Steve thought his life was crazy before. Now that his childhood best friend Maddie is back in his life, will all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place? Will he solve the toughest & most personal case he & Five-O have ever had? Will he succeed bef...
This barbeque was a terrible idea, Maddie thought as she trudged up the stairs, taking a sip of her Longboard Lager beer. Things between Steve and I are worse, Steve and Pete went Navy SEAL on each other, and I feel awful.
Maddie walked slowly down the hall towards her room. Her legs were a bit shaky and it didn't help she was tipsy. She was upset and mad at Steve and she knew he'd want to know why. Why she'd blown up at him in the kitchen. Why she'd been avoiding him. Why she'd been so hurt when he said she was like a sister to him. And why she was so mad at dinner. Because I'm being a girl about the whole thing, Maddie thought. I'm in love with my best friend who sees me as nothing more than a sister. He's into a beautiful girl that doesn't trip and fall when she's standing in one place. And even if he did feel something for me, I can't be with him because there's a psycho who told me he'll hurt Steve if I don't stay away from him. What the hell had happened to her life? She had zero control over anything.
Walking in her room Maddie glanced around looking for Steve. She was shocked to find he'd actually listened to her and was waiting in the bathroom. She paused just outside the bathroom door, dreading her impending conversation with him. "Here goes nothing," she mumbled before taking a couple big gulps of beer.
She pushed open the door and walked in slowly doing her best to look as put together as possible. Maddie preferred he not know she was buzzed, but she knew he'd been watching. He wasn't stupid. She was petite and had essentially been drinking on an empty stomach, so of course he knew the alcohol would go to her head quickly. What he didn't know was that she really hadn't had alcohol since "Unknown Sender" had appeared in her life. Maddie also didn't want him knowing she had recently thrown up or that she was feeling as bad as she was. Even though part of her wanted to crawl in bed and have him take care of her.
Seeing her walk through the door, Steve's heart began to pound. Just go with the flow. Don't fight your feelings. She's planning to leave, so this is your last chance. You can do this, he gave himself a pep talk. He looked at her, "Hey..."
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Maddie said nothing. She didn't even make eye contact with him. Not on purpose. She was just trying to get to the counter without giving up and sitting on the floor because her right foot and knee were killing her. The relief she felt when she sat on the vanity in front of him turned to wariness when he scooted the stool forward forcing her to place one leg on each side of him. Trying to hide her unease she set both their beers on the countertop to her right. As she did, he glanced down at her legs dangling above the ground. It was moments like these he was reminded of how short she was. But, he wouldn't have it any other way.
Grabbing a towel from her left, Maddie dampened it with warm water. "Look at me," she whispered. As he looked at her she inwardly winced at his beat up and bloody face. He had a cut on his right cheek, another one above his right eyebrow, one on his left cheek, and another on his forehead. His lip was split and he'd had a bloody nose, which seemed to have stopped for the time being.
