by E B Brooks
Maddy leaned over the counter to get as close as she could to Trisha’s face. “I don’t scare easy, and you don’t frighten me. So, why don’t you and your bitch crew scamper off.”
“Come on, girls, let’s go find the football players.” Trisha walked away with her head high, waving for the other girls to follow her.
“You shouldn’t have don’t that. Now, she’ll be after you,” Torr sniffled out.
Maddy waved it off. “Don’t worry about me. I’m used to having people dislike me.”
“I owe you an apology for being short with you earlier.” Torr’s chin trembled, her eyes bright with tears. “I saw how you looked and just assumed you would be just like all the other girls are to me.”
Maddy was used to people misjudging her; it was a way of life from where she came from. It took a lot of guts for Torr to admit what she thought and apologize for it. There was something about Torr that Maddy really liked.
“I understand. Truly, I do. I’ve been bullied, too. Why don’t you go into the freezer and pull yourself together?”
Torr wiped away the tears that ran down her face. “Thanks. I won’t be gone long.”
While Torr took a minute to herself, Maddy started cleaning up from the rush.
“Please tell me you have some banana pudding left?” a deep, breathless voice begged.
Maddy looked up to see a herculean guy with short, spikey, coffee-brown hair and chestnut-colored eyes.
His head tilted as he stared, mesmerized, at Maddy. “You look familiar. Do I know you?”
Tilting her head, she scanned his face. He looked familiar to her, as well, though she couldn’t figure out where she would have seen him before. He wore a football jersey with the number 10 on it, but her old high school didn’t have a football team.
“You look familiar, too. Have you ever been to Martinsville Ohio?”
“Um, no, can’t say that I have. I’ve been around Ohio, but never to Ohio. Guess we just have that familiar face.” He shrugged.
Maddy gave him a half-smile. “I guess. You wanted banana pudding, right?”
He nodded.
Maddy looked through the puddings, then gave him a sad smile. “Sorry.”
“Shit.” His whole body slumped. “There goes my night.”
Torr came out of the cooler, and her whole body lit up. “Crusher! I saved you a pudding.”
She backed into the cooler once more, then came out with an overly large cup. She looked completely different from when she went into the cooler. Now, a big smile brightened her face. This must be the guy that witch, Trisha, was talking about.
Wow, Torr had a huge crush on him.
As she handed him the pudding, he smiled. “You’re my girl, Torr.”
Torr’s face turned pink, and she got this dopy look on her face. Then, she seemed to come out of it and shook herself. “I’m sorry, where are my manners? Maddy, this is Lucca Cardone, but everyone calls him Crusher.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Maddy.” A smile warmed Maddy’s face.
“Crusher, get your ass over here!” a team member yelled from one of the nearby tables.
“Got to go. Torr, thank you for the pudding. And it was nice meeting you, Maddy.” He walked over to join his teammates.
“Someone has a crush,” Maddy sung.
Torr’s eyes widened, and her face turned even redder than before. “Is it that oblivious? OMG, I’m going to die.”
Maddy put a hand on Torr’s shoulder and giggled. “Torr, he’s a guy. He didn’t notice. Has he asked you out, yet?”
She shook her head. “Trisha’s right. He’s the reason I tried joining the cheer squad.” She let out a sigh. “Now, I just stare and drool.”
“If he doesn’t notice you without joining the cheer squad, then he’s not worth it. Is it always like that? The rush? I didn’t think school started, yet?” she questioned, trying to get off the subject of boyfriends.
“Summer classes are going on, and as you can see, football players have practice. Along with the cheerleaders.” Her eyes still hadn’t left Crusher as she followed his every move.
“Makes sense.” Grabbing a cloth, Maddy started cleaning.
While Torr was off in la-la land, Maddy finished wiping down the counter and straightening up.
Torr suddenly jumped and scampered into work mode as Crusher returned to the counter. “Hey, Torr. Maddy. What are you ladies doing this Friday night?”
Maddy looked at Torr to see what her answer was, but the other girl just stood there staring at him with a goofy look on her face.
Maddy nudged her. “I don’t have any plans. Do you, Torr?”
“Ah... No.” Torr grabbed Maddy’s hand and squeezed it so hard Maddy had to bite her cheek to stop from screaming out. “I’m free. Why?”
His head was down and to the side, and red tinted his cheeks. “Well, the team likes to go to Inferno. I was wondering if you two would like to meet me there?”
Torr let out a gasp.
“What’s Inferno?” Maddy questioned.
“It’s a club,” Crusher replied.
She frowned. “I’m not twenty-one.”
“You let me take care of that.” He winked.
Torr beamed. “Sounds like fun. We’ll meet you there.”
He gave Torr a wink and walked away with his friends.
As soon as he was out of sight, Torr started jumping up and down. She threw her arms around Maddy, and not expecting it, Maddy’s whole body stiffened.
Torr immediately released her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out by hugging you.”
“No, you’re fine. You just surprised me.” Maddy played it off. She could count the times someone had hugged her on one hand. It felt good, and she felt bad that she made Torr question hugging her. It was something she needed more of in her life.
“OMG, I can’t believe that just happened. Please say you’ll go with me? I promise I’ll work any of your shifts you need me to.” She kept pulling on Maddy’s arm as she spoke.
“Yeah, I’ve never been to a club before. And I won’t make you work any of my shifts for me.”
Torr took a long, calming breath. “Okay, why don’t you take a break while it’s slow?”
After Maddy returned from break, there was another small rush.
After it ended, Torr leaned against the counter, and beamed at Maddy. “You did great for just being thrown in.”
“I worked in a bakery before I came here.” She smiled affectionately, missing Mrs. Jones.
Torr pointed her finger at Maddy. “Now the pieces are fitting together. So, where are you from, Maddy?”
“Ohio.” She twirled a rag in her hand. “What about you?”
“Here, born and raised. My parents went to school here, so they insisted I go to school here, too. Did your parents make you come here?”
“Um…” Maddy didn’t know what to say. She hated when people pitied her because she didn’t have parents, but she didn’t want to lie, either.
Torr must have noticed her hesitation because she shook her head. “I’m sorry, that’s too personal. You don’t have to answer that.”
Maddy stopped fidgeting and stood up straighter. “No, it’s all right.” Letting out a deep breath, she closed her eyes. “I don’t have parents. I grew up in an orphanage, then a group home.”
There, she said it out loud, and it wasn’t as bad as she thought. She opened her eyes and looked at Torr.
Torr’s eyes were wide, and she was biting her bottom lip. Her body vibrated with interest.
Maddy tried not to laugh. “Go ahead and ask.”
Torr started rattling off question after question, and Maddy couldn’t keep up with her.
The rest of the night passed quickly as Maddy answered as many as she could.
“It’s ten! Doors are locked! Clean up!” a guy yelled.
“Wow, it’s already ten?” Torr looked at the big clock on the wall. “Shit, I talked most of the night. I’m sorr
y about that. Sometimes, I don’t think before speaking.” Her shoulders slumped. “I don’t have any girlfriends because of that, and Trisha runs them off.”
She couldn’t deny that Torr talked a lot, but it felt good to open up to someone. She was so used to avoiding questions that it felt freeing not to hold back. “I wouldn’t have answered them if I didn’t want to. I’ve never had a girlfriend, either, so we can muddle through this friend shit together. Now, what do we do for clean-up?”
A big smile spread over Torr’s face, and she explained how to check whether the desserts needed to be thrown out. Then, they packed everything up and wiped down all the surfaces.
By the time they finished, it was eleven-thirty.
They walked out together.
Maddy said goodnight and turned to walk home, grateful for the clear, warm night.
“Are you walking home?” Torr called after her.
She glanced back. “Yeah, I don’t live that far away. Are you back in on Wednesday?”
“Normally, I’d be working, but I have a doctor’s appointment, so I took the day off.” Torr dug out her car keys. “You work in the morning on Fridays, correct?”
She nodded. “Bright and early at six, right?”
“Yep. And I’ll be there with you.” Torr frowned at the dark parking lot. “I don’t mind giving you a lift home.”
“No, I’m good, but thanks. I had fun tonight.” Maddy waved. “I’ll see you on Friday.”
She was about two miles away from her apartment and was dragging her ass when she heard gravel crunch behind her.
Maddy stopped and listened, but when she didn’t hear anything, she continued on. You’re starting to hear things, Maddy. This college thing is kicking your ass right now.
She walked another block before she heard it again. Now, she knew she wasn’t imagining it. She reached into the front pocket of her bag and pulled out her knife. “Hello? Is someone there?”
Turning slowly in a circle, she listened for a response.
Nothing. Not a sound, not even a cricket chirping. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she took off in a run.
Every once in a while, she heard feet hitting the pavement, and she swore she heard laughing, but no one caught up to her.
By the time she reached her apartment, she was out of breath and exhausted. Making sure the front door was locked, she dropped her bag, stripped out of her smelly clothes as she walked to her room, and face-planted onto her bed.
4
Maddy
Back at Walmart the next morning, Maddy excitedly pushed her empty cart toward the bathroom department.
She’d slept longer than she planned to, too exhausted after arriving home after midnight the night before, but now she couldn’t wait to finally pick out stuff for her very own apartment.
Now, she grinned as she found the towels section, and tried to pick what color she wanted. Baby-blue or a blush-colored.
Something smacked into her back.
Surprised, Maddy turned, but no one was there.
She glanced down to find a small yellow ball with a big smile on it next to her feet. Picking it up, Maddy walked to the end of the aisle where a large wire crate housed all different sized balls. Tossing it in, she turned and headed back to her cart.
A child giggled, and Maddy was ready this time. She caught the ball in midair, expecting to see a child when she turned around. She not only saw a child, but also a guy around her own age. He had short, curly blond hair and wore blue jean shorts with a black shirt that brought out his icy-blue eyes.
She raised her eyebrows. “Is this something you should be teaching your brother?”
The dark-haired child looked up at the attractive guy and laughed. “He’s not my brother.”
“Oookkaay.” Maddy just shook her head.
She had too much to do today to play with children. Grabbing the cart, she headed the other way only to be hit again.
Jaw clenched, she whirled back around.
The blond’s icy-blue eyes held a sparkle of mischief, his expression saying, ‘Yeah, I threw it at you. Now, what?’
While she glared at the guy, the little kid threw another ball at her.
“Come on, what are you? Chicken?” the kid taunted.
Maddy knew it was foolish to have a ball fight in the middle of Walmart, but she’d never backed down from a challenge, and she wouldn’t start now.
The biggest ball yet hit her right in the head.
Oh, hell no, he did not just do that.
She grabbed a ball from the ground and threw it at the blond.
And before she realized, she was in the middle of a ball fight.
Balls of all sizes and colors flew everywhere. That little kid had a good throwing arm. She tried a couple of times to entice him into switching side, but he wouldn’t hear of it.
Maddy was having the time of her life when they heard over the store speakers, “Code Red to aisle eighteen.”
They all looked up to check what aisle they were in. Spotting a big eighteen, the blond wiggled his eyebrows and took off, laughing the whole way.
Grabbing her cart, she speed-walked in the opposite direction, shocked at what she’d just done. A laugh broke from her chest. It had been a while since she’d had so much fun.
An hour later, after heading up and down each aisle to make sure she didn’t miss anything, Maddy’s cart was overflowing, and she still needed groceries.
By the time she loaded up on food and paid for everything, she walked out with two carts.
Biting her bottom lip. How the hell was she going to get all this home? What the hell was she thinking buying all this? She went a little overboard. She stared at both carts. Okay, a lot overboard. Maybe, she should go back and return some things?
Hell, no! That was too embarrassing. Especially after she just bought everything.
She could do this.
Letting out a huff, she rearranged the items and piled all the bags into one cart. It was overflowing, but easier to navigate than two. She also had two bags on one arm and three on the other.
Lesson learned; she’d never do this again.
Pushing the cart down the side of the road was a lot harder than she thought. Rocks jammed the wheels, and the cart would jerk to a stop. She was still afraid to put too much weight on her one right arm, which is why she had the bags distributed unevenly. But, every time the cart jerked, she almost tipped over.
She gripped the cart handle harder. How stupid could she be? She should have returned over half the items. Who cared what they thought of her?
Maddy hadn’t even finished that thought when her shoe came down on a rock that shifted. Her ankle twisted, and before she could stop herself, she was falling.
A second later, she was staring up at the graying sky as a big, fat raindrop hit her cheek. Maddy laid on the side of the road with her arms spread wide, her new purchases spilled all over the road. She couldn’t help but laugh when the skies opened and started pouring down. She took a minute to move different body parts to make sure nothing was broken. Her ankle throbbed but she could move it. She’d landed on her shoulder. It hurt, but she knew from the last time that it wasn’t broken.
Cars blew their horns as they passed her by.
When she tried to stand, she found herself back on the ground. Her ankle wasn’t ready to be used yet.
Determined, Maddy scoot-crawled to grab as many of her items as she could. She was more on the road than she should be, but she couldn’t leave her stuff laying in the road.
As she grabbed an orange, a horn blared, a large, black truck barreling right for her.
Tires squealed on the wet pavement, and Maddy covered her head with her arms, closed her eyes, and waited for the hit.
“Hey, are you okay? What the hell are you thinking sitting in the middle of the road?” a deep baritone voice demanded.
Slowing opening her eyes, she let out the breath she’d held as she leaned to grab the orange before it
rolled away. “Does it look like I’m okay?” Shoving the orange into the bag, she twisted to glare up at the guy. “Holy shit, is everyone in this town gorgeous?”
She slapped a hand over her mouth. Oh, shit, did she say that out loud?
One eyebrow rose as he gave her a half-smirk. “What?”
God, he was gorgeous. He had muscles everywhere, and she could tell he took care of himself. He kept his dark-blond hair short on the sides and longer on top. A few days’ worth of a beard made him even sexier, but it was his muscles that caught her eye. Her tongue could spend hours licking every ridge. Okay, not the time or place for her to be thinking of that.
When she looked up, he stared down at her in amusement. She shook her head to get the lusty thoughts out.
“What the hell were you thinking buying all this shit?” Grumbling, he bent to grab the toilet wand. He held it up. “Really, do you need this? Whatever it is?”
“Obviously, I wasn’t thinking when I purchased all of this, so sue me! And yes, I need it. I think,” she said the last part under her breath. “If you wouldn’t mind helping me gather everything back up, I’ll get out of everyone’s way.”
“I have a truck.” The look on his face was comical as he realized he almost hit her with his truck. “I’d be glad to take you to wherever you need to go.”
“Thank you, but I can make it on my own.” Pressing her lips together, she roughly shoved another orange back in the bag.
He crossed his arms. “All right, then, explain how you’re going to walk all this to your dorm? Your knee is cut and bleeding pretty badly, and your ankle looks a little swollen.”
“Easy. I don’t live in the dorms. And I can make it. My ankle’s fine, see?” She moved it around in a circle. It hurt like all hell, but she wasn’t going to show it to him. “I’ll just lean on the cart.” Maddy clenched her jaw.
He raised both arms with his palms out. “Are you always this damn stubborn? If you’re worried about me making a move on you, you’re not my type.”
Maddy’s eyes grew big. Wow, he sure knew how to destroy a woman’s ego. She sat there stunned for a few minutes while he took some of her items and placed them in the back of his truck.