Someone Get Me a Doctor, Someone Call the Nurse

(Maddie POV)

Trying to keep things normal, I attempted to forget that anything had happened and for awhile, it worked. We all went out for breakfast and some fun on the beach. Today, I had worn the pale blue string bikini with khaki shorts and a black tank top. As I sat on my towel, watching the guys run around playing football, a shadow fell over me. Looking up, I smiled carefully at the man standing over me and stood up.

“Hello miss…may I just say that you are by far the prettiest girl on the whole shore.” I blushed madly, flattered but mildly weirded out.

“Um, thank you?” The man’s smile widened and he pulled a flower from behind him. It was a red and orange orchid, the colors blending together like the setting sun. It was beautiful, and I told him as much—earning a larger grin than before. “It is quite pretty. Thank you.”

“A pretty flower for a prettier girl. May I buy you a drink?” I opened my mouth to decline when I felt something hard and warm press into my back, a hand wrapping around my midsection. Heart leaping in terror, I snapped my head around. Relief flooded me at the sight of Jared, followed quickly by Shannon and Tomo.

“Sorry, but she’s taken.” A shiver of fear went down my spine at the ice in Jared’s voice. I’d never heard him sound angrier, and it made me feel like shrinking into a pit somewhere. As the man stalked off, I was bodily dragged away, no chance to argue. Hopefully, one of the others would grab the stuff we were leaving behind. As we reached the balcony to our room—being on ground floor and just on this side of the hotel—I was finally allowed to stand on my own.

“What the hell was that? I can speak for myself you know…” My ire was half-hearted at best. Honestly, I was grateful he had come along. Something about the stranger gave me the creeps. Jared sighed roughly, running his hands through his hair.

“I’m sorry, Maddie. I know you can. It’s just…well, it isn’t safe for you to be just meandering off with random people down here. That’s how they get their women.” My train of thought was a little behind his.

“What are you talking about?”

“Human trafficking. It happens Maddie…God…It could’ve been you.” I suddenly found myself wrapped in an iron-tight hug, Jared’s head buried in my hair. “I saw him talking to you and just…I don’t know…I panicked.” His breathing hitched sharply, and I wondered for a brief moment if he was actually crying. “If anything happened to you…Jesus Maddie. I don’t know what I’d do. You mean so much to me.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. The realization of what could have happened filled me with a fear like no other, and I was grateful for the warm arms holding me. What were we? The thought came unbidden, echoing around in my mind. Just friends…really really close friends. Or so I think.

“Thank you Jared. I was going to decline him though. He made me nervous.”

(Jared POV)

After last night, I struggled to keep my thoughts innocent around Maddie. To distract myself, I played some football on the beach with the guys while she watched. At some point while we were playing, a strange man walked up to Maddie and was talking with her. I paused, throwing the ball blind as I watched the pair. Something about the man send red flags off in my brain, and in response, my chest tightened in worry.

The man handed her a flower—red and orange like fire—and a vague memory of some news article had me trotting up the shore, fear mounting. I felt a growl rise in me and pushed it down. As I neared Madison, I instinctively wrapped an arm around her, ready to pull her away at any second. Her warm skin pressed into my own, and I felt her tense up against me before relaxing just as she saw it was me.

“Sorry, she’s taken.” Rage boiled in my blood, making me see red. Maddie shivered against me, taking my anger up another few notches. If he did anything to her, I’d…I’d kill him. Seeing he was busted and not getting the girl, the man stalked off. I practically lifted Maddie off her feet as I marched her off to the hotel, leaving Shannon and Tomo behind. As I set her down, she snapped at me, her soft gaze telling me she didn’t really feel angry. I tried explaining my freak-out, but the thought of her being taken away made nausea creep up my belly. Instead, I just pulled her into my arms, burying my face in her sweet-scented hair. The effect of holding her soothed my ire while breaking down any mental filter on my words. I found myself rambling to her about how much she meant to me and clamped my jaw shut. I felt her own arms go around me and relaxed into it, letting the fear and anger dissipate.

“Thank you Jared. I was going to decline him though. He made me nervous.” As if that fixed everything…Despite the situation, I felt myself start to chuckle. I let go of her and stepped back. At about that point, Shannon and Tomo came up the small hill with the rest of our stuff. Tossing it onto the deck of our room, Shannon wrapped Maddie in a hug, followed by Tomo.

“Good call Jare…I think we need to change rooms. Someone needs to keep an eye on our little princess.” Maddie glared at him furiously, making him laugh as he ruffled her hair. “We want you safe. Since they’ve obviously made the mistake of scouting you out, we’ve now got to watch out for you.” As she went dead white, Tomo smacked Shannon in the back of the head.

“Quit scaring her…She’s had enough today.” I sent him a grateful nod and escorted Maddie into the room, my arm around her shoulders. Still worried, I sat down beside her on the bed, looking over her for any injury. Finding none, I flopped onto my back.

“Jare…Do you think they’ll really try a second time?” I rolled onto my side to face her, regretting bringing her here.

“Honestly…I don’t know. I’d rather not risk it though and leave you alone.” Looking at her lap, she fiddled with the edge of her shorts.

“Ok…Um…can I use the bathroom?” I nodded, waving a hand to the room.

“It’s all yours.” As she got up and left, I noticed her quivering and sat up. The door closed with a quiet click, and I waited. Shannon walked in with the stuff, locking the door behind him.

“Tomo’s off changing the rooms for me and him. You and Maddie seem like your closer to each other, so I figured you wouldn’t mind taking night watch.”

“Sounds good. Be careful you two.” Shannon waved me off, plunking himself down beside me.

“I think we should leave tomorrow. It’s not safe here anymore for Maddie.” I agreed wholeheartedly.

“I’ll make the call. Be ready first thing tomorrow morning.” Maddie opened the door and shuffled in, eyes red around the edges. Damn it all… I held open my arms, fully intending to give her a hug, but she ignored it and flopped face down beside me.

“We’re leaving aren’t we?”

“Yeah. We can just go back to Charlotte and stay with you for the remainder of the vacation if you’d like.” Turning her head toward us, she smiled faintly.

“I’d really like that.”