by S. J. Bishop
"Please Myron," I said. "Harder. Much harder. I’ve always liked the rough stuff," I told him, batting my eyes.
Myron blinked. His face turned a shade paler. His cheeks grew pink. "You... you have?" he asked. He suddenly seemed uncertain of himself. I think he had expected me to put up more of a struggle.
"Sure," I said. "I’m not nearly as easy as they say. I like a man who works for my attention. The way you have. And tackling me in the park, where anyone could see us, it really turns me on."
Myron’s eyes were wide and receptive. I could see he wanted so desperately to believe everything I said that he overlooked any warning signals.
"You know I love you, right Ava?" he asked.
"I know. I love you too." I leaned up and kissed him. I had to resist the urge to pull back as soon as our lips touched, but it seemed to be working.He dropped the knife and reached around my back, pulling me closer to him.
In the kiss, I could feel his passion. I felt the love he had for me and did not doubt that it was genuine. At least, as genuine as obsession can be. I almost felt bad for what I was about to do, but I didn’t know any other way out of this. With my lips pressed against Myron’s, I reached for the knife that he’d dropped.
I almost had it. My fingers were just touching the knife’s grip, when Myron opened his eyes. He pushed me away and took the knife back. His eyes watered. "I trusted you," he said.
"Well that was a mistake," I told him. I kicked him in the balls as hard as I could, the way my father had taught me when I was a kid, in case I ever needed to defend myself.
Myron’s face went red then white. His eyes bulged out of his head. I scooted out from under him, pushing him off me with my foot. He fell back, staring at the sky as he lay writhing on the ground. I ran towards the parking lot.
My foot caught in a hidden hole in the grass that some animal had dug out for its home. I fell forward, my face smacking into the dirt once again. I pushed myself up and that was when I felt it. The blade of the knife dug into my leg, sliding right through my skin like a knife through butter. I screamed.
Myron pulled the knife from me, sliding himself up and over my back, pinning me to the ground with his weight. He kissed the back of my neck as I whimpered under him. He should have known better than to let his guard down around me. As he lifted my shirt, I kicked my feet under him, trying to flip him off me. The blade glistened against my skin.
Myron lifted his hand to dig his knife into my back. This time, there would be no escape. There was a rustling at the bushes. And we both looked up to see Carter come running into the park. His face was a mask of rage.
47
Carter
I ran through the bushes and into the opening of the playground. The sight horrified me. Amongst the slide and swings and joy-filled structures for children of all ages, Ava lay with her face in the dirt. Myron sat on top of her back, a knife in his hand. I couldn’t tell whether or not Ava had already been stabbed, but dark red splotches were scattered all around her shirt and over her face. She turned her head to face me and I saw both fear and fierceness in her eyes. She was afraid, but she wasn’t about to give up.
Myron looked surprised when he spotted me. He paused with his knife in the air, the hand that held it only a few inches from Ava’s skin. I didn’t waste the opportunity. I slammed into Myron, knocking him off Ava and giving her a chance to get away.
"Run, Ava! Run!" I shouted. For a second, that’s what I thought she was doing. It didn’t matter that my face already hurt from where Myron had buried his elbow in retaliation, as long as Ava was safe. But instead of running away as I’d thought she was doing, she ran towards us. Myron was on top of me, beating at my chest with his fists. Ava was standing over Myron now and she hit the back of his head with her hand. Myron turned for a second, distracted. His leg kicked out, sending her sprawling onto her back.
"Ava, get out of here!" I yelled again, furious that she wasn’t listening. Had she always been this stubborn? Myron’s fist connected with my jaw and my head flew back. Myron’s weight lifted off of me and I managed to stand up, my head dizzy.The world around me swam in circles for a moment before setting itself right again. I saw Ava clinging to Myron’s back, her nails scratching at his face. The sight would almost have been funny if it hadn’t been so dangerous. I got in one good lick before Myron flung her off his back like she weighed less than a cotton ball.
Myron stood two feet away from me, watching me, a snarl on his face. "You’re pathetic," Myron said. "And you don’t appreciate Ava. Not like I do."
I laughed. "How much do you appreciate her? You just flung her to the ground like she was a bug you’re trying to squish." Myron looked at Ava and his face softened.
"What I do with her is none of your business. You’re in no position to judge me. You’ve done nothing but hurt her since you got here. She’s special, and you’ve treated her like she was any other woman. Like she didn’t matter to you any more than the thousands of girls you’ve already had. Another notch on your bedpost."
Myron’s words stung me. I looked at Ava, whose face was bleeding and eyes were wet. The moonlight created a strange, soft glow behind Ava that made her look like an angel. "Maybe you’re right. Maybe I didn’t appreciate her before, but I do now. And now is all that matters, because the present is the only thing that you have control over."
My sane and rational words seemed to irritate Myron more than anything previously had. He lunged at me. I struck back, my fist flying out and finding Myron’s right eye. He was knocked to the ground, but not before he had twisted his arms around my neck, yanking me to the ground with him.. Myron managed to get a firm hold on me, cutting off my oxygen supply. My face started turning red.
"No!" Ava screamed. She grabbed a stick that was lying on the ground and swung it at Myron, striking his face and dazing him long enough for me to catch my breath. I kicked Myron in the stomach. Myron kicked me back. We wrestled on the ground a minute before Myron managed to get his knife out and slip it deep into my shoulder. I screamed and pushed my hand into Myron’s face, taking my thumb and poking Myron’s eye, ready to gouge it out if that’s what it took.
Myron screamed and let go of the knife, falling to the side. I pulled it out of my shoulder and took a deep breath. Myron’s hand was busy with his face, feeling it to make sure his eyeball was still intact.
"Myron," I said. Myron blinked and looked towards me. His eye was bleeding but it was still there.
"You asshole," Myron said. "You could have blinded me. You could have—" But I didn’t want to wait to hear what Myron had to say. I slammed my fist into his jaw. Myron’s eyes went wide and then he staggered back and fell to the ground.
Ava stood still, breathing deeply. She looked down at Myron, and I saw a shiver run through her. When I came to her and took her hand, I felt her relax. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me tightly to her. "Are you okay?" she asked, touching my shoulder where Myron’s blade had dug into me.
"I’m fine," I told her, leaning down to kiss her. "It barely hurts." Her lips were warm and tasted like cherries. She kissed me back, pressing herself harder against me.
"You saved me," she said. "You came back."
"I was always going to come back. It just took me a little time to realize that."
There were sounds behind the bushes. Several cops emerged at once, their guns drawn. They saw Myron on the ground and one of them shouted, "It’s him!" They turned Myron over and handcuffed him before taking him back to the hospital. Ava and I followed right behind them.
48
Ava
Carter and I stood just inside the hospital entrance, locked in each other’s arms. We didn’t want to let go for even a second. Carter’s lips were the only thing holding me up right now. I tasted them over and over, replenishing myself with their sweetness.
"Ava! Carter!" Hannah called. We looked to see her running towards us. "They got him! They got Myron!" she shouted, then her eyes went wide. "Oh my God! Wh
at happened to you two?"
"Myron," Carter said.
Hannah looked from Carter to me. "Myron did this to you?" she screamed. "Are you alright? You need to get checked out by a doctor. Both of you. You’re bleeding."
"We’re fine," Carter said.
"But the blood. Carter, your shoulder." She pointed where a patch of blood had settled into Carter’s clothing. "It’s already stopped bleeding," he said.
"Yeah, we’ll get checked out later. We need to see Lily first," I said. I had only intended to come out and get some fresh air and now that I wasn’t battling for my own life, my thoughts immediately returned to Lily. Carter and I brushed past Hannah, who stood staring at us with her mouth open.
In Lily’s room, we found my parents glued together against the wall, watching helplessly as Dr. Martin and his nurses worked to revive Lily.
"We’re losing her," one of the nurses shouted.
"I know, I know!" Dr. Martin screamed, scrambling for some sort of needle. He placed it against Lily’s chest and injected her with something before slapping the paddles on her and beginning the desperate attempts to shock her heart into beating again.
"Mom! Dad" I screamed. "What’s happening?" I ran to them and my mom put her arms around me, holding me tight. But the motion was an instinct. My parents were so frantic that they didn’t even seem to register Carter and I next to them
"Lily stopped breathing. Her heart..." My mom choked on the words. "It stopped beating." I collapsed into a chair. Carter ran to me, putting his arm around me and pulling me close.
"It’s gonna be okay," he whispered.
Suddenly, the heart monitor started to beep again. My mom and I let out cries of relief. The nurses relaxed for the moment, watching and listening.
Dr. Martin turned to us. "There’s no more time," he said. "Not one more minute. We operate now or we lose her forever."
Martha and David turned to each other, their eyes full of shame and grief. "We couldn’t get the money," David said.
"Do the surgery," Carter said, standing up. "Whatever it takes. I’ll pay for it. All of it. Just save her." Tears fell over his cheeks. I met his eyes and saw the look of pain and compassion in them. He might have just learned that Lily was his, but in his face I saw the unconditional love and the need to protect that comes only from parenthood
"You’ll sign the paperwork?" Dr. Martin asked him, already prepping Lily.
"Anything you need."
"That’s all I needed to hear," Dr. Martin said. "We’re taking her in now then." He turned to one of the nurses. "Call the OR. Tell them we’re coming up."
The nurses brought a stretcher and they moved Lily carefully onto it, wheeling her out of the room. I followed with my parents until we reached the doors to the surgical area forbidding them access.
"We’ll take good care of her," Dr. Martin said. "The next time you see her, she’ll be all better."
"Wait!" I shouted. "I need to tell her something."
"She can’t hear you," one of the nurses said.
I ignored her and Dr. Martin told them to stop a minute. I took Carter’s hand and led him to the stretcher where Lily laid with her eyes closed, her breathing fast and irregular.
"Lily, honey, I just wanted to tell you that I love you. And..." I looked at Carter, who nodded. "And your father loves you too." I heard my parents gasp behind me and thought I saw Dr. Martin smile ever so slightly. "We’ll be right here waiting for you when you get out. Your father and I." I leaned forward and kissed Lily’s head.
"I love you, Lily," Carter said. "And I can’t wait to get to know you better." He kissed her head too and then Dr. Martin wheeled her through the doors. Carter and I turned around. Mom and Dad stared back at us. I could feel myself blush but I was also relieved for all of this to finally be out in the open. Maybe now they would understand why I had never told anyone who Lily’s father was. Carter put his arm around my shoulders.
"I guess you guys have a few questions for us," Carter said, laughing.
Somehow, despite the seriousness of the situation, I felt like everything was going to be okay. A new door had just opened. One for me and one for Lily. And a new connection had been made between Carter and I. A new understanding between me and my parents. It was a day of new beginnings, and that meant that anything was possible.
49
Carter
Ava and I sat in the waiting room with our hands clasped together. It had been almost two hours already. A nurse had come out to tell us that things were going well, but there were another five to six hours of surgery remaining. Ava looked like she was going to faint when she heard that, and I squeezed her hand.
"Six more hours?" she asked, getting hysterical. "How can I sit here for six more hours? I’m going out of my mind."
"Why don’t you take a walk?" her mother suggested.
"The last time I took a walk I was almost killed," Ava snapped at her. The police had been around to question us. They’d taken our statements there at the hospital rather than the police station as a courtesy since Lily was sick. Myron had been examined by doctors and released into the custody of the police. He was sitting in a jail cell right now.
I put a hand on Ava’s arm. "I’m sorry," Ava told her mom.
"It’s okay. We’re all a little tense right now," Her mom replied. Ava offered her a small smile. The longer the surgery took, the less hope Ava seemed to have.
"Come on," I said, rising from his chair. "I could use a walk myself."
Martha looked gratefully at me. I sensed she was happy that I was here with Ava now. "You two really should let the doctors look at you," Martha said. The nursing staff had already come by twice trying to get Ava and I into an exam room, but we had refused until we knew how Lily’s surgery went and since the injuries weren’t threatening, they had humored us.
"We’re fine, Mom," Ava said. We got up and walked out of the waiting room. I led Ava down a long hall with darkened hospital rooms off to each side. It was well after midnight and most patients were asleep right now. The hospital was far from quiet though. Doctors and nurses bustled around from one side of the hospital to the other.
"Thanks again for sticking around," Ava said to me.
"Where else would I go?"
We paused outside a hospital room that was completely black. The rest of the rooms lining the hall were dark, but they all had soft beeps and blurps coming from them. Bits of light showed themselves from the monitors the patients were attached to.
"Do you think this room is empty?" Ava asked.
I peered into the darkness. "Looks like it. Why? Do you want to get some sleep? I’ll talk to the nurses, I’m sure—"
"No," Ava said, slipping her hand around my waist and pressing her lips to mine. "I want something that will keep my mind off of Lilly, even if it’s only for a few minutes."
"What are you talking about?" I asked. Then Ava reached down with her hand and began massaging me. My member sprung to life. I looked around the hallway. Some nurses were busy at the other end of it; they seemed oblivious to Ava’s and my presence.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.
"Absolutely," Ava whispered, looking up and down the hall once more before pulling me into the room. She shut the door behind me and wasted no time. She kissed me hard as we made our way into the room, bumping into the wall as we searched for the bed. The back of Ava’s legs smacked against it and she sat back on the mattress, wrapping her legs around me.
My heart pounded in my chest. I had been with a lot of women in a lot of places, but never in a hospital. Some part of me wondered if this was right, if we should really be doing this. Then Ava’s hand was in my pants, stroking me as I fumbled to get them down. They fell to my knees and I pushed myself against her so that she could feel the strength of my desire for her.
Ava leaned back and pushed her pants to her knees. I couldn’t see her, but I could feel her heat beside me. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I made out her outline. She sa
t back on the bed, scooching to the very edge of it. It was the perfect height to meet my body. My shaft leaned into her, teasing her opening with my thick, hard mass. Her hands shook as she held onto my shirt, craning her neck up to taste my lips once more.
"Ava," I whispered. Then I was inside her, pushing my mass deep into her warm pussy as her body arched. Her legs wrapped around me and her hands moved to my ass, squeezing me and urging me forward.
The thought of discovery made everything more erotic. I could barely contain myself as I moved in and out of her. Her soft, sweet body opened wider for me as I moved faster and faster against her. There was a sound at the door and for half a second I thought we might be found, but then the noise was gone and I continued my steady pulse against her.
She moaned quietly in my ear, her breath warming my neck. I tasted her lips once more and let my tongue slide over her sweet skin as she nibbled my neck. Ava’s knees suddenly locked into place behind me. Her pelvis began to shake. I immersed myself deeper and harder into her before releasing my energy. Our bodies merged together into one form, shaking together as we both let go of all the tension we’d been holding for the night.
A soft buzz lingered in the air even after it was over. Ava kissed me and I led her back towards the door, peeking into the hallway to make sure no one was watching. Ava squeezed my ass one last time before we emerged, kissing the back of my neck and giggling like a school girl. It was nice to hear her laugh again. It reminded me of the girl I’d fallen for all of those years ago under the tree by the Allegheny River.
50
Ava
I clung to Carter as we made our way back to the waiting room. Now that Lily was in surgery, everyone had congregated there once more. I kissed the back of Carter’s neck. He looked behind him and smiled. Suddenly, his face froze. His eyes grew dark and dull.
