The Protector

The Piggyback Part 4

Maddie woke up to see three sleeping teens sitting in her room. She started to get out of bed causing her to groan in pain.

Three sets of eyes quickly snapped towards the girl. "Hey, stop", Steve said quickly pushing Maddie back down on the bed. "What the hell is going on?", Maddie questioned confused.

"Your leg was completely shattered. They had to do multiple surgeries just to get it back in place. They said you were lucky to still have it", Robin rambled out.

Maddie looked at her leg that was currently in a large cast before frowning slightly. She thought about what happened before quickly asking, "Where's Maxi?".

"Addie, she's in a coma", Nancy told the girl sadly. "I have to see her", Maddie stated while trying to get up again only to be pushed back down.

"Slow down. We will take you once the nurse comes back to check on you", Steve said with a hand on the girl's shoulder while Maddie glared at him.

"We'll go get the nurse", Nancy stated while smiling before pulling Robin out of the room. 

Maddie sat on her hospital bed still glaring at Steve. "Are you going to glare at me all day?", Steve questioned annoyed. "Yes", Maddie responded angrily.

"Come on Addie. I'm just trying to look out for you", Steve said. "You don't understand Stevie", Maddie stated. "What do I not understand?", Steve asked.

"I was supposed to protect her. I let her down. This is my fault", Maddie said while her voice started to break. "It's all my fault", Maddie stated while tears ran down her face.

Steve quickly pulled the girl into a hug while Maddie cried into his chest. "It's not your fault Addie. You saved all of us. Without you we wouldn't have been able to activate our plan. You saved the whole world. You also managed to keep Max alive. You did all of this. This is not your fault", Steve told the girl whos sobs slowly died down.

The nurse entered the room causing Maddie to slowly pull away while wiping her eyes. "I'll give you guys a minute", Steve said while standing up.

Maddie grabbed Steve's arm before he could leave. "Thank you, Stevie!", Maddie stated sincerely with a smile causing Steve to nod with a smile before leaving.

"You guys are a cute couple", the nurse told Maddie. "Oh, we're not together. We're just friends", Maddie told her nurse causing the nurse to smile slightly before going to work. 

Maddie was helped into her wheelchair before being handed her crutches. "This is so embarrassing", Maddie muttered out. "Well, you just had to go off snapping your limbs. This is what happens", Steve responded stepping behind her.

Nancy and Maddie both slapped him. Steve then pushed Maddie all the way to Max's room. She rolled in to see Lucas, Dustin, and Erica all inside.

Maddie smiled while using her crutches to stand. She was then attacked with hugs from the three kids. She hugged them all back tightly especially Lucas who couldn't stop his tears from flowing.

"I'm okay Luc", Maddie said while the boy cried on her shoulder. Eventually the two teens pulled apart and Maddie looked towards Max.

Maddie held Max's hand while whispering, "I'm so sorry Maxi". "Hey, Maddie", Dustin stated quietly. "Yeah?" Maddie questioned. "Eddie... he uh... he's dead", Dustin said causing Maddie to turn and face him.

"He... uh... wanted you to have this", Dustin stated while handing Maddie Eddie's leather jacket that she had previously borrowed.

Maddie had tears running down her face that she quickly wiped away. "Thank you, Dusty",
Maddie said while hugging the boy.