The Long Road

Meet Maddie

Michael Jackson's "Bad" filled the room causing Maddie to freeze. It was Steve. She knew that without even looking. It was his ringtone. They had loved that song growing up. They used to rock out to it late at night on the beach.

Her heart began to pound as she reached for her phone. Picking it up she stared at the smiling photo of them on the screen. She had taken it the last time she'd seen him, two years before. There was a black-tie event in his honor for being awarded the Navy Cross and he'd asked her to be his date (as friends of course). Seeing as it was such a big deal and she hadn't seen him in a while she rearranged her schedule, much to the dismay of her manager and label, and met him there. She was dressed in a red, off the shoulder MoniqueLhuillier gown. It was something she had been saving for a special occasion and she couldn't think of anything more special than this night with Steve. He had been speechless when he saw her, and she of him. He stood there in his dress blues, a big smile on his face.

They had the best time that night. They'd left the party a bit early and found themselves at the beach. He chased her with the intention of picking her up and throwing her into the water, just like he used to do when they were younger. They laughed and eventually collapsed on the sand out of breath. Noticing her shiver slightly, Steve pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. They laid like that for hours staring at the stars, playing their childhood game of who could identify more constellations. At some point they'd run out and start making them up, which always sent them into hysterics. Sure, it was childish, but then again, they'd made it up when they were eight. Apparently, Steve was out of constellations and said, "A man sitting on a toilet."

"I was gonna say the same thing!" she exclaimed. As the two laughed she snapped a picture of them on her phone. It was that photo that came up every time he called or texted.

So there she sat, phone in hand, staring at the photo from that night. Maddie wanted nothing more than to answer. The constant internal battle raging within her was affecting her more and more every day. She found herself distracted all the time, unable to stop thinking and worrying about him. And, she missed him. More than she thought humanly possible. Just as she was going to lose the battle and pick up, it stopped ringing. She sighed in relief, reminding herself she needed to stay strong. For his sake.

The new voicemail message popped up on her screen. She loved his messages, and had saved every single one he'd left her over the last few months, but it always made it that much harder to continue to push him away. Deciding she couldn't handle hearing the message before her show she tucked her phone away in her pocket.

Maddie sat in her dressing room staring off into space. Although she was surrounded by people every moment of the day, she felt so alone. Especially lately. The secrets were growing heavier and heavier every day, threatening to suffocate her. A ringing phone pulled her out of her thoughts and she looked over to see her head of security, Pete, reaching for his cell. She knew who it was. It was Steve. He was getting worried. In fact, she was surprised it took him this long to reach out to his buddy. They'd been part of the same Navy SEAL team and when Pete chose not to re-enlist Maddie had just had a breakdown in her security team. Always overprotective of her, Steve had been worrying over how to best handle her safety moving forward. He'd contacted Pete and hired him as the head of her security. Between the two of them, they filled the rest of the seven members of her team with their buddies. People Steve could trust. The other eight had been hired three months ago at her request.