Playing for Keeps

by Hill, Jamie

  "God damn it, Maddie, I want to be there for you."

  "I know." She clung to him. "But you're doing what needs to be done right here." She pulled back and looked at him. "And you'll be with me." She patted her chest over her heart. "Always."

  Chapter Twelve

  Nine years earlier – Cambridge, Massachusetts

  Maddie did not want to go home for Thanksgiving. She'd picked up a bug and had a touch of the stomach flu, throwing up for several days. Her parents insisted she come home for the holiday so they could take care of her. She wanted to stay and let Nick take care of her, but of course, that wasn't an option.

  "Maybe it was that Chinese food the other day," she muttered as she came out of the bathroom.

  Nick chuckled and helped her back to bed. "It didn't make me sick. But then I didn't eat half as much as you did. For a little thing, you sure can pack it away."

  "Shut up." She snuggled into the covers. "Will you play something for me?"

  "Sure," Nick picked up his guitar and sat on his side of the bed.

  "Know any Bruce Springsteen?"

  "Hell yeah," he replied, and played for her.

  Maddie smiled and listened as he played.

  When he finished, he put his guitar down and lay down next to her.

  She slipped her arms around his neck. "I don't want to go."

  "I know. I hate going through this every time. Maybe we should just tell your parents."

  "They'll kill me. Or you. I'm not sure which would be worse."

  He chuckled. "I can run pretty fast if I have to."

  She hugged him. "I'll think about it. But, Jesus, I'm sick! I can't drive home."

  "Has Junior left yet? Maybe you could ride with him."

  "I don't know." Maddie sat up and grabbed the phone, calling Alec.

  "Hello?"

  "Hi Alec, it's Maddie."

  "Hey. What's up?"

  "I'm sick as a dog, and my parents are making me come home. When are you leaving?"

  "A couple of hours. Want a ride?"

  "Yeah, I really do. I don't think I'm contagious, I suspect it was bad Chinese, but I'm not sure. Do you mind?"

  "Nah. I'll pick you up at five."

  "Thanks Alec." She hung up the phone and nodded to Nick. "He's picking me up at five."

  "You should get packed. Why don't you get dressed, and I'll help you with the suitcase?"

  "Ugh." She dragged herself out of bed, slipping into jeans and a t-shirt.

  Nick put her luggage on the bed. He threw in her underclothes and a nightgown. He held up a lacy teddy. "I presume this stays?"

  "Oh yeah." She sorted her clothes into two piles and packed the ones she'd wear at home. She shoved the other pile aside. "These are my 'Nick' clothes."

  He put them back in his dresser. "They'll be right here, waiting for you."

  "Just like you?"

  "Absolutely." He hugged her.

  "What will you do for Thanksgiving?"

  He shrugged. "Probably go to my sister's in New York. She has a kid. My old man will be there."

  Maddie nodded.

  He went to the dresser and wrote something down, then handed the paper to her. "Here's her name and phone number, just in case. It's okay to call me there, if you need me. I'll stay Thursday night and come back Friday."

  "What will you be doing Saturday?"

  He grinned. "You, if you're feeling better."

  She threw her arms around his neck. "You'll really come up Saturday? You don't have to, you know, I'll be back Sunday."

  "That's a whole nother day. I'll drive up Saturday, unless you're still sick. Call and leave me a message, so I'll know."

  "I will. I love you."

  He kissed her gently. "I love you, too, sweetness. Want me to drive you back to your place?"

  "Nah, I can make it that far." She put on her coat and he carried her suitcase out to her car.

  "See you Saturday." He kissed her again.

  "Saturday." She smiled, and drove off.

  Alec dropped her off at her parent's house. She just wanted to go to bed, but her mother and father had to take her temperature and ask her all sorts of questions.

  "It was probably the Chinese food," Maddie repeated. "It didn't sit well with me."

  "That was three days ago, you said." Her mother shook her head.

  "I don't know, then." Maddie moaned. "I just want to sleep."

  Michael looked at his wife. "A lot of college kids get run down from not sleeping and eating right, and they get mono. Maybe we should get her into the doctor before she goes back."

  "Yes, you're right." Meg nodded agreement.

  "Can we wait and see how I feel Friday?" Maddie asked.

  "Of course. Get into bed, I'll check on you later," her mother said.

  She slept, off and on, until Thursday, and she felt a little better. She showered and dressed, and joined the family for Thanksgiving dinner. It was just the four of them. Some years her mother invited other people, but she hadn't that year, and Maddie was glad. She didn't feel very sociable, and not really that hungry. She picked at her food, and ate just a little.

  "You look better," her father commented.

  "I feel a little better."

  Matt looked at her snidely. "Do you think you have mono?"

  "No." She gave him a dirty look.

  He sneered at her. "Maybe we should ask Alec if he's been sick. If Maddie has mono, he probably does too."

  Their mother said, "I saw Alec yesterday when he dropped Maddie off. He's fine. Quit teasing your sister, Matthew."

  "Alec is a nice boy," their father said.

  Maddie's head started to pound. "I think I need to lie down again. I'm sorry."

  "Go ahead," Meg said.

  Maddie lay on her bed and tossed and turned. It made her uncomfortable that her parents thought she was dating Alec. She'd propagated the story herself, but she really didn't like lying, and it felt like that's all she did anymore. She needed to figure out how to tell her parents about Nick, and the fact that she wasn't going back to college next semester. She was going to look for a job and move in with Nick full time. Her parents wouldn't approve, but Maddie had to muster the strength from somewhere inside her to stick to her guns about what she wanted.

  Friday she was feeling better, and convinced her mother she didn't need to see the doctor. She also realized she didn't have her car, and if she was going to meet Nick on Saturday, Alec would have to take her. She called him on the phone right away.

  "Maddie, I have a date Saturday night," he told her.

  "Great! I'm glad to hear it. I don't suppose you could pick me up before hand, and then meet me after. Unless your date is going to last really late."

  "Of course it's not. I just don't like being dishonest with your parents. They think we're dating."

  "I'm sorry. I'm trying to decide how to tell them about Nick."

  "They aren't going to like it."

  "I know! Why do you think it's so hard to tell them?"

  "Are you really going to do it?"

  "Tell them? Yeah, of course. I have to. I love him, Alec."

  "Well, they aren't going to like it."

  "Alec," she said simply.

  "Okay, okay. I'll do this one more time. But that's it, Maddie, no more."

  "No more, I promise. Thanks, Alec. What time can you pick me up?"

  "Six-thirty. I'll meet you back again at midnight."

  "Great! Thanks so much." She hung up and called Nick, leaving a message on his machine.

  She felt better Saturday, and her parents agreed she could go out with Alec if she wanted. She dressed for her date excitedly, and met Alec at the door at six-thirty.

  "Hello Alec. Where are you kids going tonight?" Michael also met them at the door.

  "Hello Sir," Alec said nervously.

  Maddie took over from there. "Probably a movie and then get something at the diner. You know, hang out there a while with the kids."

  "Fine, well, have
fun."

  "We'll be back about midnight." She kissed her father's cheek, and they left.

  "Don't say it," she told Alec as she got in his car.

  "I won't. You know how I feel." He got in and drove to the truck stop.

  "This is the last time, I promise." She batted her lashes at him.

  "Okay Maddie. I'll see you at midnight."

  "Thanks buddy." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and got out.

  Nick leaned up against his bike and smiled at her. "Got a better kiss than that for me?"

  "You better believe it." She slid in between his legs and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hello, handsome."

  "Hello sweetness. How are you feeling?"

  "Better." She pressed into him. "Much better now." They kissed passionately, and Maddie said, "Take me to the motel. I want to get you alone."

  "My thoughts exactly." He squeezed her butt, and they got on the bike. He drove to the same motel and got them a room for the night. They were barely in the door before they were pulling at each other's clothes, tugging them off and throwing them across the room.

  "I've missed you," Nick kissed her neck and worked his way down.

  "Oh, me too." She arched her back. "Very much."

  A while later, Maddie sighed. "I could just lie here forever."

  Nick snuggled next to her, and pulled the covers over them. "I think we need to talk about forever."

  She looked at him. "Yeah, Alec made me promise this is the last time I'd use him."

  "I don't like it either. We need to talk to your parents."

  She shook her head. "They aren't going to take it well. I need to prepare them a little. I was thinking maybe at Christmas I could talk to them, and if it goes okay, you could meet them."

  "Really looking forward to that," he muttered.

  She leaned up on one elbow. "It's not going to be easy. But most good things in life aren't."

  "You got a point, there," he admitted.

  "They need to know that I'm not going back to school next semester. That'll be almost as hard for them to take."

  "What are you going to do?"

  She shrugged. "Get a job, I guess. Move in with you, I hope."

  He grinned. "You know you're welcome to move in, if I'm still alive, that is. I seem to recall you mentioning your father killing one of us. Most likely me."

  "I'll step in front of the bullet for you, baby." She ran a hand over his face. "Whatever it takes to be with you. I love you so much."

  He looked at her. "I never dreamed I'd be saying this, but I love you, too, Maddie, and whatever it takes to be with you, I'll do it." He kissed her gently, and they didn't get out of bed again until almost midnight.

  They reluctantly got dressed and put their jackets on. "We never got anything to eat. Are you hungry?" Nick asked her.

  "Nah, I'm okay. You?"

  He shrugged. "I can get something after I've dropped you off. It's midnight already, we better get back."

  She kissed him again, and they got on the bike. They headed toward the truck stop, and as they got close they saw flashing police lights, a fire truck and an ambulance.

  "What's going on?" She wondered out loud.

  "A fire maybe?" He looked at the fire truck.

  "An accident! Oh, Jesus, look at that semi-truck." Maddie pointed to a large truck laying on its side.

  "Yeah. I suppose the fire truck is dousing the gas spill." He couldn't get close to the parking lot, so they pulled over behind a line of police cars.

  "Do you see Alec's car?" She got off the bike and looked around.

  "No." He followed her. They walked up behind a police car.

  "You folks need to stay back," the police officer told her.

  Maddie looked at him. "I'm supposed to be meeting someone here. He drives a little black Celica."

  The officer winced.

  Maddie glanced at Nick. They both looked back at the officer. "There's been an accident," he said.

  "Obviously," Nick added. "What happened?"

  He told them, "The driver of the semi fell asleep and missed his turn. He rammed into a couple of cars in the parking lot, here. One of them was a black Celica."

  "Alec!" Maddie screamed, and Nick and the police officer held her back.

  "Maddie, wait." Nick tried to calm her.

  "Alec!" She screamed again, and suddenly her parents were in front of her.

  They were in pajamas and robes, with coats over them. They were both distraught and had been crying. They looked at her with disbelief. "Maddie!" her mother screamed.

  Maddie was in shock. "What are you doing here?"

  "We thought you were with him!" Her mother grabbed the lapels of Maddie's jacket and shook her. "His car is crushed. They're in there trying to find you!"

  "Oh my God!" Maddie cried.

  "Where were you?" her father stormed.

  "Alec?" Maddie asked weakly.

  "Alec is dead!" he yelled at her. "And we thought you were, too. Where the hell were you?"

  Maddie felt numb. She took a step toward her father and then looked back at Nick. "You should go."

  "Maddie, I want to be here for you." He looked into her eyes.

  "I can't…" She wished she had been in the car. She'd have rather been dead than feel the way she felt at that moment.

  "Maddie." Nick looked at her one more time.

  Michael took Maddie's arm and said coldly to Nick, "You need to go." He pulled Maddie between himself and her mother.

  Maddie glanced around at Nick one more time, and saw the distraught look on his face. She reached a hand out to him, as her parents shoved her into the back seat of their car.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Maddie and her parents arrived in Hartford late Thanksgiving night. Their car was parked at the airport, and Maddie drove them home. They saw Matt's car in the driveway, and Meg started to say something to Maddie.

  "I know," she interrupted. "I'm going to tread lightly. I'm here for you, and him, if he wants me. If not, I'll steer clear."

  They nodded and went in through the back door. "Matthew?" Meg called, and he appeared in the doorway.

  He looked exhausted and miserable, Maddie thought. He took one look at her and scowled. "What is she doing here?"

  Maddie stepped forward. "Matt, I'm here to do whatever I can to help everybody through this. I'm not going to bother you or get in your way. I just want to help, if I can."

  He turned to his mother and they both burst into tears. They hugged, and Michael put his arms around them both.

  Maddie took her suitcase and dragged it up the stairs. She flipped on the light in her room and looked around. The posters were gone, and some nice pictures hung in their place. The room had obviously been painted, but nothing else had changed. She looked at her dresser and noticed the picture of Rob and the kids she'd left on her mirror the last time she was there. It was framed and sitting on the dresser. Maddie looked at their beautiful faces. She thought about calling home but it was late, and she decided to wait until morning.

  She put on her nightgown and scrubbed her face in the bathroom before crawling into bed. She shut off the lamp and snuggled into the covers.

  A knock at her door woke her. It took her a minute to rouse, and to remember where she was. She hurried to the door and opened it. Matt stood there, still looking distraught.

  "I'm sorry to wake you."

  Maddie looked at the clock. Three a.m. "It's okay. Do you need something?"

  "Just to talk."

  She looked at him. "I'm not going to argue with you, Matt. If you came up here to fight--

  "

  He shook his head, tears rolling down his face. "I don't want to fight. I just need to talk."

  "Come in." She motioned to her bedroom, and he walked in. "This is such a horrible thing. I can't imagine what you're going through."

  He dropped onto the edge of the bed and stared at the wall. "Marsha is inconsolable. The doctor gave her a sedative. She's been out fo
r hours."

  Maddie nodded. "It's probably for the best. I can't begin to know how she feels, but I was in a car accident last summer with my step-daughter, Sophie. She was fine, but I felt so awful afterwards."

  "It wasn't your fault," he said in a hushed voice.

  "No, it wasn't. The other driver was drunk and ran a red light. But I still felt horrible."

  He looked at her. "Did you sue him?"

  Maddie shook her head. "He didn't have anything. Rob and Sophie's mother tried to pursue it, she's a lawyer, but the guy had nothing. We finally just let it go."

  "Marsha wants to sue the neighbor who hit Marcy. The guy's in shock. He didn't even see her and he feels awful. He was crying when the police got there."

  "I'm sure he feels horrible. I can relate to him in a way. It's an extremely crappy feeling."

  Matt looked at her, and then down. "Suing him is not going to bring Marcy back. Marsha acts like it will."

  "She's traumatized. Give her time, she'll realize that."

  He looked at her again. "How are we going to get through this?"

  Maddie leaned against the wall. "Time. I know it sounds lame, but you just have to give it time."

  "Did you get over what happened to Alec?"

  She nodded. "In a way. You never forget. My God, the day after my car accident I turned into a royal bitch. I was so shaken up by it, not only by what could have happened, but also the memories it brought back."

  "Must be some bad memories."

  "Some of them. Some weren't bad."

  He stood up. "You ran away from us, Maddie. You left us without so much as a note or a goodbye or anything. You just left."

  Maddie faced him. "I was troubled. It was a really bad time for me. I knew I didn't want to be in college, and Mom and Dad wouldn't discuss it. To do things my way, I had to leave."

  "Did you leave with that guy? The one you were with the night Alec was killed?"

  Maddie looked at him. "No, I didn't. How much did Mom and Dad tell you about what happened after that night?"

  "Nothing. They told me nothing."

  "Hmmm." Maddie looked out the window. "That surprises me."