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"I can't keep doing this," Maddy said, closing her eyes and willing herself not to throw the phone across the room. "I tried my best."
"The sheets have been in that dryer for three weeks, Madeline."
Maddy, she corrected in her head.
"Why didn't you think to take them out before you went off gallivanting? And what about your school work? And why did you even need sheets in the first place?"
"I had two guys from the street sleep over and I didn't want them to get cold. And they were tall, I'm talking massive, so they had two each," Maddy said. "Plus they were exhausted from the vampire attack."
"Hilarious," Jacqueline said. "Did you hear what I said about school?"
"I've already caught up with and am two weeks ahead in my course content. You know I won't let that slip. I just need time… I…" she licked her lips, trying to keep her emotions in check. "My… y'know."
"Do you need any more medication?" her adopted mother's voice was a fraction softer.
"No, I picked some up last week."
She hated picking up meds. She was sure she imagined it, but she always felt that the pharmacist took one look at her tablets and thought they knew her entire life story. Depression, anxiety, and PTSD, and all at such a young age. They didn't know anything.
"I'll transfer some money now."
"You don't have to do that."
"Well then I won't have to bother you for another month at least. Please make this lot last."
There she was.
"I've never used all of my allowance, ever. And I don't need it. I've picked up my old job while I'm here in Denver."
"In that bar?"
"I'm good at - "
"Cash in hand?"
"Either my hand or my bra strap," Maddy sighed.
"Goodbye, Madeline. Do try not to get murdered or robbed."
"I'll do my damnedest. Bye, Jackie."
Maddy put the phone back in the cradle hanging on the wall.
"Did I hear something about your bra strap?" a voice asked from the stairs up to the flat above.
Daniel.
"Fuck off," Maddy said, and was reminded why she left so early last time.
He pushed off from the second step and caught up to her as she went out to the bar. The owner was a lovely woman. Her son, not so much. He wasn't good for much other than being the object of an interesting sociological study about toxic masculinity.
"C'mon Maddy. What's your excuse this time? You're eighteen now," he said, leaning on the bar next to her.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye with her most unimpressed expression. Opening time couldn't come soon enough. She hated getting the early shift because there was no one to act as a buffer between her and Daniel.
"You too good for a guy like me?"
"Yes. A hundred times," she grabbed a towel and refolded it for something to do with her hands and give her an excuse to get a few paces away from him.
"Oh come on, don't you get sick of the goody act?"
"Goody act?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," he shrugged, leather jacket squeaking slightly. The guy really was a walking cliche. "Y'know, with the knitwear and the crappy plastic necklaces and songs from the 60s and reading books and - "
"I like being literate, Danny, love. Maybe if you picked up a book you'd see that you are a stereotype on legs and this whole act, see, it doesn't work. If that's what being a good girl is, then I like it. And I'm not going to sleep with you, so please go back up to your room like the little boy you are."
"I can get my mom to fire you."
Maddy had to swallow the colourful retort she wanted to give.
"You're a real bastard, Daniel," she said seriously. "And one day, you're gonna get in trouble. Dickheads like you don't just give men a bad name, you give the human race a bad name."
Before Daniel could respond, the door opened and their first regular, William walked in.
"Heya, honey," he said to her. He nodded to Daniel but didn't acknowledge him any further than that. The locals had him worked out. "Go get me a sandwich, Daniel."
"Maddy can get it. That's what I pay her for," Daniel said, his scowl fixed on her.
"That's what your mom pays her for. And I want you to get it, son," William said.
"It's fine, Will," Maddy said. "Beef and horse radish?"
He nodded, sending a glare to Daniel. Just as Maddy turned to go out to the kitchen, Daniel pushed past her and stormed up the stairs.
"That boy needs a good right hander," William murmured.
"Be my guest," Maddy said with a tired smile and went to the refuge of the kitchen.
She turned on her music and got to work to the sound of Footloose.
It was a busy, busy night. A bachelorette party came in who were a complete delight but hard work to keep up with. They did leave Maddy an especially big tip and a pink sparkly cowgirl hat that she promised to put to good use. The best part of the day however, was that Daniel stayed in his room the entire time. Maddy figured if he kept this act up, she might stick around a little longer than she expected. She liked the atmosphere of the place and she was ready to reconnect with a few of her old friends.
Now, however, she was tired. She left Deborah (the owner) to close up and went to her little rented apartment next to the bar. She peeled off her slightly damp clothes that reeked of booze and completed her nightly routine. Shower, pyjamas, teeth cleaned, get into bed, load up laptop, and email Charlie.
To: Charlie Bradbury
From: Maddy Bradford
RE: Bachelorette Left Me A Cowgirl Hat
What a night, omg. The subject says it all. But I did get a fifty dollar tip and the hat is pretty cool. I'm knackered now so I'll keep it brief.
I had nightmares about the werewolf thing, so thanks for being so descriptive. Keeping a knife and gun under my pillow. You think I'm joking.
I hope you kick the flu's butt soon. Let me know if you need anything because I really have no obligations so I can get to you whenever you want me to. Or come visit! It's a pretty nice town just outside Denver. Quiet but nice.
Anyway, I'm going to bed.
Night, bitch.
Maddy closed her laptop and put it on her bedside table. The lack of light from the screen made her twice as tired as she was and as soon as she put her head on the pillow, she was out.
He was close to her. She could feel his breath all over her skin but couldn't seem to touch him. She knew it was a him. She held out her arms into the dark, her fingers clawing through the smoke-like darkness but there was nothing. Just breath. Breath. Like dry ice.
"Stop," she said but her mouth didn't move.
The black seemed to blur at the edges - could black blur? - And suddenly the floor seemed to fall out beneath her. Her skin tightened as her arms shot out again and this time, managed to grab something hard. She held on and her body jerked to a stop.
She was crying.
Her legs dangled in the nothingness. Her fingers bit into whatever object she was holding onto.
"Please!" she yelled.
Her voice echoed back to her, tripled in volume until it was a scream.
"Maddy!"
Light suddenly filled the space and Maddy sat up in her bed. Panting, she looked up at Deborah wide-eyed. Dancing in the Moonlight was playing. Her alarm clock.
"You were supposed to open up," Deborah said but seemed more concerned about her. "You alright, doll?"
Too shaken to form words, Maddy just stared. She could still feel that stomach-flipping sensation of falling. The bottoms of her feet pricked.
"Sorry," she said. "N-nightmare."
She rolled over and turned off her alarm. She rubbed a hand over her stinging eyes. Then she really realised that her boss was sat on her bed staring at her unstable ass.
"Shit - I mean, sorry, Deb. I'll get ready now," she said, dragging on some jeans before she realised she was still wearing her sleep shorts.
Deborah held out her hand to stop her.
"Maybe do a half shift, huh? I can manage. Come in after lunch. Try get some more sleep, you look wrecked."
"No, honestly - !"
"Please, Maddy. As a mom, I don't feel right dragging you out of bed when your body clearly needs some sleep," she said. "See you later."
Maddy watched in defeat as her boss left and flopped back down on her bed as the door closed, jeans still half-pulled over her shorts.
She woke up an hour later with no recollection of the dream.
"She took the midnight train going aaaaanywhere," Maddy sang under her breath as she washed up. Bubbles crawled up her arms and half chewed food floated about her hands but she didn't care. This was one of her happy places.
She danced along to Journey as she dodged around the small kitchen putting back the clean pots and pans. Maddy knew her pills helped keep her above water, but music helped her tenfold. She felt the weight lift off her for just a while. She knew it would be back but for now, she was happy.
"DON'T STOP… BELIEVING!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, sending suds flying across the floor she had yet to clean.
She'd wait for Shakira to come on before she got to that.
Maddy was halfway through Hips Don't Lie when the music shut off. She leaned the mop up against the counter and turned to see Daniel holding her iPod off its docking station.
She folded her arms.
"What?"
"Have you seen my mom?"
Maddy blinked. That wasn't what she was expecting.
"Uh, I saw her in the bar like an hour ago."
"I've just come in and she isn't here. She hasn't locked up either."
"Is she upstairs?"
"No," Daniel said, and Maddy realised he was paler than usual. "Th-there's blood on one of the glasses."
Dread snuck into Maddy's stomach. She passed Daniel through the door, grabbing her iPod as she did so and stuffing it into her pocket. He followed her through the building to the front bar.
It was empty but the lights were still on full brightness and sure enough, the door was open. A cold chill had settled in the room, cooling Maddy's cheeks, which were bright red from the dancing.
"Where's the blood?"
Daniel pointed to a glass on the very edge of the bar. Maddy walked over and inspected it. Blood was smeared down the curve of the pint glass. Another broken one crunched under Maddy's feet.
"Maybe someone cut themselves and Mom took them to the hospital."
"Yeah, maybe," Maddy said, unconvinced. "Listen, call the police."
"Why?" Daniel said, every bit the child she had accused him of being earlier. She kind of wished he would go back to harassing her. "You think…?"
"Just call them, okay? I'll go look around see if I can see any sign of anything outside."
Daniel hurried off to the phone as Maddy walked out into the cold. It was darker than she was expecting. She wrapped her arms around herself and took off up the street, taking her time to look into the many little alleyways leading off from the main road.
Her instincts were screaming something at her she didn't quite understand. Maybe it was paranoia. She had taken to fleetingly seeing supernatural beings on every street corner since Charlie had given her that monster database.
That's all it was.
"Deborah?" Maddy called.
The sound of footsteps replied.
"Deborah?"
Maddy quickened her pace up the path. The footsteps were getting louder. She took the corner at a light run and ran directly into some seemingly do the exact same thing as her. She stumbled backwards but immediately regained her footing and was on the defensive. Eyes wide, feet apart.
The man went to apologise, then stopped. He stared at her, his deep blue eyes meeting her brown ones. He blinked at her, his mouth trying several times to form words but failing. He looked to be in his thirties with tufty brown hair and a strange coat.
The instincts that were screaming earlier were now unbearable. She had to get away from this person.
"Have you seen a woman named Deborah?" she demanded before she realised what she was doing.
Sketchy guy she'd never seen before skulking around the streets, added to Deborah going missing, equalled suspect in her book.
And you could be next on the list!
"N-no," he replied in a gravelly voice.
She stared at him.
"Maddy!" Daniel's voice called from the door of the bar. "They're on their way!"
She dared a glance at him then quickly turned her attention back to the man in front of her, who was still looking at her like she was his long lost daughter in a Lifetime movie.
"Stay away from me," she said, almost in confusion.
She didn't know where it came from. It wasn't in her nature to be anything but friendly to people who hadn't done anything bad to her. But somehow, she couldn't bring herself to be apologetic.
With that, she turned and jogged back to the bar. The fact she felt safer with Daniel than she did with that guy spoke volumes.
He watched her run, still speechless. Then his brow furrowed in determination, and he disappeared.
Often, Dean wondered if he'd ever get used to Cas sneaking up on him. He was like a cat. He'd have to get him a bell.
Dean just looked up at the angel as he appeared in front of him. He didn't try to hide his jump or annoyance. It didn't do any good and he was too goddamn tired. They'd been spending the previous two days solid tracking down and getting rid of a ghoul haunting a boarding school in Wyoming.
"Dean," Cas said, his eyes wilder than usual.
Sam jerked awake at his voice and stretched on the couch.
"Cas, what you doing here?"
"You two have to get to Denver. It's in Colorado."
"Yeah, I know where Denver is," Dean said. "Why?"
"There's…" Cas fumbled for his words. Failing, he dropped down into the chair opposite Dean. "I…"
"Cas?" Dean asked, concerned now. "Come on, man, what is it?"
Cas pursed his lips slightly, then looked up.
"There's some sort of supernatural activity in a little town outside Denver. More of a village really, very idyllic - "
"Cas. What kind of activity? What is it?"
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know about it? Why were you in Colorado?" Sam asked, coming to join them at the table.
"I… had a feeling. Some - thing, something drew me there. I can feel it in the air around there, something's off. The people in that town are in danger."
"That it?" Dean asked.
"Isn't that enough?" Sam said.
"Of course. Why did I ever think we could get some sleep?" Dean said, slapping his hand down on the table. "If we set off now, we should get there about - "
"You can't drive, I'll take you," Cas said.
Dean raised an eyebrow, "It can't be that urgent."
"It is. I'm taking you."
The passion in Cas's eyes made Dean drop it, no matter how much he didn't want to.
"This better be legit, man, I swear."
Maddy carried yet another tray of dirty cups into the kitchen. She'd been supplying the cops tea all night, just as an excuse to keep washing up. PTSD triggers were abound and keeping her mind occupied was essential if she was going to continue functioning. The best thing for her would be to go back to her apartment and sleep but, as much of a tool as he was, she didn't want to leave Daniel in the chaos.
He was sat on one of the barstools when she returned, swirling a glass of whiskey. She'd told him to stop drinking and he'd slapped her arm when she'd tried to take it from him. She'd had to try very hard not to slap him back, settling for a cold 'good job I don't bruise easy' and left him. Under other circumstances, he'd be nursing a broken nose.
Now, he was just empty of all emotion.
Maddy hopped up onto a stool two away from him and watched the police as they continued to interview some of the regulars who'd last seen Deborah.
"They'll find her. The cops here are better than most other places I've stayed."
He didn't reply.
Maddy grimaced. She kept her eyes down at her lap, feeling her anxiety rise at the sight of an officer bending down to slip a shard of glass into an evidence bag.
Already on edge, the shouting had her bounding off the stool.
"Miss! Miss, you can't - !" a cop was yelling as the bar door swung open.
Deborah stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips.
"The fuck you guys doing in my bar? Someone died or something?"
"Mom?" Daniel whispered, slipping off his stool. "Mom…"
"Last time I checked, why?" Deborah snapped.
Daniel launched himself into her arms, the first time Maddy had ever seen them hug. Deborah looked down at him and surprise then after a moment, cupped the back of his head with her hand and let the other one rest against her side.
"Maddy, what are you doing here?" she asked, looking her up and down. "It's four in the morning."
"I'm going now," she said, relief like helium in her chest. "I'm glad you're okay."
Maddy stepped past the cops just as they swarmed Deborah and began asking questions.
Just a misunderstanding.
Deborah caught Maddy's eye as she skirted past them.
Maddy smiled. A happy ending. Thank God.
"Cas we've been wandering for hours," Dean moaned, trailing behind the angel as he peered in a closed shop window.
"It's Sunday, nowhere will be open," Sam said, sounding just as pissed off as Dean.
Castiel ignored them, pushing off from the window and plastering himself up against another one.
"It's close," he muttered.
"Yeah, this feeling thing?" Dean said. "Can it wait for food?"
"Must have been around here…" the angel spoke under his breath.
"Cas, it's," Dean checked his watch. "Yeah, it's exactly eight hours since we last ate. I know you're all self-sufficient or whatever but we either stop now or you'll have to add my starved corpse to the list of supernatural shit wreaking havoc in this crappy town, capiche?"
"I'd kill for a quiche," Sam said quietly.
"Cas!"
Castiel finally turned to them a few paces up the street.
"Okay! Okay, Dean. Go eat your quiche. I'll be out here," he focused on another window, of a bookstore this time. "I'm getting close."
"Nuh-uh, Cas, come on," Dean walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder, steering him away from the storefronts. "We're sticking together. We'll be half an hour tops. Anyway, bars are the best places to get information."
Castiel stopped so suddenly that Dean almost walked into him.
"The bar," he said blankly.
Dean frowned, "Yes…?"
"That's a good idea," Cas nodded, then after a beat said. "This way."
"How do you know where the - " Dean broke off, exchanging an exasperated glance with Sam as Castiel took off in the opposite direction.
"Think of the food, Dean," Sam said.
Dean rolled his eyes but the aching in his belly was enough to send him hurrying after their wayward angel.
The bar was packed full of people getting the gossip from last night. Maddy had given up trying to explain the situation and ended up giving them very strained advice to ask Deborah themselves. They'd have a trouble, as she had been out shopping at the nearby department store all day, leaving Maddy in charge at peak hour. She usually wasn't so inconsiderate but Maddy kept her mouth shut. She was still hazy about the details of her brief disappearance and didn't want to make the situation - if there even was a situation - worse.
She just wished the woman had been considerate enough to take Daniel with her.
Ever since his mother had returned, he hadn't let go of how kind Maddy had been when he thought she was missing. Of course, he interpreted that as her 'showing her feelings for him' like a true self-absorbed asshole. He'd sat on the bar all day demanding drinks and watching her, occasionally making empty offers of helping her.
It had been easy to ignore him at first as she served the drinks but as it got busier, she found herself juggling the food, drinks, and washing up, and he was just sat there watching.
Then he got bored at the worst possible time. Just as she was bringing out an order of curries for five people - while taking the orders of about twenty other people at the same time - Daniel decided to hop down from the bar and stick his foot out, sweeping Maddy's left leg from underneath her.
Maddy just managed to gain her footing in time to catch four of the curries but the fifth tipped towards her and splattered down her shirt and trousers, the bowl landing with a metallic clatter on the floor. The naan bread skidded beneath table four.
Silenced, the whole room turned to look at her, then burst into laughter. It was good-natured, she knew, so forced a smile on her face as if to say 'I'm such a klutz!' and placed the four curries onto table ten.
"I'll go replace the other one, I'm very sorry," she said politely and through gritted teeth.
She turned stiffly on her heel and bent to pick up as much of the mess as possible before heading back to the kitchen. Daniel didn't move from his vigil by the door. Biting her tongue, Maddy made herself as small as possible and edged past him.
As soon as she was in the kitchen, she let out a string of curses. She wasn't a stranger to harassment, having been alone for the majority of her life and, unfortunately for her in world of perverts, female. She just had to keep herself in control, especially in front of so many people. The person who would have retaliated was in her past.
Thankfully, there was still leftover curry and she ladled a portion into a new bowl and brought it out.
The man thanked her for not dropping this one, which let off another round of chortles. She forced herself to join in.
"One day my body will catch up to my feet," she smiled.
She felt the curry drying on her shirt and soaking through to her skin as she continued to pour drinks and open beers until she finally found a gap to duck out and run upstairs. She had a spare serving shirt in the private bathroom.
She'd barely closed the door before she was ripping off the shirt and washing her chest and torso with water from the sink. She dried off her now clean and blessedly un-sticky skin and turned to the task of finding a new shirt as quick as possible before people downstairs got too reckless.
"Come on, come on," she muttered, rifling through the drawer beside the sink.
She pulled out tea towels and cloths.
No shirt.
Maddy frowned. She'd washed and ironed and put it in that drawer just that morning.
A knock rattled the door.
Without a second thought, Maddy threw herself against it, keeping it shut.
"S'up, Maddy?" Daniel asked, humour evident in his voice.
Maddy closed her eyes. Of course.
She crossed her arms over her bra, knowing of course he couldn't see but it made her feel a little less exposed.
"Daniel, go back downstairs."
"Can't I help you?"
"No," she snapped, cursing the shake in her voice. "Go. Downstairs."
"C'mon, babe, please - "
"Learn how to accept 'no', damn it!" she exclaimed, throwing her head back against the door. "I don't want anything to do with you and this is harassment. You could go to prison for this."
"You wouldn't do that. You work for me."
"You think I won't quit after this?" she spluttered. "Man, you really are egotistical. And don't think I won't tell your mom."
"Like she'd care," he snorted.
"Yeah, actually, I think she'd care a fair bit."
A chorus of voices rang from downstairs. It sounded suspiciously like 'beer!'.
"Fine," Maddy said. "Your mom might not care about me. But she'll care if you let that bar go unattended and they all piss off to Bluebell."
There was a beat of silence. Then a sigh. Then, Maddy heard with a surge of relief, receding footsteps. She waited until she heard them creak the full flight of the stairs before dashing out the bathroom and into Deborah's room.
Convincing herself she wouldn't mind, Maddy grabbed a shirt from Deborah's dressing table and pulled it on. It was enormous, which was no surprise - the woman was 6'2" and considerably more well-built than Maddy. It almost came down to her knees and billowed around her. She tried tucking it into her trousers but it only made it more puffy and creased.
She pulled it out and made do. She cast a last look in the mirror, saw the sheen in her eyes, pulled herself together, and walked down.
It was going to be her last night in this place. Last straw.
Sam leaned back in the booth and tried not to focus on his hunger. Dean was fairing less well. He had his head on the table and kept letting out quiet whines every few seconds.
They had made a pact to leave if no one came down to serve at the bar in five minutes, ten minutes ago. They were too hungry to chance losing the table and having nowhere else to go. The place was filling up fast.
Castiel sat on the end of the booth, scanning up and down the crowd with such intensity that they'd had to tell him to cool it or he was going to end up with a busted eye.
Now he'd settled for subtle staring, giving the illusion of being more relaxed. But Sam could feel the tension radiating off him. Then, suddenly, he bolted upright. His movement startled Dean, who straightened up.
"What, there's someone serving?" he asked hopefully.
The words had barely left his mouth when a waitress seemed to stumble over to them. She was wearing a deep purple blouse which was at least four sizes too big for her, three band-aided fingers, and a cheap-looking necklace of a stack of books. Copper hair covered her tired eyes for a moment before she pulled it back out of her face and Sam audibly gasped.
"Maddy?" he and Dean said at the same time.
Maddy blinked at them, unregistering for a moment, then her face split into a hesitant smile.
"Sam, Dean! Hey, wh-what you doing here?"
"What are you doing here? Don't you live in Nebraska?"
"Oh, I - " she stopped, taking a step back as Castiel stood up, looking down at her. "You."
"Cas," Dean said in a reprimanding tone, tugging at his coat sleeve for him to sit down. "She's fine."
"You know each other?" Castiel and Maddy said at the same time.
"Wait, you two know each other?" Sam asked incredulously.
Cas and Maddy glanced at each other, then away again. Or at least, Maddy looked away. Castiel kept staring at her, but sat down as Dean told him.
"We kind of ran into each other last night," Maddy said.
Something about the way she said it made Sam think there was something else to it. Then again, from their brief encounter with Maddy previously, she didn't exactly seem herself. Perhaps she was just stressed.
"Hey! There are hungry people over here!" a boy shouted from the bar.
Maddy barely looked at him and Sam saw a muscle twitch in her jaw. Another roar of 'beer' went up.
"And thirsty!"
"I'll be there in one second!" she yelled back. She lowered her voice but kept the cool edge. "If you wanna order something, you better do it now."
"Is there no one to help you?" Sam asked. "If it's too much - ?"
"I'm fine," she snapped. "You want another salad? Great," she said before he could reply. "And a cheeseburger. And what do you want?"
Her tough act seemed to diminish as she met Cas's eye. She looked down at her feet and shuffled slightly. Sam frowned at how uncomfortable he clearly made her.
"I'm okay."
She nodded and turned away. She'd only gotten two steps away before the same boy shouted,
"Maddy would you get your ass over here and get pouring before I fire you!"
Maddy stopped, looked as if she was about to respond, then exhaled and continued to the bar.
But of course, Dean wasn't going to let that go.
"Hey!" he yelled to the boy, who was sat up on the bar. "Why don't you leave her alone and get pouring yourself?"
Maddy turned back to Dean with wide eyes. She shook her head.
"Dean," Sam said. "Leave it."
"I own this place, I don't pull the pints!" the boy retorted.
Punk, Sam thought but the look on Maddy's face made him hold it back.
Something must have clicked in Dean too, because he settled for a tough glare and sat back down. Maybe an empty stomach.
Sam could have sworn Maddy sent him a grateful look before disappearing off into the back.
He turned back to face Cas and his brother.
"Well he's a dick," Dean said.
Sam nodded, "I wonder what Maddy's doing in a place like this."
"Getting caught in monster crap twice in a few weeks is unlucky if she's involved."
"Not for us," Sam pointed out.
"Yeah well, Maddy isn't like us. She's normal. And anyway, what's with you and her?" Dean asked Castiel.
Cas was burning a hole in the table, looking as lost in thought as ever. Dean nudged him with his shoulder and he perked up.
"What?"
"You and Maddy. She said you met last night."
"She looked freaked," Sam said.
"What you do to her? Terrify the life out of her?" Dean asked. "You didn't go talking about angel shit did you?"
"No," Castiel said, and that was all he had to say on the matter.
Things were finally starting to calm down as Maddy finished up making the burger and salad. She took a little extra care over the food - they had saved her life once-over after all.
She carried it out and couldn't help but smile at the excitement in Sam and Dean's faces. Poor guys must have been starving and she hadn't been able to get to cooking theirs for an hour. They tucked in and barely seemed to notice when she slipped into the booth beside Sam.
She sighed at the released pressure on her feet. She hadn't had a break in hours. Since they'd opened in fact. She laid her head on the table as Dean had done, and closed her eyes.
"Busy night?" Sam asked through a mouthful of food.
Maddy nodded, eyes still closed.
"Yeah well, you look like you're working yourself too hard. And you never did explain why you're here. I mean, of all the places - "
"I didn't go back after the vampires."
She opened her eyes to see Sam and Dean look away with identical expressions of… guilt?
"Vampires?" Castiel said.
"Sorry, I'm assuming he knows about this stuff."
"Yeah, you're fine. So what, you're living here now?" Dean asked.
"Not for long," she stretched and sat up straight. She could only imagine how tired she looked. "So what are you guys doing here? Not vampires, is it?"
"We don't know," Sam said, motioning to Castiel. "We're just following leads. Anything weird happen recently?"
Maddy paused, "Actually, yeah."
Dean lowered his cheeseburger mid-bite.
"What?"
"I didn't exactly get the full story but the woman who owns this place - you shouted at her delightful son - she kinda went missing last night."
"'Kinda?'" Sam repeated.
"Yeah. Daniel found me saying his mom was missing and there was a blood-stained glass. I went looking for her and bumped into… you," Maddy barely looked at Castiel. "Then we called the cops and they showed up, doing what cops do, then suddenly Deborah just walks in like nothing happened and got pissy because loads of people were in after closing time."
"Where is she now?" Sam asked.
Before Maddy could reply, the bar door opened again, letting in the night's chill. Maddy craned her neck and spotted Deborah waltzing in with her hands full of shopping bags. She kicked the door closed with new heels and breezed straight past everyone up to her flat. A few people frowned and Maddy couldn't blame them. That was rude.
"That's her."
"Could you get us a word with her?" Sam asked.
"She's not the pope," Maddy laughed. It felt good. Then she remembered and the feeling vanished. "She should be down soon but… can you wait until I've left?"
"Sure."
"You mind me asking why?" Dean said.
Maddy bit her lip, then lowered her voice and leaned in.
"I'm resigning. I kinda promised her I'd do longer than this but… some stuff - anyway, it doesn't matter," she brushed off. "Just time to move on again."
"Where now?"
"Is it cliched to pick states out of a hat?"
Sam and Dean both laughed and Maddy joined in, lightly. She wasn't joking but they didn't need to know that.
"I suppose now's a good a time as any," she said, seeing Deborah resurface behind the bar.
Where were you two hours ago? She thought bitterly.
"Wish me luck."
"Go get 'em," Dean said, taking a big bite of his burger.
Maddy rose from the booth and cautiously made her way to Deborah, who was messing with one of the pumps.
"Hey, Deb, could I talk to you?"
"Shoot," she said distractedly.
"It, uh, might be better to do this out the back?"
"I'm busy, Maddy, what is it?"
Maddy took a breath and went to speak, fully intending to say everything that had happened that night, that she didn't need to stand for it and wasn't going to stand for it, and that her son needed to learn that it wasn't okay to treat people like this - but then she saw him standing at the bottom of the stairs.
She lost her nerve, and just handed in her resignation.
Too much like hard work.
Deborah hadn't take it as well as Maddy had expected. She'd been snappy and disappointed, something Maddy hadn't been prepared for. It left a gnawing feeling in her gut. Another to add to the list of people she'd disappointed over the years. That feeling never really went away, it just multiplied with each addition.
"Oh, Mads, why did you let me whine about my day for so long?" Charlie said through Maddy's phone's loudspeaker.
She hadn't told her about the whole shirt incident. She had told her about the curry, though. That still stung and felt it wasn't as outrageous or distressing as the other stuff.
"Anyway, I'm going," Maddy said, shoving her other pair of jeans in her duffel bag. "I'll sleep here tonight and hand the keys in in the morning."
She sighed and sat down on the bed.
"Where you gonna go?"
"I don't know."
She'd been running so long now that it didn't seem necessary to think about it. Just get on the highway and turn off when she gets tired.
"Wherever I end up."
"You'll keep in touch, though?"
"Course," Maddy smiled.
She really had a good thing going with Charlie. There was nothing romantic between them but as a friendship, they were doing well. That was a curveball. Maddy was good at having friends, not so much being a friend. She'd never spoken to someone for so long if they hadn't been in the same state. Aside from Finn, but that was different somehow.
"Karen and Michelle are gonna be pissed. I said I'd meet up for lunch on Friday."
"You come first, bitch," Charlie said sympathetically.
"Yeah… Oh God, I forgot to tell you, guess who came into the bar today."
"Mmm, Rihanna?"
"Yeah, I think in both of our dreams. No, seriously."
"Uhh… no, I give up."
"Sam and Dean."
"Sam and Dean as in…?" the shock was evident in her voice.
"Yeah as in Winchester."
"Holy crap! Off all the people in all the places! Wait, why are they there? Are you in danger?"
Maddy went to reply, then stopped. Was she? She hadn't even thought about it.
"No, I don't think so. I'm sure whatever it is, they have it covered. Anyway I'm out of here tomorrow so if I can hold off getting attacked for just tonight, I should be fine."
"Don't joke about stuff like that."
"Sorry," Maddy said, amused. She yawned. "I think I'm gonna head off to bed. I want to get as much driving in as possible tomorrow."
"Nighty-night, bitch!"
"Night, milady."
"Sweet dreams and oh, don't get murdered!"
"Now who's joking!" Maddy laughed. "Right, I'm going. Talk tomorrow."
Maddy set her alarm for six and laid on top of the rickety old bed, fully clothed. Everything else was fully packed. It was the way she lived, and it was only becoming more and more frequent now.
She didn't exactly know how to feel about that, and would probably have spent half the night overthinking it, if it wasn't for the bang of her front door slamming into the wall.
Maddy jumped to her feet, automatically scrambling for the knife in her bag. She snatched it up and placed her back against the wall, holding it out in front of her as slow, heavy footsteps thumped up the steps to her bedsit door.
With her free hand, Maddy held in the call button on her phone, which enabled voice control. She'd set it up for when her dyslexia was at its worst, and now she hoped it would save her life.
"Call Dean Winchester," she whispered without taking her eyes off the door.
But Maddy didn't have time to see if the call connected, as a weight slammed into her. The phone flew from her hand as she fell, and a hand covered her face.