Chapter 9

'Hey, about time you showed up-' Stella exclaimed with a laugh, Maddie skidding her bike to a stop. 'What took you so long?'

'The fact… I slept through… three alarms… this morning.' She replied, out of breath from the two mile ride. Resting for a moment she got off the bike, leaving it with the other two leaning against a tree. 'Sorry.'

'Stells just teasing.' August interjeced. 'The bus isn't to arrive for another five minutes anyways.'

'Phew.' She sighed with relief. 'So I'm not late then.' Her backpack was laid down on the ground and she took a seat on the log with them to wait for the bus. 'How did your 'camping' trip with your Dad go?'

'It was good… Yeah… Uh, we actually ended up buying the Side Step.'

'Really?'

Stella nodded. 'Mom's life insurance check came, we thought she would approve. It was her favorite place, now it's safe from being torn down.'

'It's going to take a lot of work though to fix it up.' August stood and stretched, looking down the road for the school bus. 'And Dad isn't exactly the best with a hammer and nails.'

'That wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the nice white bandage he was sporting Sunday night, would it?'

'Mmmhmm. Shot himself with the nail gun.'

'Guess you can say he 'nailed' that one.' She replied, the three of them chuckling. 'Ouch though, bet that hurt.'

Stella nodded. 'Dad is a perfect example of what not to do when it comes to being a handyman.'

'Well, if you need any extra help, I still have plenty of free time on my hands.'

'Still no word from your dad?' August questioned.

'Nope, not a thing. I've been thinking of asking your Dad to see if he can look him up, since he's a Ranger and all. I'm sure he's fine but I'd just like to know for certain…'

'Hey, bus is here.' Stella said, hearing the sound of the bus coming up the road. They gathered their bags and headed down to it. It came to a stop beside the entrance to the ranch and they got on, the three of them finding vacant seats at the back. 'You sure pack light Maddie.'

She chuckled, kicking her bag beneath the seat. 'It's only an overnight trip, I'll be back home tomorrow.'

'For this kind of trip, Stella only needs to pack half her wardrobe-' He was abruptly elbowed in the ribs. 'What?' He protested. 'It's the truth.'

'Haha, very funny.' Stella turned back to Maddie. 'You got any plans for next Friday night?'

'Ah, let me check my social calendar. Nope, nothing. Anything happening next Friday?'

'School dance. You should come, it's a lot of fun.'

'Dances… aren't really my thing.' Maddie replied after a moment. One, she didn't have the foggiest idea of how to dance and two, she didn't have anything suitable to wear. 'I'll think about it though.' Her phone vibrated with a message and she pulled it from her pocket. It wasn't her father though and she sighed, looking up at the roof as Stella and August conversed with other friends on the bus.

They arrived at the school grounds before long and she got off with them, following them over to where another group of kids were loading bags into another bus. Stella went to talk to a friend, August, to loading up the baggage.

'Hey-' She turned around as someone spoke to her, a young Mexican girl with black hair. 'You must be Maddie, I'm Isabel. Bel for short. Stella's friend.'

'Mmhmm. That's me.' Maddie replied with a nervous smile. 'I'm pretty sure I had no idea what I got myself into when I accepted Stella's invitation to tag along.'

Bel laughed. 'Feeling a bit out of place?'

She nodded. 'Just slightly.'

'Well, don't worry, it won't be long before you fit in.' She assured her with a smile. 'I've heard a bit from Stella about you.'

'All good I hope.'

'Just that your neighbors and you work on the ranch for her grandparents. What school do you go to?'

'Oh, no school. I do my studies by correspondence.'

'Nice.'

'It's just easier then changing schools every few months, my Dad and I move around a lot. He has to go where the work is.'

'What does your Dad do?'

'Truck driver, construction work, things like that.'

'Hey Bel-' Trey came over to introduce himself. 'Mind if I borrow your new friend for a moment.'

'Yeah, sure. Catch you around Maddie.'

Maddie nodded, Bel going over to another group of girls.

'Trey Barnett. Assistant soccer coach.'

'Maddie Stanton.' She smiled, shaking his hand.

'Stella mentioned that you'd be coming along, glad you could make it. The more, the merrier. If you need anything, come look me up-'

'Trey-'

'Coming.' He glanced back to Maddie as he headed back to the bus. 'Nice to meet you.'

'Mmmhmm.'

'Almost done with the bags?' Coach Bobby questioned, looking up from his phone.

'Yeah, almost. No thanks to you…' Trey added beneath his breath. 'Here we go.'

'Hey-' Trey walked up to Stella, looking around as the other kids began to board the bus. 'Any word from that friend of yours?'

'No, not yet-'

Maddie got onto the bus, taking a seat at the very back away from all the others, tucking her backpack in beneath her seat. This sure is something different… She thought as she looked around. If her memory served her right, this was the first time she had actually gone out with a group of people her own age, ever. Crossing her legs she lent back in her seat, pulling her phone out to scroll through Pinterest to pass the time.


By the time that they arrived at the motel, Maddie was more then happy to get off the bus. Being with lot of people in a confined space had never been one of her strong points, it made her anxious. Thankfully though no one seemed to pay any attention to her, the others all conversing in their own little groups. So far, except for Bel and Trevor, no one other then Stella and August had spoken with her. She was more then happy with that too, preferring to blend into the background rather then be in the spotlight.

She was the last one off the bus, grabbing her ticket from Trey and headed on into the foyer after the others. Seeing Stella not far ahead, she hurried to catch up with her. 'Okay, what do we go now?'

Stella laughed. 'You really have no idea about any of this, do you?'

'Yeah, it shows, doesn't it.'

'Come on, we'll go get the keys to our room first and drop our bags in.'

Thankful that Stella had taken charge, she followed after her. 'I see Trevor accepted your invitation to come along.'

A slight blush came to her cheeks as they walked to the front desk. 'Yeah.'

'You like him, dontcha?'

'Maddie…'

She chuckled, a cheeky grin on her face. 'It's alright, I won't tease you, as long as you promise to let me know what is going on. I've never been out to something like this, I have no idea about any of this.'

'Alright, deal.'

Collecting their keys they headed up the elevator to the level their room was on, Maddie observing her surroundings closely. This place sure wasn't even close to where her and her Dad would chose to stay, it was so much fancier then what she was used to. It reminded her of something out of a Hallmark movie.

'Alright, room 317. That's us.' Stella exclaimed, finding the right door. 'Ohh… fancy.'

Fancy was right, Maddie looking around as they walked in. It was an apartment more then a motel room, complete with a kitchenette and bathroom. The bedroom had two single beds and a bunk bed in the corner, Stella throwing her gear on the lower bunk. Stella's phone pinged with a notification and she pulled it out to read the message. 'August is bunking in with us, he'll want the top bunk.'

'I'll take one of the singles then?' She questioned hesitantly.

'Yeah, that'll work. I'll take the other. Augie's on his way up, we'll wait for him to come drop his things off then head back down.'

'So in the meantime, what do we do? If the game is tomorrow, what's planned for this evening?'

'Thirsty Balls.'

She raised an eyebrow.

Stella laughed at the confused look on her face. 'You'll find out. It'll be fun, promise.'


Sneaking out of the motel a little while later wasn't exactly Maddie's idea of fun, her conscience suggesting that if they had to sneak out, perhaps this wasn't something she should be doing. When she mentioned that to Stella, she'd been brushed off and teased for being a goody-two shoes. With everyone else going out to the party and not wanting to be on her own in a strange place, against her better judgement, she went along with them.

'Welcome to Thirsty Balls-' Bel introduced to the camera, Augie being in charge of being the camera man for the evening. 'Laredo's finest underground soccer match. Okay, it's not really a match. It's a party. But it's also a game. That's the Shot for Shot Arena. That's the Alice in Wonderland Beer Pong. And that's the Penalty Kick. Miss it… and you got to eat the worm.'

'Uh, what?' August questioned.

Yeah, that's what I want to know too… Maddie thought as she looked around, feeling very much out of place. August went off to speak with Ruby, Stella was with Trevor and Bel was with Todd. The other teens didn't seem to be interested in her and so after a moment, she found herself a little place out of the way to watch the game.

The evening wore on, night falling as the game continued. Maddie stayed in her spot, observing from a distance. Bel came over, bringing an extra cup with her and took a seat on the ground next to her. 'Thought you might like some lemonade.'

'Thanks.' She smiled as the cup was handed to her and she took a sip.

'You look pretty lonely over here, why don't you come join in on the fun?'

'I prefer to watch.'

'What's the fun in that? Come on, come have a game with us.'

After a moment, she gave in. 'Oh, alright. I'll join in.'

'Great.'

Together they headed over to where a soccer game was in progress, Bel and Maddie joining Stella's team. It didn't take her long to get the hang of the game and to her surprise, she started to enjoy herself.

'Stella, coming your way.' Maddie called out, seeing there was an opening and she took it, kicking the ball over to her. Stella caught it, heading for the goal then passed it to Bel who kicked it into the net.

The other kids cheered as she took a moment to catch her breath, frowning as she saw vehicle headlights coming towards the field. As they came over closer, not wanting to be on her own, she ran over to where August and Trever were filming the game.

'Hey, uh, is this a part of Thirsty Balls?' August questioned to no one in particular as the trucks drove onto the field. 'I-I never played the game before.'

The trucks began to circle the other teens, the men inside whooping and hollering. 'This isn't good…' Maddie said, worry in her voice.

'Ah. Why'd you stop?' Oswald questioned as he stepped out of his truck. 'We came to play.

Trevor stepped up, looking the man in the eye. 'We were just leaving.'

Maddie looked around anxiously, moving over closer to Stella as more men stepped from the gathered vehicles. Her heart began to beat faster, she wasn't good around strangers the best of times and this evening had already been too much for her. Don't panic, don't panic… Her palms began to sweat as a hot flush ran over her. Don't panic-

'Oh, don't be a buzzkill. You see, this is Northside Nation land and we didn't get a party invite. So if you leave, well, I got to collect the field fee. Them's the rules.'

'We don't got nothing to pay with so we're just gonna go.'

'Ah-' He glanced around at the girls standing around, two in particular catching his eye. A pretty red head and a golden brown that he thought looked mighty familiar… 'You got plenty to pay with.'

'Listen, I get it. If I was your age and still lived with my parents, I wouldn't want to go home either.'

'Brass balls on this one, huh? Maddie Stanton-' He saw the teen jump at him calling her name. 'It's been awhile. How's your Daddy doing?'

Maddie froze. How on earth did this guy know her? She didn't recognise him… His voice though. She knew that voice. Oh God, oh God-

'Sure didn't expect to see me here, did ya? Cat got your tongue?'

Don't panic.

Disappointed that he wasn't going to get any reaction from her, he turned back to the rest of the group after a moment. There was no fun in intimidating someone who wouldn't respond. 'Let's play for it. If any one of you can score on me, we'll leave. Who can score on me?'

Stella stepped forward after a moment. 'I can.'

'Stella…' Bel protested.

Trevor went to stop her. 'Stella, don't.'

'Whatever. If it makes these idiots go.'

'Feisty.' Oswald smirked. 'Now I like that.'

Don't panic. Maddie struggled not to let the memories overwhelm her. Breath in…. Out….

Stella stepped forward, placing the soccer ball down in front of her. She stepped back, glancing from the ball to the goal.

'Give it your best shot.' She kicked, sending the ball flying only for it to drop to the ground after one of the other men shot it. 'Bull's eye.'

A commotion followed, Maddie unable to take notice of what happened around her, her mind trapped in a replay of those memories… It was the sound of a car horn blaring that jolted her from her mind, the sound of a rifle being fired the next thing she heard.

'Everyone, go! Get behind the dunes now!'

The group began to run as shots rang out, Maddie starting to follow after them. She had hardly made it ten paces before her foot twisted in a hole beneath her.

Trey saw the girl go down, hurrying over to her. Quickly he picked her up before she could protest, yelling orders for the kids to keep running as Micki kept him covered by returning fire on the gang members.

'Oh my God, Maddie-' Stella hurried to her, Trey lying her down behind the safety of the dirt bounds. 'Are you okay?'

Maddie nodded, unable to speak.

Trey quickly looked her over, trying to assess if she had been shot. 'Did you get hit?'

She shook her head, attempting to find her voice. 'Ankle… twisted it… hole.'

He breathed a sigh of relief as the gunfight continued. At least the kid hadn't been shot. 'I'll take a look at it soon-' He turned back to the rest of the group. 'Is everyone else here alright?' The sound of gunfire died down as the gang members loaded up into one of the vehicles and sped away. 'Alright, roll call-' As roll call was taken up to ensure that everyone was there, he turned back to Maddie. 'How does your ankle feel?'

'It's throbbing pretty bad.' She winced as he took her sneaker off. 'I don't think I'm going to be able to walk on it.'

'What happened?'

Trey looked up as Cordell came over. 'She twisted it pretty bad, doesn't look like anything is broken though. I'd say it's just a bad sprain.'

'I'm sorry-'

'I'll deal with you later.' The Ranger promised, turning to check the rest of the group.

Maddie sank back against the dirt mound, wishing she had stuck to her guns and not gone along with the rest of them. The last thing she wanted was the get into trouble and now look where she had gotten herself- She drew her breath in as the coach flexed her ankle, the movement sending pain radiating up her leg. This was not how she had envisioned her evening turning out...


'Are you okay?'

'Yeah, I'm just fine…' She drew a breath in, hobbling over to a seat in the police station with Stella and August's help. Sitting down, she breathed a sigh of relief. 'Thanks.'

'I feel terrible about this…' Stella apologized, sitting down next to her. 'If I hadn't teased you into coming, you wouldn't have been there-'

'Stella, it's alright. It's not your fault, it's mine. I chose to come along, you didn't force me to the field with a gun pointed to my head.'

'If I wasn't so relieved-' Cordell started as he walked over to the three kids. 'I would be cuffing you right now. What were you thinking? Were you thinking? Do you-' He didn't get to finish the sentence, August getting up to hug him.

'Guess I finally figured out what it takes to get you to my games.' Stella added as she stood, joining her brother.

Maddie sat back, confusion on her face as she watched the Ranger hug his children back. He wasn't going to get angry at them? He wasn't going to hit them? Heck, after what had happened they all deserved a thorough beating which is what experience had taught her to expect for any kind of wrongdoing. It didn't make sense…

'I'm just relieved you both are alright.' He said as they pulled away, looking at both of his children closely. 'Do you realize what could have happened had we not turned up?'

'We're sorry Dad…' Stella apologized.

'You all are so damn lucky…' Cordell looked over at Maddie. 'Maddie, I thought you would have more sense then to get involved in anything these two get into.'

'Don't get mad at her Dad-' August interrupted. 'Maddie didn't want to come along, we should have listened to her instead of teasing her into coming.'

'Is that right?'

Maddie swallowed the lump of fear in her throat. 'Yes sir. I didn't want to go, but I didn't want to be alone. I'm sorry… I will take any punishment you deem appropriate without complaint.'

Cordell thought for a moment then shook his head. 'I think the events of this afternoon is punishment enough, for all of you. However-' He looked at his children and then Maddie sternly. 'If you ever do something as stupid and reckless again, next time I won't be so forgiving. Do I make myself clear?'

'Yes sir.'

'Yes Dad.' Stella said remorsefully.

August nodded. 'Understood Dad.'

'Now-' He crouched down in front of Maddie. 'What did you do to yourself?'

'I-I twisted my foot in a hole.' She replied, bewildered at the fact he was going to let their misdemeanor slide without more than just a warning. Her father would have tanned her hide so well she wouldn't have been able to sit for a month. 'Mr. Barnett looked at it, he doesn't think it's broken, only a bad sprain but I can't put any weight on it. It hurts too much.'

'When we get back to the hotel, we'll get some ice for it, alright?' He offered her a hand, slipping his arm around her waist to steady her. 'Lean on me, I've got you. August, you on the other side.'

Why isn't he angry with us? Maddie wondered as between Cordell and August, they helped her hobble out to the waiting truck. My Dad would have hit, not hugged me if he was here… Why is their Dad so different from mine? He actually hugged them back…


Cordell sat up in bed, keeping watch over his two sleeping children and Maddie. They were so damn lucky they hadn't been seriously injured, or worse… Yes, they were teenagers and teenagers did irresponsible and stupid things but this had to take the cake. And Maddie? Her, of all people, to have gone along with them?

He couldn't believe it when Trey had called to say the children had disappeared. The head coach had gone AWOL while he was supposed to be keeping an eye on the group in the Hotel and Trey thought the coach had been watching them. They all were just so damn lucky that he and Micki had gotten there when they did…

He glanced over at Maddie as she began to mumble something in her sleep that turned into crying after a moment. She looked like she was having a night terror, the teen tossing and turning as she cried and whimpered. Suddenly, she sat up as an almighty scream came from her, waking both Stella and August. Quickly he got off his bed and was by her side in a moment, attempting to calm her down. 'Maddie, Maddie-'

'Dad?'

'Go back to sleep you two.' He replied to August, Maddie's eyes open but staring into the distance as she struggled to catch her breath. 'Maddie, Maddie, hey. Calm down-' After a moment she seemed to come back to reality. 'It's alright Maddie, you had a nightmare.'

'Oh bloody hell…' The last thing she wanted was for anyone to see her when she had her nightmares. 'Oh boy-'

'Hey, hey, calm down, it's alright. Just calm down, okay? Deep breaths. Deep breaths Maddie. You've got this. You're okay.'

Maddie did as he instructed and tried taking in a few deep breaths. After a moment her breathing had become more regular and less erratic as she slowly regained control.

'Do you want to tell me what this was about?'

She shook her head, her heart still beating out of her chest. 'I'm fine… I'm fine.'

'Whatever that nightmare was, it scared you pretty good.' He remarked softly, trying to encourage her to speak.

'That man…' She whimpered softly after a moment, looking down at Cordell as he knelt by the bed. 'I know him.'

Cordell frowned. 'Oswald?'

She nodded. 'He attacked me, a couple years back...'

'What happened?' He prompted gently as she froze up again and he placed his hand on hers. 'It's okay Maddie, you're safe here. You can tell me what happened.'

Snapping back to reality, she turned back to the Ranger. 'We stayed in Dallas for a little while, a couple years back. Dad had to go out of town for work and I stayed in one of the hotels. One night, a masked man broke into the room I was sleeping in and I recognized his voice tonight. He said my Dad owed him money, he had come to collect it but he only found me there… He beat me up some and scared me really badly and my Dad wasn't there to stop him. He took off before the police could arrive and I didn't see him again until today…'

Her Dad owed Northside Nation money? 'Is that what your nightmare was about?'

She nodded. 'That's why I hate being alone at night, it's why I have to sleep with a light on. '

Cordell glanced at his watch, there was only a couple more hours of night left before daybreak. 'Do you think you can get back to sleep?'

'I can try…'

'You try to do that, we can talk in the morning.' She nodded as she laid back down and he pulled the covers back over her. 'I'll keep watch, you can sleep okay? You are safe here, nothing bad is going to happen.'

Maddie nodded again, smiling sadly. 'Thank you.'

He nodded and returned back to his bed, the teen rolling over and before long was fast asleep again. Pondering over what she had said, he decided that a chat with her father was in order. If he was in any way connected with Northside Nation, then perhaps he might have found the missing piece of the puzzle at last.


'How's the ankle doing?'

'It's feeling a little better.' She replied as Cordell joined her again in the grandstand. 'I am so sorry for last night-'

'Maddie.' He interrupted, stopping her before she could apologize again. 'You had a bad fright, you don't need to apologize.'

'I still feel bad about it…' Her head was bowed as she bit at her fingers. 'You have your own children to worry about, you shouldn't have to play babysitter to me too.'

'It's fine, honest. Forget it.' Cordell said as he turned to her. 'Maddie, is there anything else you can tell me about what happened?'

'With that guy from last night?'

He nodded.

'There's not much else to say, he said my Dad owed him money and he came looking for it. When I told him I didn't know where Dad's money was, or where Dad was, he got really angry. He hit me, I started screaming and woke up the people in the room next to me. He ran after that, before the police could arrive. I couldn't help them find him when they asked me, I didn't know who he was. I couldn't tell them anything. Last night though…' Her voice trailed off and she flinched when Cordell placed his hand on her shoulder. 'Made me relive those memories when I recognized his voice.'

'He said your Dad owed him money, do you know how he might have come to know him?'

She shook her head. 'Dad doesn't tell me everything, he says since I'm a kid that I don't need to worry myself with adult problems. You don't tell your kids everything about your work either, do you?'

'No, not everything.'

Maddie was silent for a moment then looked up at him. 'Walker, can I ask a favor?'

'Ah, of course, depending on what it is.'

'Do you think you can find my Dad? I mean, just make sure nothing has happened to him. I'm just worried about him, I haven't heard from him in over a month.'

He nodded. 'I'll see what I can do.' I think another chat with him is in order regardless.

A sad smile crossed her lips. 'Thank you, I really would appreciate it.'

'No problem, don't mention it.' He motioned down to the playing field. 'Looks like it's about to start.'