I stood at the bar of yet one more lame party for Halloween. I was required by my job to attend this event year after year and I hated it more each time I went. This year I had chosen a costume of Zorro. The mask let me hide myself and the black clothes finished off my mood. I had to use self control not to pull the sword at my side and run it clean through my boss as he reminded me of who each guest was that arrived. However, I figured since he was after all my father I had to keep my evil thoughts to myself. There were costumes of all kinds walking through our front door. There was the Mayor and his wife.  He was dressed like an over stuffed sausage in a batman suit and his wife, I wasn’t too sure of what she was but it needed some serious ironing. There were your typical cowboys and Indians, Spiderman, all the X-men and even one Sponge Bob Square pants. It would prove to be a boring night I was sure of it.

I was alone by choice; searching for answers in a world of strangers and what I had found was never enough.  Even when I should have stayed and faced them I found it to be easier to just walk away, away from the one love that I could never find in a crowded room.

I pride myself on keeping my cool and I don’t fall in love as a rule, but my whole world was about to become unraveled for the second time in my life.

I smiled that fake “glad to see you here” smile as people shook my hand and greeted me as they came in the door. I felt like one of those lion’s heads you see out in front of people’s homes, all stiff and fake looking. I knew if I shook one more sweaty palm of my Dad’s cronies I was going to go postal and gut someone with my sword. I excused myself and retuned to my spot at the bar, sucking down as many whiskey on the rocks as I could. I watched as Bozo the clown flirted with a one eyed pirate as a grim reaper walked by and smiled in my direction. This was one night I wouldn’t be picking up a date.  You never knew just who might be under that mask, and so help the Gods above if I smelled one more woman who doused herself in perfume like she was a piece of meat being marinated.   I would pull out the fire hoses and wash it off with a wire brush.  The room reeked of cheap perfumes and expensive whiskey.  Thank the Gods above for one good stiff drink...I wont mention the makeup most wore, thick as spackle on the walls. That look alone on a butch dressed in leather was enough to give this woman the hee-bee-jee-bee’s! On my third round of whiskey I heard my father’s booming voice commanding me to his side. I gritted my teeth and with a stiff upper lip and an even stiffer back I returned to stand like a plastic soldier by his side.

I would have known her anywhere; she walked in with what my father would call a hansom young man, even though he truly meant the boy was buttass ugly, holding her arm. I felt the anger in me raise its ugly head, I had not seen her in years and she was even more beautiful then way back then. She was the only woman I would ever love, yet she was the one I had walked away from. I began to shake and sweat trickled down my back, I shifted from one foot to the other. I quickly closed my eyes gathered my cold hearted strength and stony face.

Did you ever connect with someone so fast it scared the living hell out of you? Well Eryca did it to me from the first day we met years ago now, we grew up side by side, went to the same school, shared so many things. Then it hit me I was in love with her, I quickly took a job over seas in one of my fathers businesses. So yes you could say I hid from the truth, but Eryca knew it, I confessed it to her the day I left.

“Shadow you remember Eryca don’t you?” My father asked in a syrupy voice, Eryca was always his favorite.

“Yes father I do recall Ms. Flanagan.” I plastered on that fake smile I am famous for and stuck my hands in my pockets to keep from choking the pimply faced little bastard who had his hands on her.

“Hello Kristina.” She smiled up at me and ran her hand over my arm up to my shoulder sending shock wave after shock wave of electricity throughout my body. She had always refused to call me by my nickname, Shadow. I felt her tug a little on my shoulder as if she expected me to lean down and kiss her cheek as my father had done with each woman who walked in our door. I refused to meet her eyes with mine and just glared at the little boy she had brought with her I watched as he squirmed under my heated ‘I am going to ripe you apart with my bare hands look’. Oh yes-sir-ee-bob I wanted to strangle him until his blue eyes popped from the sockets. “Do you remember my little brother, James?” she asked as she patted my arm her eyes giving me that knowing look that I had been acting like a spoiled child jealous of a new toy. Well what was I to do but smile and shake his hand.

“James good to see you after all these years,” I for once smiled a real smile at him. He stepped forward and shook my hand the deer in the headlights look still in his eyes. “Take your sister and get her a drink James.” I dismissed them as quickly as I could but Eryca was having none of it she knew me all to well.

“James, fetch me an ice tea and no drinking, you’re driving tonight.” Eryca turned to my father then, “Daddy it’s been to long, I was just tickled you sent us an invitation.” Eryca smiled and hugged him one more time then turned to me, the look on her face told me I was in for one hell of a long night. She was one woman who could make your night long and pleasurable or she could make it even longer and cause you much suffering. She reached out yanked my hand out of my pocket and drug me out on the dance floor.  She wrapped her arms around me and began to sway to the music. The black ball gown she had on flowed freely as we danced around the dance floor. I had no clue what she was supposed to be for Halloween but it showed off her legs and the great cleavage she had. Her strawberry blond hair piled high on her head, a small strand of pearls adorned her slender neck, matching earrings, and black high heeled pumps brought her up an inch taller and one small ring on her right hand. She was such a perfect package, and I realized then what a fool I had been to walk away.

I looked at everything and anything I could so I did not have to meet her eyes with mine the guilt of know the pain I had caused her ripped through me like a train wreck. My heart was beating so hard I thought it would fly from my chest as she pulled herself in tight to my body. I bit back a groan at the contact the heat building as it had so many years ago, only this time it was an out of control raging fire. Oh yes she knew what she was doing to me I could tell by the half smile on her face.

I smiled inwardly and as a couple danced close to us I let go of her and tapped the gentleman on the shoulder as he let go of his partner I grabbed her up in my arms and danced away with her leaving both a stunned Eryca and her new dance partner The City Mayor. It was then I realized I was dancing with the most horrid looking cat woman; she must have been 90 years old and wrinkled more then my shirt lying on my bedroom floor.  I am sorry but no one over 60 pounds should wear black spandex! I realized my mistake when she wrapped her octopus arms around me and buried her face in my belly. I was shoving and pulling on the short little shit to get her off me when I tripped and fell, bring her down with me. It only gets worse... for you see when I fell bringing down the mayors wife with me in the middle of the dance floor she broke her already fragile hip.

Well if that’s not a party stopper I don’t know what is. It gave me the perfect opportunity to pull my ultra-famous disappearing act. I slunk behind the curtains next to the bar snagging a bottle of whiskey from the bartender and with my tail between my legs I slipped out on the large patio and over the side of the railing and off into the darkness of night. I followed the same path I use to take over to Eryca’s house. Stopping only when the lights of the massive house I refused to call home was nothing more then dim lights off in the distance. Stripping off my long black jacket I flung the double edged sword to the ground and yanked off the top of the bottle and began to chug.

When all at once the bottle flew from my hand with such force I was shocked. I turned to beat the hell out of who ever had taken the chance to not only sneaking up on me but taking my one constant friend and flinging it to the ground. Eryca stood with her hands on her hips the anger in her eyes made me back up; as little as she was she could always put me in my place. But this time I wasn’t having any of it, I walked away and picked up the bottle it had hardly spilled any onto the soft ground.

“You put that lame excuse of a bottle down Kristina.” I felt the edge of my sword poking me in the back; I turned slowly and faced her. Bring the bottle to my lips slowly as she increased the pressure to my stomach.

“You might as well run me clean through, I don’t feel anything but pain anyways.” I growled as we stood facing each other.

“You walked away from me once, your not getting a second chance Kristina. I love you I always have; you’re the one who chose to walk away from it. Not me.” She wiped tears from her eyes. If its one thing I can’t stand is a woman crying, I dropped the bottle back to the ground, shoved the sword off my stomach and took her in my arms. “You will never walk away from me again, now I understand why your Daddy calls you Shadow. You slip off when you think no ones looking. But in my heart I will always find you.”

Well what could I say to that? I had no argument to defend myself for she was right once again. I tilted her head up to meet my gaze.

“I am not perfect, I am not an easy person to love and I am not a person who can show love in return, but if you’ll trust me once more I give you my word of honor I will love you the best I can.” I choked on the words as I spoke them for the first time from the heart.

You see love is not an easy thing for me; you live in a cold world of high society and rich people you learn that love is fake and void of any emotions. I decided to be honest and lay it all out on the table for her to see the real me like no one had done before.

 “All my life I have been a rebel when I should have stayed when I ran but never finding the right answers, you’re so much more then I deserve. I never thought I would ever find someone as sweet and as kind as you. But when I found you I realized I was looking in the eyes of love.”  But with Eryca I felt like it was safe and it was very real. “I never stopped loving you either. Please believe me when I say this time I wont run away, I swear by all of heavens stars above now that you found me I know I am looking in the eyes of love.” I whispered in her ear taking her face in my hands I leaned down and kissed her. Softly at first feeling the warmth of her love recapture my mind, body and this time even my soul.

“I love you too Kristina.” She held on tight to me as if I was nothing more then a dream to her. “This is the best Halloween I have ever had.”

“Me to honey, me too...”  We spent the rest of the night walking among the tall pines talking and getting to know one and another once again. Each time I looked at her I knew I was looking in the eyes of love....

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Copyright © Oct 2005 by Wizz. All Rights Reserved.

The Sandbox 101
Wizz - Stories