt in her eyes turn to water, in the form of tears that stream down her pale face. One of the police officers led her to the open doors of the ambulance.
“Are these your sons’ Travis Craig and Jordan Christopher Jones?” The officer asks, Tracy nods, using a crinkled tissue to wipe away haunting tears.
“Yes, that’s them.” Terrifying words; circling within the mind of their mother. Even now, sitting in her bright, floral living room she is haunted by her mistakes, leading up to her children’s death.
‘What if this is my fault? Why didn’t I listen to them? I should have done something about the fighting sooner. I should have been a better mother.’ All thoughts running through her mind making her feel guilty. It may not have been her fault, but her children are dead and she has no other way of blaming someone. Maddee storms through the door before making her way up into her room, crying hysterically. Tracy’s motherly instinct kicks into overdrive and she needs to be there for her daughter; she gets up and begins to move toward the stairs. ‘I’m coming sweetheart’
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Today is dim; the darkness is rolling in slowly but surely. Standing in a beautiful park lands, the trees are gloomy, a light sprinkle of rain creating a gloss on the bright green grass. Two burial places lie in front of them, photos of Jordan and Travis sit upon the black cases. Maddee moves towards them, tears rolling down her numb cheeks;
“I will always remember you, the text message you sent moments before; I love you, the five of us will be together forever, no matter what. Rest in Peace” She places the flowers just below each photos. Maddee stands under a black umbrella beside Jackson, while Tracy and Nate stood under a similar umbrella centimetres away. As their family watched, the coffins were lowered. That was it, Jordan Christopher and Travis Craig, gone. The four remaining members of the family had to pull together, this was going to be hard, but they would pull through.
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To my beautiful sons,
I’m sorry you left this world too soon, I feel like; in a way your death is my fault. Although, now I think I should probably tell you why I made your Dad leave.
Here go’s;
About a week ago, Dad went on a date with another woman; a woman from work. She was recently divorced and Dad knew we were headed that way anyway so he thought he’d push things along a little. He cheated on me, when I spoke to him about it he denied it and hit me when I tried to bring it up further. The next-door neighbour saw everything and called the police; Dad was charged.
I know you guys weren’t happy with us when you left for that drive. You had other plans; you had plans for your future; now you’re gone.
I guess I wanted to write this because I need you guys to know the truth, it may sound stupid, but this; for me gives me closure. I’m going to tell your brothers and sister later, but I think you both deserved to know.
I’m sorry,
I love you both and of course Jackson, Maddee and Nate love you as well.
Forever and Always
Mum.
Xx
(The letter Tracy Jones placed with each of her sons at their final resting place.)