Roommate Trouble

Maddie packed her bags, ready to go. The plane hit a moose and her brother was one of the guys pushing it back. The air was cold now, winter was on its way, plus the rain wasn't humid, it was colder too, causing the weather outside to be very cruddy. Robbie walked in and touched his sister in the back of the neck with his cold, damp hands. Maddie screeched and fell onto the floor, glaring at her brother as he grinned.

"You ever thought about taking lessons in how to fight back?" Mac teased.

Maddie jumped up and onto his back, digging her elbow into his shoulder and they both laughed. Everyone in the airport was laughing too. Maddie bent his head forward and he fell over, landing with her sitting on his back and his face to the floor.

"Looks to me like you're the one who needs lessons." She smiled towards the other twenty guys in the airport.

"One tough chick." Mike Ramsey remarked.

"Could've told you that one." O.C. joked.

"Help." Robbie was barely heard but Maddie stood up and gave him a hand.

"Your such a baby." Maddie whispered as she sat beside her brother.

XxxxxXxxxxX

Herb walked her down the hall and lead her into a room with two beds, one empty and one with her bag on it. He closed the door after she walked in and left her alone in the empty room. Moments later there was a knock on the door and another girl, wearing al black with blonde hair and blue eyes, walked in.

"You are?" The girl asked.

"Maddie McClanahan."

"Cool, I'm Gwen, Gwen Brooks." She smiled.

"Related to Herb?"

"Yeah, juvenile daughter, you related to 24, he's pretty cute."

"Sister, what'd you do?" Maddie asked.

"Me, I punched a guy then went out with this one guy who my dad disapproved of greatly. Then I stole the car and crashed it."

Maddie held her mouth open as the blonde continued her story. It was juvenile behavior all right, but why was she in Norway? Why was she sent here, to Maddie's room? Maddie left the room and wandered down the adjacent hallway, peering into the rooms with open doors, catching a few waves from the players and a few 'hi's'. She peeked into one room, Robbie's, which he shared with Jack. She walked in and sat on her brother's bed, looking at the two boys unpacking.

"What's new?" Robbie asked, not looking at her.

"Did you happen to see a blonde walk by earlier?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah."

"Dressed in black?" Maddie questioned.

"Is this going somewhere?" Jack asked. "It seems to me like your asking pointless questions."

"Oh, it's Herbs Daughter. Just came to tell Robbie she said he was cute." Maddie grimaced. "And she's a badass."

"And you're her roommate?" Robbie retorted.

"Don't worry, I'm not a big fan of her anyway, she seems odd." Maddie replied.

"Well I think you're odd." O.C. laughed.

"Join the club."

Mark Johnson appeared in the doorway, he looked at Maddie then went in and sat behind her. She looked back at him and then whacked him.

"Ouch."

"Robbie's coming to get you next time." Maddie threatened.

Jack laughed hysterically. The day he took on Mac he took him down. Gave him a bloody lip and all Jack came out of it with was a bruised ego and it wasn't that bad of a bruise.

"Hey, did you want to go out sometime?" Maddie asked out of the blue.

Johnson laughed and Robbie choked.

"Me?" O.C. questioned.

"No I'm asking my brother out on a date." Maddie replied sarcastically.

"You were married at one point." Mark muttered.

"Can I borrow a jersey?" She asked, out of the blue again.

"Here." Mac tossed her his clean one, the blue one.

"You do realize I'm not going to give it back anytime soon right?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"And that I'm probably going to wear it, right?"

"Yes."

"Wear it playing hockey with you right?"

"Ye-"

"So you don't care?"

"Nope."

"I win."

"Win what?" Robbie asked.

"I got you to say nope."

"You are so childish." Mark joked.

"Yeah…So?" She asked. "I'm a kid sister, always have, always will be."

"I know." Robbie remarked.

"Hey, what did Herb make you guys do after the game?" She asked.

"Herbies. About fifteen of them." O.C. piped up.

"That's a lot." Maddie replied.

"I hurt everywhere." Robbie complained.

"Did you want your sister to give you a backrub?" Maddie faked a cry.

"Are you offering or just asking?" Mark asked.

"Did you want one?" She grinned.

"If you're offering." He grinned back.

"You know how hard it is to make fun of an idiot?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah, I'm related to one." Robbie joked but Maddie didn't find it funny.

She stayed silent then got up and walked out of the room. She always knew he would say it sometime. Her father was an idiot, so was her mother. She didn't want to associate anything with them.

XxxxxXxxxxX

Maddie burst through the front door of the building and pulled her coat around her and hugged it together. She wandered down the road a bit until she heard the door clicked open. Her whole body turned around to face her rescuer.

"Thought you were Robbie." She stated quietly as she held the jersey in her arms.

"I wish, lucky guy."

"Why?" She asked.

"He's related to you." O.C. replied. "Gets to see you every day."

"But I'm sure he doesn't think of me that way." Maddie smiled. "I hope."

"No but he hasn't let himself forget that night at the bar."

"You mean when I yelled at him?" Maddie asked.

"Yes. Every time he's not near you he thinks about what could've happened if I didn't find you or if I hadn't dropped the '76 incident. It's all what if's with him isn't it?"

Maddie clutched the jersey before putting it on overtop of her coat. She would always forgive Robbie if he needed it. Guilt was always on his mind, since they were old enough to converse with each other.

"Since I can remember, he always promised he'd be there and I guess I never truly believed he wouldn't help me when I needed it. Dad hit him hard one night 'cause he defended me and that was the night I thought I lost him because he didn't wake up until the next day."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, my parents were abusive." Maddie held back tears. "Mostly on him."

She sat on the bed, watching him, waiting for him to wake up. He was hit hard. She was only seven, he was eight. The night that destroyed their lives. Maddie had been told to clean up her dad's mess. Robbie stepped up and told him to clean it himself. That was when he hit him. Robbie fell backwards. Maddie tried to run for him but her dad swatted at her when she got within reach. Eventually he passed out from all the drugs and alcohol he had earlier. She dragged him inside the room farther and shut the door. Maddie dashed to her bed for a pillow and set it under his head, then she pulled up a pillow and watched him until the next day when he woke up.

Robbie had burst through the doors shortly after O.C. and had found the two immediately. Maddie crying, Jack holding her. Robbie, for the second time in the last couple of weeks, ran up to them and broke them apart when he hugged Maddie tight.

"God." She wiped away a tear. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" He asked, carefully watching O.C. behind his sister.

"That night that you probably don't remember because you were out for most of it."

Robbie remembered, clear and true. It was the night he promised never to let her go, to always be there. He was aching from the blow but he knew exactly what he was saying. She said the same thing.

"That was fourteen years ago, don't worry." Robbie let out a soft chuckle.

"Night." O.C. whispered as the siblings pulled apart to look at him.

"Night, why?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah?" Mac added.

"Okay." O.C. replied slowly. "It's night, we have an early practice and I'm tired."

"Think you're so smart." Maddie replied sarcastically. "Well then, better get off to bed, wouldn't want to oversleep and miss your shot at the big leagues."

"Yeah." Robbie nodded.

"He's not cutting you." Maddie replied.

"You sound so sure." O.C. joked.

"Because I am, you are the best defenseman and you took on Robbie here and won, coaches like fighters."

"He won?" Robbie questioned.

"You are such a sissy boy, he did win. First when you were down on the ice then when you stood up and had a bloody lip, I could've easily done that too, you know I could've, I'm sure most of the guys on the team knew I could've if I wanted too."

"Yet you couldn't take that guy from the bar on?" Robbie asked.

"Okay, maybe he was tougher but still…" Maddie defended.

"It took me." Jack smiled triumphantly.

"Has anyone ever told you that cocky people lose?" Maddie asked. "Because when they tell you, they're lying. Cocky people are cool, unlike Mac here."

Robbie shook his head and the two boys left the outside to head inside. Maddie followed suit, walking into a dark room with her roommate nowhere in sight. She thought nothing of it and went to bed.