Read Saving Maddie for Free Online

who worried about her as much as my mother worried about me?

chapter 3
    “S o you left?”
    I took the basketball from Tony and dribbled it a few times. Even though our pitiful season was over, Tony and I still liked to shoot hoops whenever we had the time. “What else was I supposed to do? Madeline made it pretty clear she wasn’t interested in carrying on the conversation.”
    Tony planted himself in front of me and stuck his hand in my face. I blew past him and streaked toward the goal. As I leapt into the air, the basketball elevated out of my fingers and floated through the rim.
    It should be a sin to score a basket so easily.
    Tony grabbed the ball. “Show-off.”
    As soon as Tony’s father had found out the church was starting a basketball team, he ran out and purchased one of those high-priced, NBA-endorsed goals. Tony practiced every day for two months, and sure enough, he made the team.
    Of course, everyone who tried out made the team. We were supposed to have twelve players on the roster, but only ten guys showed up for tryouts.
    Rachel, Tony’s younger sister, had practiced even more than him, and unlike her brother, she became a pretty good basketball player. She would have definitely made the team if we had had enough girls to form one.
    Tony attempted to dribble the ball a few times. “So when are you going back to Yvonne’s?” he asked. “I sure wouldn’t mind tagging along.”
    I posted myself in front of Tony. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
    “Hey, there ain’t no law against window-shopping.” Tony shot the ball over me and hit nothing but air. “If it was me, I’d be at that coffee shop every day. With a body like that, that girl’s made to be admired.”
    “She’s got a name, you know.” I retrieved the ball before it rolled into the street. “And don’t talk about her like that. Madeline can’t help the way she’s built. It doesn’t make her a slut or anything.” I threw the ball at him, a little harder than I anticipated. He barely had enough time to get his hands up to catch it.
    Tony palmed the basketball and looked as if he was thinking about hurling it back at me. “Why are yougetting so defensive? I never said anything about her being a slut.” He softly lobbed the ball to me. “But you got to admit—she’s supersexy.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Do you ever talk about anything other than sex?”
    He smiled. “What else am I supposed to talk about?”
    I dribbled the ball between my legs. “Well, since we’re already talking about sex … are you and Charlotte still …”
    Tony laughed as I struggled with words I couldn’t bring myself to say. “You’re such a prude,” he said. “But don’t worry—me and Charlotte aren’t going all the way.”
    “Technically, it’s still considered sex.”
    “Thanks for the public service announcement, but I ain’t in the mood for a lecture.” He tried to steal the ball from me, but half-dead snails moved faster than he did.
    I dribbled to a spot about fifteen feet from the rim and took another shot. The basketball banked off the backboard and sank through the net.
    “Josh, you should really try out for the school basketball team.” Tony collapsed in the grass at the edge of the driveway. I dropped down next to him. “I mean, you’re good enough to be a starter. You’d be the most popular guy at school.”
    “Do you know how much the varsity team practices? I don’t have that much time to commit to sports.” I grabbed my water bottle and took a swig. “I shouldn’t even be here.”
    “What is it you have to do now? Let me guess—the ladies at the nursing home are in need of an extra bridge player. Or better yet, somebody’s cat is stuck in a tree.”
    I grunted in reply.
    “It’s not your job to save everyone, you know,” he said. “If you really want to help someone, start with yourself. When’s the last time you went out?”
    “Not sure. I don’t really keep up with it.”
    “Well, I’m sure