The Madeleine Richards Box Set (The Madeleine Richards Series Book 4)

by Juliette Duncan

  "Maddy. Maddy! Wake up – you're dreaming!"

  "What? Where am I?" she shot up, almost knocking her mom over in the process.

  "You were shouting. It must have been a good dream! But it's the middle of the night. I wondered what the noise was."

  "Sorry Mom. I didn't realize. I'll go back to sleep now."

  She put her head straight back on the pillow and held onto that euphoric feeling she'd just experienced. She was fast asleep within seconds.

  "How are you feeling this morning, Maddy?" her mom asked when she came down to breakfast.

  "Fine. Why?"

  "You don't remember?"

  "Remember what?"

  "You shouting in the middle of the night."

  "No. I remember dreaming about playing basketball, but not about shouting."

  "You woke me up, it was that loud."

  "Sorry. I don't remember. Are you okay then?"

  "Yes. A little tired, but that’s normal these days."

  "You're starting to get fat. It looks funny!"

  "Thanks a lot! That's just what I need to hear!"

  "What's all this going on?" Maddy's gran appeared in the doorway in her dressing gown. She still had rollers in her hair.

  "Maddy here is just telling me that I'm looking fat. The rudeness of her!"

  "Maddy, Maddy, Maddy!" her gran said. "That's not a nice thing to say. The word to use is 'blooming', not 'fat'. That's what you say to ladies when they're pregnant. It's much nicer than 'fat'!"

  "I was only joking, Gran. I'm sorry, Mom." She walked over and gave her mom a cuddle.

  "It's okay sweetie. I wasn't being serious either." She stretched up and gave Maddy a kiss.

  "Seems like you've got basketball on your mind, though. I hope it all goes well this afternoon at training. I'll be praying for you both," Sarah said.

  "Thanks Mom. I hope Alex decides to come."

  "I think she will. I'm sure it will turn out fine. You'll see."

  Chapter 11

  Maddy was wondering how she was going to tell the others about Alex coming to training all the way to school. She needn't have worried, because Lauren and Jasmine's class had gone on an excursion, and they weren't at school anyway. She'd forgotten about that. In fact, they weren't even going to be at training that afternoon.

  "Thank you, God," she prayed silently. What a relief. Nina didn't mind when she told her. In fact, she was happy. She asked Alex if she'd decided to come as soon as she saw her. She waited for her answer, almost expecting her to say no. But she didn't say no. She said that she'd decided to come, and to heck with what the other girls thought.

  "Yay!" Maddy shouted. "Alex, that's great! And guess what? Lauren and Jasmine won't be at training today, so you don't need to worry about them! It's going to be good!"

  "Hang on! Don't get too excited. I'm just coming to check it out."

  "I know. I'm sorry. I do get carried away sometimes, don't I, Nina?"

  "Yes, you do Maddy. But that's what's cool about you!" Nina laughed when she saw Maddy's face. She was standing with her hands on her hips, pretending to be shocked.

  "Would you like to have lunch with us today, Alex?" Nina asked once she'd stopped laughing.

  Alex looked at her in surprise. Nina had never talked to her directly before. She looked at this petite, attractive girl with the colorful glasses properly for the first time. Why not, she thought.

  "That would be nice. Thank you," Alex replied.

  "We'd better get into class or we'll be in trouble," Maddy said. She'd just seen the teacher enter the classroom ahead of them.

  The three girls walked to the cafeteria together and chose a table as far away from the main area as possible. Maddy had been surprised when Nina had asked Alex to join them, but it felt right. She thought that Alex might not want to have the whole school talking about her though, so best to keep a low profile for now.

  "Maddy told me you're a real good shooter, Alex," Nina said as they took their seats. "That's good, because we're all hopeless!"

  "Nina!" Maddy shouted at her. "Don't tell her that! She might not join if she thinks we're hopeless!"

  "It's okay. I don't really care," Alex said.

  Maddy noticed that Alex was wearing a long sleeved shirt, although it was a hot day. Oh no, she thought. Don't tell me it's happened again. Nina and Alex were chatting together. Well, mainly Nina was chatting and Alex was listening. Maddy's heart started to hurt. She so wanted to pull Alex aside and ask her if she was okay. She'd give her a hug and tell her she was there for her. But she couldn't. Not in front of Nina. All she could do was pray silently.

  "God. Thank you that Alex is having lunch with us today, and that she's coming to basketball training this afternoon. But why did you let her get beat up again? I don't understand. Please help me know what to do."

  "What do you think, Maddy?" Nina turned her head and looked at her friend.

  "Sorry Nina. I was miles away. What did you say?"

  "We were just talking about the new Math teacher and wondering what happened to the other one. Do you know anything about what happened?"

  "No, I don’t," Maddy replied, shaking her head.

  "Time to go," Nina said. "It was nice having lunch with you, Alex." She smiled at Alex, who gave her a kind of smile back.

  "Thanks for asking me," she said.

  The girls stood up to leave.

  "I'll meet you after school for training, Maddy," Nina called out as she headed off in the opposite direction to Maddy and Alex. She was in a different class for the rest of the day, which left time for Maddy to have a chat with Alex as they walked to class.

  "Did your dad beat you up again?" she whispered, getting straight to the point.

  "How did you know?" Alex looked defensive.

  "You're wearing long sleeves."

  "Oh. I guess that's a give away. Yes, but not badly. He thought I'd been out with boys. I told him I hadn't but he wouldn’t believe me."

  "You poor thing. Is there anything I can do to help? I mean it, Alex. I really want to help if I can."

  "There's nothing that can be done. When he drinks, he just loses control. I just have to try my best to stay out of his way. But sometimes I can't."

  "Will it be okay for you to come to training, then? Will that make him mad?"

  "No. He doesn't care about what I do of an afternoon. In fact, he usually doesn’t even know where I am."

  "Really? That's so sad, Alex. I don't know how you cope with it."

  Maddy put her arm through Alex's, not really caring what anybody would think, and walked with her to class.

  They sat together for the rest of the afternoon. The other students made some strange noises, which Maddy and Alex both ignored. Maddy really didn't care anymore. Alex needed her, and she needed Alex.

  Her heart was bleeding for her new friend. She just wanted to fix it all for her, but knew if she told anyone about her dad beating her up, she'd lose Alex's trust, and that would be the end of it. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The only positive thing was that she knew God would help her to work it out. She had no idea how, but she knew he would. She just had to be patient. But patience was wasn't one of her good points.

  The afternoon dragged by. Who wanted to learn about ancient Rome, anyway? Finally, the end bell rang, and they were able to leave.

  They met Nina at the school gate, and walked the short distance to the basketball stadium together. Nina chatted away. Maddy and Alex mainly listened, and occasionally made a comment. Nina didn't seem to notice they were unusually quiet.

  When they arrived at the stadium, Maddy knew she had to pull herself together and focus on training, not on Alex. She wondered how Alex was going to train with her long sleeved shirt. She needn't have worried. She just left it on and nobody really noticed. She was only there to have a trial, anyway. She wasn't really part of the team.

  The coach welcomed her, and introduced her to the rest of the team. Most of the girls already knew who sh
e was, and were surprised that Maddy had brought her along, although they didn't say anything directly to her. They just whispered behind their backs.

  The coach was keen to see how this new recruit would go. She looks fairly feisty, he thought. Although why she's wearing long sleeves, I really don't know. Oh well, let's run her through the drills and see what's she's got.

  "Okay girls, we'll start off with some warm up drills. You all know what to do, so hop to it. Grab a ball each, and line up. Let's go!"

  For the next ten minutes, the girls ran through their basic ball handling drills. From what he'd seen already, this Alex was pretty good. A bit rough around the edges, but she had grit. But can she shoot?

  "Over here, girls," he called out after blowing his whistle. "Time for shooting practice." The girls stopped what they were doing, and ran over to stand in front of him.

  "I was really proud of you all on Saturday," the coach began, looking at the lineup of eager young girls in front of him. "It was a great game, and you came so close to winning. If we can work on shooting under pressure a little more, I think next time you meet them, you'll give them a run for their money. I've brought in a shooting specialist, who's going to run through basic shooting technique, and then we'll add in some defense. Here she is now," the coach said, signaling to a tall athletic lady who was walking over towards the group.

  "This is Janet Samuels. Some of you might have seen her in action. She's the top point scorer in the Smithtown Steelers. Janet, here are the girls. They're all yours!"

  "Thank you, Coach Eady," Janet Samuels said. "Well girls, I believe you almost knocked off the top team the other day! Good on you! As Coach Eady said, I'm here today to give some shooting pointers. "I'd like you all to grab your ball, and line up along here. That's the way," she said, sizing them up as they got themselves sorted.

  She showed them how to position themselves to make sure their shot would be straight, and how to follow through so the ball would go the distance.

  "This is pretty lame," Alex whispered to Maddy.

  "It might be for you, but I don't know how to do it, so I think it's good," Maddy whispered back.

  "Okay you two chatterboxes," Janet called out to Alex and Maddy. "Let's see you in action."

  "Great," Maddy whispered to Alex. "Just what I need…not!"

  "You first." She was pointing to Maddy. "What's your name?"

  "Maddy."

  "Okay. Come here Maddy. Stand here and let me see your positioning."

  Maddy looked back at Alex and Nina as she reluctantly walked over to where Janet was indicating.

  "That's the way. Bend those knees a little more, and turn your body slightly to the left. Make sure your elbow is in line with your hips and knees. Up on your toes a little more, that’s the way. Perfect! Now, grip that ball. Head up. Push and snap!"

  Maddy was delighted to see that her shot hit the mark. She turned and bowed to Alex and Nina, who were both clapping wildly.

  "Settle down, girls! But that was great, Maddy. Well done! Okay - your turn now. Alex, I believe?"

  Alex nodded and walked to the designated spot. She didn't wait for Janet to position her. She just set herself up, and pocketed the perfect shot.

  "Well. Seems you don't need my help, missy! Coach, you've got a live one here!" Coach Eady had been watching proceedings, and although he wasn't all that impressed with Alex's attitude, he had to admit he was impressed with her shooting skills.

  Janet helped each of the remaining girls with their positioning and style, while Coach Eady took Maddy and Alex aside and got them to work on shooting with a defense.

  The other girls joined in progressively until they were all there. Janet took over again, and gave them some pointers on how to shoot under pressure. Even Alex learned some new skills from her, although she wouldn't admit it to anyone.

  They finished off with a game of Lightning, which the coach expected Alex to win. She did.

  "What do you think?" Maddy asked Alex as they walked over to their bags at the end of the session.

  "It was kind of fun. Not sure the other girls are happy for me to be on the team, but if the coach will have me, I think I'd like to join."

  "That’s great news, Alex!" Nina said. She'd been listening in and was more than happy to have Alex join the team.

  "Let's go and talk with him then," Maddy suggested. She waved to Hank who had just walked into the stadium and was standing with his arms crossed, talking to one of the other dad's.

  "Okay, why not?" Alex replied. "May as well get it over with."

  Coach Eady was pleased that Alex had decided to join, although he knew she'd provide a challenge for him. He gathered that she wasn't one to take direction easily. A bit strong willed. But then, you need grit on the court.

  "Welcome aboard, Alex." He held out his hand to shake hers. She looked him in the eye, and eventually took his hand and shook it.

  She's a tough nut, he thought to himself.

  "You'll be right for the game on Saturday?" he asked.

  "Yep. I'll be there."

  "Good. See you all then," he said, casting his eyes over the three girls. He wondered how the two absent girls would handle the news of this additional player, given that up until now they'd been the key players in the team. Just another challenge for him to deal with, he thought.

  Hank was happy to hear that Alex had decided to join the team when Maddy told him in the car on the way home. He'd offered to drop her home, but true to form, she said she'd walk. He did drop Nina off, however.

  "You've made great progress with her, Maddy," he said once they were on their own. "Just think. It's only been a couple of weeks since you started working on that project together. You had trouble just getting her to speak to start with. But look at her now. Agreeing to join the basketball team! That's something to be proud of!"

  Maddy took a deep breath. Should she tell Hank Alex's secret? She felt she needed to. Having her agree to play on the team was one thing, but it didn't change what was happening to her at home. No, I can't betray her confidence.

  "Thanks Hank. I don't know it's anything I've done, really. But it's good she's wanting to join. She's a top shooter, you know," she ended up saying.

  "Yes, I imagine she'd be quite intimidating when she's playing, too. She's just got that look about her. I don't think too many girls would want to mess with her!"

  "It's going to make the game interesting on Saturday, that's for sure."

  Chapter 12

  The news spread quickly at school the next day, and reached Lauren and Jasmine's ears before Maddy had a chance to tell them first.

  "What have you done?" Lauren asked her crossly when she bumped into Maddy near the locker room.

  "What do you mean?" Maddy asked innocently, knowing full well what she meant.

  "Getting that Alex girl to join our team! How dare you! We don't want her on the team, do we, Jas?" Lauren turned to her friend for support.

  "No. No way," she replied, giving Maddy a filthy look.

  "Sorry to have upset you guys. It's a pity you feel that way. Can't you just give her a chance? She really isn't that bad, you know."

  As it turned out, Alex didn't go to school that day. Maddy wondered why. Had she been beaten up again, or was it that she just didn't she want to face the girls at school?

  She called her as soon as she could after school. "Alex. It's Maddy. Are you okay? I missed you at school today." She had to leave a message as Alex didn't answer her cell.

  She tried her again a little later. Still no answer. She left another message.

  She tried again just before dinner. And just after dinner.

  She went to her room and sat on her bed. Deep in thought, she contemplated what action she should take.

  "God, I have a really bad feeling about this. What should I do?"

  Just then, she heard a knock on her door, and she heard her mom asking if she could come in.

  "Yes," she answered.

  "I heard you trying to
call Alex. Do you think something's wrong?" Sarah asked her, as she joined her daughter on the bed.

  Great. Now I'm put on the spot. I either have to lie, or tell Mom the truth, she thought.

  "It's just strange that she's not answering her phone. She wasn't at school today, either."

  "I think there's more to it than that, Mad. I can tell you're more concerned than normal. What do you think has happened?"

  Maddy looked at her mom. How does she know that? God, is this your work?

  "I suppose I'd better tell you." Maddy took a deep breath. "I think her dad's beaten her up again." Maddy couldn’t control the tears that came from nowhere. Sarah put her arms around her, and let her sob into her chest.

  "Oh my goodness," she said, gently stroking Maddy's hair with her fingertips. "I had a feeling that something was happening, but I didn’t imagine that. What makes you think that, sweetie?"

  Maddy sat up and wiped her face with the tissue that Sarah handed her.

  "She told me the other day, and she showed me the bruises on her arm. They were so big and horrible". Maddy closed her eyes and the tears began to flow again.

  "She made me promise to not tell anyone," she sobbed. "She said that if I did, she'd be taken away. She made me promise!" A fresh new wave of tears hit her.

  "Oh Maddy! That must have been terrible for you! To have to keep that secret." She looked kindly at her daughter, and tenderly tucked some stray hair back behind Maddy's left ear.

  "You know, sometimes it's okay to not keep a secret, especially if someone's in danger. You've done the right thing." Sarah hugged her tightly, and rocked back and forth, comforting her daughter. She kissed the top of her head. "I'm really proud of you, Maddy. I think we should go and talk to Hank. He'll know what to do. Are you okay with that?" she asked, gently lifting Maddy's head up and wiping the tears off her face.

  Maddy looked at her mom and nodded. Sarah took her hand and they walked downstairs together to find Hank.

  Once Sarah had filled Hank in with Maddy's information, he agreed that something should be done. He'd seen too many cases of child abuse in the Emergency Department to let this go.