Madison (Maddy) Briggs is from Manhattan, New York. She was in 3rd grade, just 8 years old, when the World Trade Centers fell on September 11th, 2001. Her dad was a firefighter, and his station was one of the first on scene that day.
Her dad, Larry...
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"Maddy?" Judd asked as approached her in the kitchen and rubbed her back.
"Hi Judd! What's up?" She turned to face him and smiled.
"Grace and I were wondering if you'd maybe wanna join us for dinner tomorrow night?"
"Awh, I would love to Judd!"
"Really? That's great!" He smiled at her, his southern accent warming Maddy's heart. Judd continued with his speech, "so uh.. I'll text you our address. How's 6:30 work?"
"That's great!"
"Great!" He smiled at Maddy and turned to walk away.
Maddy turned back around and continued to work on lunch for the crew. "Mads!" Mateo called to her as he now approached her in the kitchen.
Maddy chuckled, "lunch isn't ready yet Mateo!"
"That's not what I want!" He protested.
"Isn't it?" She laughed.
"Well.. yes. But I have something else too!"
"Oh, like what?" Maddy smile gently at him.
Mateo's pupils dilated and he took a deep breath, "would you want to.. uh, get dinner some time?"
Maddy smiled, "with you?"
"Mmhmm.." Mateo swallowed hard. "If you want to.."
Maddy chuckled, "I do Mateo." She smiled.
"Okay!" He smiled ear to ear. "I'll text you!"
Maddy shook her head happily and went back to cooking. She began to zone out as she stood over the stove. ******************************************* "I'm in my hospital mom.. it's so weird being a patient here.. medical professionals do make the worst patients, ya know?" She forced a chuckle.
"Do you need me to fly out there honey?!" Her mom asked in a panic.
"No mommy, it's okay. I swear.. TK and Owen, and Carlos are taking wonderful care of me! Owen said he'll call you tomorrow.. and I will too! Love you."
"Love you too my peach! Let me know if you need me to come down there and beat his ass! I still just can't believe he showed up at your house.. how does even know where you live?"
"Mom.. I.. I don't know. But I'll call you later. Love you! Bye."
"What don't you know Mads?" TK asked. Maddy sighed, "well I actually do know... I was referring to how Mike found me.. I was telling the 2nd crew about my apartment complex.... didn't think to look for Mike..."
"Well dammit Maddy!" TK snapped.
"Don't yell at me.." Maddy started to cry— she was emotionally exhausted. ****************************************** When Maddy tuned back into reality, she dropped the noodles in the boiling water and got ready to make her sauce.
"What's for dinner Maddy?" Marjan asked as she came jogging into the kitchen after her boxing workout. She was dripping with sweat, and strands of her long dark hair were falling out from the sides of her black hijab. Maddy turned around to meet her deep brown eyes, and her pupils dilated ever so slightly.
"Rotini! With a nice red sauce!" Maddy responded as she walked around, gathering ingredients.
"Sounds delicious!" ——————————————————————— "Thanks for dinner Mads!"
"Yeah, thanks Maddy! It was delicious!"
"I'm so glad y'all liked it!" Maddy smiled. "I'll see you and Grace tomorrow, Judd!"
"Maddy, I can help with them!" TK offered as he came over and grabbed the plates and started to fill the sink with water.
Maddy smiled and rubbed his back before she went to the gather the rest of the crew's plates.
"You hanging out with Judd?" TK asked Maddy as she dried the dishes she washed. She looked at him with curious eyes, "him and Grace.. he invited me. I'm sure you can come if you want to...." She chuckled.
"Nah, you just didn't tell me is all."
"Because lovey, I just found out as I was making dinner. You know we have our time AFTER dinner!" She stuck her tongue out playfully at him. TK flicked her tongue with a his finger and she nearly bit it, causing them both to burst into a fit of laughter. "Sorry I didn't tell you yet Teek." Maddy rolled her eyes playfully.
"Sorry for getting all butthurt," he replied with a shrug. They continued their laughing fit as they finished up the washing and drying of the dishes. ——————————————————————— "Alright Tex. I'll see ya later!" Maddy said to her cat as she departed to the Ryder household the next night. According to her phone GPS, it was going to take her approximately 15 to 17 minutes to get to their house.
She made sure all her doors and windows were locked, but also that Tex still had a way to get out if she had too. She did one last look around, and headed for her car, and headed over to Judd and Grace's place.
She pulled up in front of their house, and smiled at how cute their house was. She knocked on their door, "guys it's Maddy!"
"Hey Maddy! Come on in!" Maddy smiled at Judd and followed him inside. "This is my better half, Grace!"
"Hi Grace! So nice to meet you! I've heard a lot of great things about you!" Maddy smiled.
"You as well, Maddy!" Grace's voice was calming, and her southern accent wasn't as strong as Judd's. —————————————————————— "Thank you for dinner Ms. Grace, it was delicious! Scallops are one of my favorites!"
"Aw, you're welcome Maddy! And Grace is just fine," she smiled.
"Do you need help with the dishes?" Maddy asked.
"No thanks Mads.. we're just gonna stick em in our dish washer," Judd laughed. He walked over and grabbed Maddy's plate, and pointed her to their couch where she carefully sat.
She waited for the couple to sit next to her, and they chatted for a few hours about how Maddy liked living in Texas, any juicy stories about Owen and TK (which Maddy never told), if her mom ever planned on moving to Texas too, and Maddy asked them about their relationship, if they planned on having kids, how they felt their mixed-race relationship was perceived by others.
They all got to know each other, and it was really nice. Maddy loved getting to know the people who were close to the people she cared about, and Grace fit into that category. ———————————————————————- Maddy left around 9:30 and drove with her windows down— the cold air kept her awake, and she liked listening to the sounds of the city. The sirens became her white noise of sorts, when she slept. The horns and various traffic sounds lulled her to sleep. It wasn't nearly as noisy as New York, but it was still loud enough that Maddy was able to sleep soundly....almost.
The nightmares of Tim's empty face, and charred body still haunted her from time to time. The thought of Mike in her home tormented her thoughts— it was nothing Maddy couldn't handle though; she had Tim in her heart, and she had TK and Owen in her corner.
The moonlight shown in through the crack in Maddy's bedroom curtains, and Tex snuggled up next to her mom. The sirens in the distance made Maddy smile as she turned off her bedside light, and drifted off to sleep.
