I pointed to the figure to the side. "If she's angry, how come she's smiling?" I asked. Erica laughed. "She's only trying to be angry. She's really happy. She just isn't allowed to show it. She has to act sad because Daddy's gone." I held the picture up, then made a show of hugging it. "It's my very favorite Christmas present. I'm going to frame it and put it on my desk." Erica climbed up on the couch and hugged me. "Will you hook up my PS3?" "Of course I will," I told her, returning her hug. "And I'll start breakfast," Sandy announced. I looked up, and she was wiping tears from her face again. What a roller-coaster of emotions. It only took a few minutes, and we had the game system hooked up and Erica was debating which game to start with. She barely got it loaded before we were called over for breakfast. "Mo-om!" Erica pouted. "It's not going anywhere. You can play after breakfast." It was surrealistic, sitting there at the table, with eggs, toast and sausage on my plate, a
STORY TITLE: HERO'S REWARD One brave deed holds the key to unlocking a scarred heart. Read and enjoy ************* Jeff walked out of the bar deep in thought. He would be thirty years old in just two weeks and had very little to show for it. There was a decent job, a string of short relationships and a lot of bills. He never thought his life would have turned out like this. He was smart, athletic and well educated. Although he wasn't every girl's dream, he was attractive by most standards and had his share of relationships with desirable women. Unfortunately, none of the relationships had lasted more than a few months. At this point he was starting to worry that it was a trend without an end in sight. He considered himself a good guy and had always wanted a family. It was beginning to make him doubt himself and his future. He was having a lousy Friday night. It was midnight and he was walking out of the bars alone...again. At least since it wasn't cloudy the moon lit up the str
The noise was no longer a loud ringing sound. Instead it was a soft, repetitive tone. Jeff slowly realized he was hearing the sounds of machines operating quietly. It was completely dark and he wondered if he was still in the alley. Suddenly he remembered the girl. He tried to sit up, but only got his head off of the pillow before the pain overtook him. He groaned loudly, his head falling back down. "Don't move," he heard a soft female voice say. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, gently restraining him. "Sarah, get the doctor, he's awake." Jeff heard the sound of footsteps, followed by a doorknob being turned. As he heard the door click shut, the voice returned. "Don't be afraid. You're in the hospital. Everything's Ok now, you just need to relax. Your sister was here but she had to leave to pick up her kids. She'll be back in a couple of hours." He felt a wave of nausea sweep over him as he tried to think. "Who are you?" The high-pitched voice answered, "My name is Paige. You
She paused, not sure if she should tell him the rest. "You know, you're famous now." Paige paused to see his confused expression. "You've been in the papers, the radio and the TV. You're a hero."Jeff felt himself blush, "Well I don't feel like a hero, I feel like I got hit by a truck. I'm just glad you're OK . . . " Jeff trailed off as the drugs pushed him back into unconsciousness. Paige sat there holding his hand for several minutes. When she was sure he was out, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek."My hero," she said quietly. She looked over at the far end of the room, "Didn't I tell you he was perfect?"~~~~~Jeff felt himself coming around again. He had drifted in and out of consciousness all day. The drugs were wearing off a little and he could feel his chest throbbing. He moaned and tried to move to alleviate the pain."Are you all right?" he heard Paige ask. "Do you want me to call the nurse?""I'm just a little sore, do
The next day, at five o'clock sharp, she arrived at his room. "Hey good-lookin', how are you feeling today?"Jeff smiled as he realized how good it felt to hear her voice. "I'm a lot better than before. I think I've finally gotten past this stupid in and out of sleep thing. I've actually been staying awake longer and have even been able to listen to the news. Paige is right. They've mentioned me several times. It's so strange to hear somebody talk about me like that, I feel like I'm in an episode of The Twilight Zone.""Well, don't get too cocky. You're not going to get any hero worship from me," she said, obviously teasing him. "I've got a present for you."A present? he thought, thoroughly confused. He heard her rustling through a bag and making some assembly noises. He was about to ask what was going on when he heard a pair of speakers blast, "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Sam Kinison." He grinned broadly as one of his favorite albums started."Did you buy me a CD Player?"S
The touching started something tingling inside her that quickly became a rush of emotions she just wasn't equipped to deal with. She watched his body with a detached fascination, the damp cloth leaving a glistening trail across his muscles as she moved it down his chest to his stomach. When she reached his waist, she noticed him becoming erect; it was impossible to ignore under the flimsy hospital garment. Then she did something so foreign to her character, that before tonight she would have sworn it was impossible. On an impulse, she found herself moving the cloth lower, using her free hand to pull his gown and blanket out of the way so she could touch him. The fabric grazed his sensitive skin along with the tips of her fingers. Her skin brushing against his warm flesh caused a surge to run through her body, making her to lose what was left of her will. Jeff spoke, almost breaking the spell she seemed to be under, but she told him to be still, unable to bring herself to stop touchin
Jeff was deep in thought. Sarah had been there a little more than an hour, but he wasn't in a good mood despite her presence. "Are you okay?" she asked. "I don't know," he said honestly. "It's just one of those days. I'm not sure why, but I've been trying to sort things out." "What sort of things?" Sarah asked nervously. "Don't worry," he said, trying to reassure her. "It's about me." He thought carefully before continuing. "Sarah, why don't you ever talk about what happened in the alley?" Sarah was caught off guard. She stammered a reply, "I . . . I just thought you'd talk about it if you wanted to." "Okay, let's say I want to. Do you buy into all this 'hero' nonsense?" "What you did for Paige was the most unselfish thing I've ever seen," she said firmly. "You were lucky to come out of it alive. If that's not being a hero, I don't know what is." "I want to say something, but I don't want you to get the wrong idea." He paused, trying to collect his thoughts, "I don't think I'm
Paige couldn't take it anymore and just blurted out, "They were so happy when you saved me. No one wanted me to end up like her." She covered her face and burst into tears. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jeff had a sinking suspicion, but he couldn't bear the thought. Steven finally spoke again. "Jeff, when Sarah was in High School, she was raped." Jeff felt like he had the wind knocked out of him. This had to be some kind of cruel joke. Then he remembered the wall she would put up when discussing the past and everything suddenly made sense. "What happened?" he mumbled, wishing he didn't want to know. Paige moved to her father, putting her arm around him for support. Jeff felt twice as bad for snapping at him earlier. A father having to explain something like this must be horrible beyond words. "She was grabbed off the street on her way home from school. The sick son of a bitch forced her into his van and . . . " he stopped and wiped at his eyes with the back of his ha