The rain poured down hard as Benji walked home. He was just dumped by his girlfriend of three years, Amanda. He had cried, not that you could tell, because he was soaked to the bone.
He passed by the coffee shop where he met Amanda three years ago tomorrow. Cashdogg had nocked her down and Benji had helped her collect herself. He scoffed and kept walking.
A girl was running down the street. She ran into Benji and fell on the ground. Benji helped her up. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you." He tried to look at her face, but she hid behind the bill of her sky blue ADIDAS cap.
"It's OK." She sniffled. She tried to get past him.
"Can I get your name?"
She tried to walk around him. "I gotta go."
"OK..." He said, as she walked away. He looked at the ground and noticed she had dropped something. He picked it up and looked at it. It was the girls bag. He turned. "Hey!"
He ran after her, she just ran faster. Benji grabbed her arm. "Don't hurt me."
"Hey, hey, hey. I won't hurt you. You just dropped this." He handed her her bag.
She fell on the ground and cried. She took off her hat and Benji saw the bruise on her eye and the cuts across her cheek. She looked up at him. "I know you. You're Benji Madden from GC."
He knelt next to her and looked at her eye. "Yeah, I am. Now where do you live?"
"I don't wanna go home." She shook her head. "Please don't make me go home." She looked scared.
"OK, shh. I can't force you to do anything. But can you please tell me your name?"
She rubbed her nose. "Ca--M- Madison. Madison McGregor."
"OK, Madison," He helped her up. "Can you come with me?"
"Where?"
"My place. There, you can call your parents. Cause you're like what? Seventeen?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "But I'm fine. I don't need to come with you. I'm alright."
Benji looked at her; She looked away from him, trying not to make eye contact. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. It was nice to meet you." She turned and started to walk away. "Goodbye." She sadly said.
"Bye." He started walking home again.
Benji got home about an hour later. Joel was sitting on the couch completely involved with the TV. "Benj, look at this." He pointed to the TV.
"What?" He pulled off his coat and kicked off his shoes.
"Some girl jumped off the bridge a few minutes ago."
"...A seventeen year old girl by the name off Catherine Madison McGregor was seen jumping from the bridge..."
Benji's eyes widened. "I just met her an hour ago."
"What?" Joel looked at his brother with a confused look on his face.
"The girl is alive and police are looking for a number of a family member. None has been found..."
Benji ran out the door. Joel grabbed his coat and followed. "Benji, wait for me."
They drove to the hospital. Benji went to the front desk. "I'm looking For Madison McGregor."
The desk attendant searched the computer files. "Sorry, there is no Madison McGregor in my data base."
"Catherine Madison McGregor?" Joel said.
"There is a Catherine." She looked up at the twins and her jaw almost dropped to the floor. "Are you friends of hers?"
"Yes." Benji said, a bit annoyed and yet relieved. "Can I see her?"
A nurse came up behind him. "Just follow me." she grinned.
Benji and Joel followed the nurse to the ICU. Madison lay in the bed looking around. "Hi, Madison."
She looked at Benji and Joel. "Hi?" She was confused. "What are you doing here?"
Benji sighed. "Why'd you jump off the bridge?"
"No reason." She looked down, finding her hands very interresting.
Joel looked at Madison. "What's so bad that death was the only alternative?" He sat on the end of the bed.
Madison didn't look up, she just played with her hands and looked at the IV in her hand. "You wouldn't understand." She said coldly.
"Try me." Benji sat on the bed and looked her in the eye. He stopped her from playing with her hands. She had scars all over her arms. "Please?"
"Why do you care?! I mean, I'm just a nobody who would prefur not to waste any more air on God's beautiful earth. I mean, really? I'm just an ugly spot and I should be removed. It's not like anyone cares."
Joel patted her leg. "Your parents care, your friends care."
"I care." Benji said.
"But you don't understand. My parents don't care. And I don't have any friends."
A doctor came in followed by Madison's parents. They walked in looking very displeased. The doctor left. Benji and Joel backed away from the bed. Her parents thought they had left. "Look at you Catherine. You're a mess. I wish you had died." Her mother said.
"I'm sorry. I'm just one big dissapointment, aren't I?"
"Yes, you are." Her father crossed his arms.
"Then why don't you kill me and get it over with?"
Her mother contemplated the idea. "No. Then we'd go to jail."
"It's not my fault you had me when you were sixteen."
Benji stepped forward. "Excuse me. If you didn't want her, why not put her up for adoption? I mean she'd be better off."
"This is a family matter, young man. Now leave us alone." Her father waved him off.
Benji was really getting angry, he hated when kids were treated so bad.
The doctor came back into the room. Madison's parents put on their worry faces and looked at the doctor. "Good news," He smiled. "She can go home now."
Madison looked pleadingly at Benji. Benji stepped towards the doctor. "Are you sure she's OK?"
"Yeah, probably a bit water logged, but she's as good as new. Except for her black eye, but that's nothing to be worried about."
"OK." Madison's mom glared at her daughter and plastered on a fake smile. "Then we'll take her home."
Joel stood next to his brother and looked at Madison. She looked at Joel and Benji. "I don't want to go home yet. I don't think I'm well enough." She caughed.
"Yeah, she doesn't look too good." Joel said, knowing what Madison was doing.
The doctor looked confused. "I'm sure you're fine."
"No. I'm not. I really don't feel well."
Benji looked at Madison.
"Don't be silly Catherine. You're fine." Her mother said through clenched teeth.
"Why don't you come back in about an hour to see if she's OK? Maybe then she'll want to go home." The doctor said.
Madison's parents glared at her. "Fine." Her father said, taking her mother out of the room.
Benji looked relieved and sat in the chair next to the bed. The doctor checked Madison's pupils, pulse and temperature. "You seem fine."
Madison saw her parents from her window and watched them drive off. "I feel fine now. I wanna go home."
"But you just said you wanted to stay here." The doctor looked very confused.
"What can I say? I'm feeling better. So much better I feel like going home."
"You'll just have to wait for your parents then."
"We could take her home." Benji said.
The doctor looked at Benji with all his peircings and tattoos; then he looked at Joel. Joel gave him an innocent smile. "We're friends. Well, basically brothers."
"You'll have to sign some release forms."
Joel nodded and followed the doctor to the desk. Madison smiled at Benji. "Thank you." She said quietly.