Message-ID: <42922asstr$1055499007@assm.asstr-mirror.org> Return-Path: <news@newssvr28.news.prodigy.com> X-Original-Path: not-for-mail From: "Kenn Ghannon" <kennyg@ameritech.net> X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.3790.0 X-Original-Message-ID: <Y0eGa.3484$a7.1115152@newssvr28.news.prodigy.com> NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 02:18:32 EDT X-UserInfo1: Q[OER\_D[JP]BFLYCJJ@^RDBPR\VPBQLGPQRJVMHQAVTUZ]CLNTCPFK[WDXDHV[K^FCGJCJLPF_D_NCC@FUG^Q\DINVAXSLIFXYJSSCCALP@PB@\OS@BITWAH\CQZKJMMD^SJA^NXA\GVLSRBD^M_NW_F[YLVTWIGAXAQBOATKBBQRXECDFDMQ\DZFUE@\JM X-ASSTR-Original-Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 06:18:32 GMT Subject: {ASSM} The Nature of Man. Chapter 8. (mf-pett rom? viol) Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 06:10:07 -0400 Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail Approved: <assm@asstr-mirror.org> Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d X-Archived-At: <URL:http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/Year2003/42922> X-Moderator-Contact: ASSTR ASSM moderation <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> X-Story-Submission: <ckought69@hotmail.com> X-Moderator-ID: dennyw, gill-bates The Nature of Man By Kenn Ghannon The Rules I thought, before we got to the actual reading of this story that we should set down a couple of ground rules: 1) This story involves frank and explicit descriptions of sex. If it is immoral or illegal in your area to read about topics of this nature, please quit reading here. If you don't want to read about topics of this nature, please quit reading here. (I don't, by the way, agree with the legal aspects of this. I believe that the United States, as a society, has gone too far in putting the onus of maturity on a rather arbitrary physical age. I've known 13 year olds who were far more mature than some 40 year olds. Of course, this may be the exception to the rule, but still.) 2) If you are looking for a story where everyone is always happy all of the time, please find another story. If you are looking for a story where everyone is always sad all of the time, please find another story. Reality is somewhere in-between these two extremes and I try to write as near to reality as an erotic fantasy can get. Do I succeed? Only you can tell me. 3) If you are looking for a story that absolutely revolves around sex, sex, and more sex, please find another story. I *WON'T* write one of those. There is sex here, but only as a function of the story. 4) Everything you read here is fiction. It never happened, so I am definitely not writing about YOU. J If you've read this far, I hope you enjoy this. Dedicated with respect to Frank Downey. Chapter 8 Eric sat in the back row of his algebra class, quietly daydreaming out the window. His daydreams really were nothing new. They often came to him in vivid colors, taking him away from the boring intricacies of his own life. Often, they saved him from the pain, anger or, as was the case right now, simple boredom. In his daydreams he was often some great hero, quietly saving the world from one disaster or another. The role of a hero encompassed so many things. Sometimes he was a scientist, discovering the cure for some incurably rampant disease or designing a special rocket that would save the earth from the impending doom of a colliding meteor. Sometimes, he was a secret agent saving the world from the tyranny of a god-less megalomaniac. Once in a while, though, he was simply a great lover who carried the girl away into the setting sun. Lately the role of the lover was more and more prevalent in his daydreams.and Shawn was almost always the damsel in distress. It wasn't that he had THOSE kinds of daydreams, of course. Oh, he knew about sex in a clinical way and he had even managed to find out all kinds of things from reading at the school library. His last school hadn't had much on sexuality, but this school had tons of stuff. Much of it from the standpoint of maintaining celibacy, but he had read a few anatomy books and such. So, he wasn't necessarily naïve when it came to sex, but he was most definitely inexperienced. Without actually having engaged in the act, of course, he couldn't very well daydream about it. It always came back to Shawn, however. He simply couldn't get her out of his mind. It had been a week since Christina had given him Shawn's number and it had burned itself into his memory with a singular purpose. He couldn 't count the times he had reached to pick up the phone.but always his fear and insecurities held him back. So instead of taking the simple chance, he had reverted to his dream world where life was safe and he always got what he wanted. The bell rang signaling the end of class and jarring Eric back from his world into reality. It was a hard trip, he had just been getting ready to kiss Shawn in that great lovers kiss that would seal them to each other for all eternity. Eric wasn't all too sure the trip was worth it. His next period was lunch, but Eric wasn't particularly hungry. No matter what he did, Shawn wasn't going away - she wouldn't get out of his head. He had never had this much trouble before. Sure, he had often had romantic daydreams but it was different with Shawn. With a dawning comprehension, he realized that his daydream world wasn't going to satisfy him any more. He felt a pang of fear at that and one of loss, but curiously he mostly felt relief. How had Shawn come to be such a need for him, he wondered and not for the first time. He barely knew her, he had only really seen her a handful of times. Sure, the charged atmosphere of the night at the drive-in was different, but it shouldn't have had this much effect, should it? Eric was so lost in thought that he almost ran into someone coming from the other direction. He stopped as quickly as he could and just managed not to bounce off the person. He raised his eyes to mumble an apology and stopped with his mouth half opened. "Hey, Eric," Shawn smiled brightly. Admittedly, the smile was a bit forced. Christina had told her she had given Eric her number, but Eric hadn't called. In the days that followed, she had often lain awake at night and wondered why. Maybe he just didn't like her. Maybe he liked someone else more. Maybe.and there had been many maybes. She had felt a little pain, then, in her heart. She hadn't quite understood it. She barely knew Eric, but there was something about him. She really liked him.and it hurt that he didn't feel the same way. Today, she had seen him walking down the hall, his eyes on the floor, lost in thought. Almost without thinking she had moved to intercept him. The maybes had to end.she needed to know once and for all. What she saw in his eyes was all she had hoped for and more. He looked at her with his pale blue eyes, and she saw the glimmer of something there. Something that said to her that he wasn't as immune to her charms as she had thought. "I.I'm sorry, Shawn," Eric said. His tongue didn't want to cooperate with him, and his throat went dry. How was he supposed to ask her out if he couldn't even say hi to her without fumbling it? "Listen," Shawn began slowly then rushed head long into the conversation before she could lose her nerve, "there's a new movie playing down at the theatre. You know, that one with Chris Armstrong? It's supposed to be really funny and I was going to go tomorrow night and I was wondering if you 'd like to, you know, come with me?" There she had managed to get it all out without stumbling all over herself doing it. Her heart skipped a beat as she waited for his reply, hoping against hope that he'd say yes. "Well," Eric began. His tongue still wasn't completely under his control and his heart beat a mile a minute. "I'd really, really like that. Can I pick you up at 6?" There, he'd said it and he couldn't take it back. Even if this turned out to be a cruel joke, at least he'd had the nerve to agree to it. Then, he thought of something and quickly amended. "I mean, can I have my uncle drive us?" Shawn's smile rivaled the sun for its brilliance. HE HAD SAID YES! She was so happy, she almost didn't hear his last words. "That'd be great! Get my address from Christina, okay? I've got to go.I'm going to be late for Latin." But before she left, she kissed him on the cheek, blushed a deep purple, and then walked away to class. The problem had started as soon as he asked his Uncle to drive him on his date. "I'd really like to, Eric, but I can't. Aunt Jean and I are taking Gwen to Davis to pick up some school stuff for her. It's a big trip that your Aunt' s been planning and *I* don't want to be the one to back out on it, okay?" GWEN! How could he have forgotten about Gwen when he agreed to this date? Gwen, obviously had to come first. He'd have to call Shawn and see if she wouldn't mind postponing the date! "I should probably come with you guys to help you with Gwen. Shawn and I can go out." he started, but a tiny voice jumped in before he could finish. "YOU WILL NOT!" Gwen had walked into the room while the conversation had been going on and decided it was time to put her foot down. "You listen to me, big brother. I'm okay. It's time you got out and had some fun." Eric just looked at his little sister. Her blonde hair was radiant as the late-afternoon sung struck it through a window. Her eyes were the same glorious blue he remembered, but where fear had once been a dark shadow all around them, not it just twinkled dully from the corners. She was slight, like a beautiful little elf that had been forgotten when the others had left. As a matter of fact, that was one of his pet names for her.his little Gwen fairy from another world. He remembered making up stories about her travels to the land of the little people when she was just 5 years old. Now though, she stood defiantly and waited. "Gwen," Eric started, but Gwen was having none of it. "No. There's no GWE-en, there's no nothing." She walked slowly, carefully measuring her strides so as not to over-tire herself. "Look, Eric. I'm fine. If you keep doing things for me, I'll never get better. "Now, I want you to go on this date and tell me all about it when you get back." A mirthful twinkle twirled in her eye as her lips turned up mischievously. "After all, I want to have some idea as to what to expect on MY first date!" Eric looked at her and laughed. He bent down and hugged her, almost lifting her in the process. "I love you, my little Gwen fairy." That was how it happened that Eric and Shawn ended up double-dating for the second time with Christina and Evan. The ride to dinner was nearly silent as each person was huddled into their own thoughts. Christina was just happy to be going out, though she knew that sex of any kind was out of the question. Oh, Eric had agreed to 'watch her back' but she didn't feel comfortable putting that to the test this soon. It would be far better to let Eric ease into his role as her scout rather than push him into it. As she thought about it, she was actually kind of glad to have the pressure of sex off of her for a change. For some reason, she really wasn't particularly in the mood for it right now. Evan was thinking along the same lines, but for different reasons. While any kind of sex with Christina was great, he'd rather have her undivided attention this time. He just wasn't into the whole 'show the world' business. A nice quiet corner with Christina all to himself was just what he needed. For the first time in his life, Eric had taken the initiative when it came to a girl. Almost as soon as she had gotten into the car, he had taken Shawn's hand. It felt somehow comforting to feel her hand inside of his, with their fingers locked together. Without event thinking about it, he rubbed his thumb across her index finger. Shawn smiled at him and moved closer, until she could lay her head upon his shoulder. She lay contented, her eyes closed feeling so right with him next to her, touching her. She didn't care any more about thinking. She was happy just to be in the moment. Dinner was good, and the movie was great. Eric had found more courage within himself and had made his 'big move' which entailed putting his arm around Shawn during one of the serious pieces to the show. There weren't many. The movie constantly had them in stitches.but Shawn's head never left Eric's shoulder. Fortunately, neither of them could watch Evan and Christina sitting behind them. Evan had decided to use the darkness of the theatre to make some moves of his own. Christina had worn a short skirt out on the date and almost as soon as the theatre darkened, Evan put his hand on Christina's bare knee. Slowly, as the movie rolled along, he had begun moving his hand up her thigh. Christina, though, wasn't in the mood. Being felt up and even fucked in front of her friends (and her relative, she amended) was one thing, but she didn't intend on a repeat performance with the strangers seated around them. Every time Evan moved his hand up her leg, she pushed it back down to her knee. After one too many such attempts, though, she had nearly thrown his hand back into his own lap. Evan wasn't amused and he didn't let up on his attack. All through the movie, he kept up his assault on Christina's leg and Christina kept trying to push his hand off. Finally, a little exasperated, she had twisted his thumb back painfully causing him to retract it. Evan wasn't the slightest bit happy. How dare the little cock tease do something like that! He knew she wanted him, so why was she all of the sudden playing hard to get? If Eric and Shawn hadn't been so thoroughly engrossed in each other, they might have noticed the frost that had grown between Evan and Christina. As it was, they were oblivious. They only had eyes for each other. It was as if some strange magnetic force had pulled them together, and now neither of them wanted to let go. As Evan pulled up to Shawn's house, Eric got out to walk her to the door. "Hey, Eric?" Evan called as Eric closed the door. "Why don't you walk home?" "I don't think that's a good idea," Christina began. "It's dark out. We should drive him home." "He'll be fine." Evan said to her, and the car spun off. Eric just sighed and walked Shawn to the brightly lit door. "I had a great time," he began nervously. "It was really fun, you know?" Shawn just laughed. "Oh, shut up and come her." She pulled him into her arms and pulled his face down to hers. The kiss seemed to last forever, and it was far too short. Eric found all thought fading from his mind as his sole focus of concentration became the soft lips that were attached to his own. Her tongue darted into his mouth, and the touch of their two tongues was like a surge of adrenalin straight to their hearts. For the barest of moments, their hearts thudded as one, each one beating as fast the other. The feel of his chest on her breasts, his arm around her waist as the free hand cupped her chin. It was perfect and beautiful and both of them wished that it could last forever. Shawn felt her knees begin to buckle and she would have fallen if Eric hadn' t been holding her. As it was, it threw them both off balance and they stumbled, their lips still locked and fell into the door. The loud bang startled them and they separated guiltily. "Wow," Eric whispered. His eyes couldn't look away from hers and his hands gripped her arms. Neither of them wanted to let go. "Yea. Wow." Was all Christina could think to say. She took a step closer, eager to feel his lips upon her own again when the door opened behind her. 'SHIT' she thought to herself angrily. She wasn't ready to leave him. "Shawn?" her father asked, a little worriedly. "I'm okay dad. This is Eric Wagner, the guy I was telling you about." Eric stepped forward, grudgingly letting go of Shawn's arms to clasp hands with her father. "Very pleased to meet you, sir." Her father looked slightly amused. "Well, at least he has good manners. It 's a pleasure to meet you too, Eric." "I should be going," Eric stammered. He was very aware of the blush crawling down his face. He turned to Shawn. "May I call you tomorrow?" "Only if you have to wait that long," Shawn smiled impishly. "Oh, he does," her father remarked, but his face was creased in a smile. "Good night, Shawn.Mr. Winters." Eric began backing away. He couldn't take his eyes off Shawn. Shawn and her father both said goodnight as John Winters steered his little girl in the door. Eric was still in a daze as he entered his room. It hadn't been but a mile walk to his house, but he had taken it slowly with a huge grin on his face. He couldn't help but smile, and laugh and generally act foolish all the way home. He had had another date with the girl of his dreams and it had been absolutely perfect. It took him nearly an hour and a half to make the mile long journey. A dull ache in his groin indicated that the soda he had consumed at the movies was requesting exit, so he almost skipped the short distance to the bathroom. As he was entering, he heard the sound of someone crying. Curious, he walked past the bathroom. The sound was coming from Christina's room. He waited a minute, then heard the sobbing again. He thought for a minute, then knocked on the door. "Christina? It's Eric. Can I come in?" "Just go away, Eric," her voice was raspy and wan, a sick sound that he had heard before many times coming from him, his sister, and his mom. He turned to walk away, but something stopped him. He couldn't put his finger on it and later he would never be able to explain why he had done it, but he turned and opened the door. Christina was standing naked, examining her left side. Embarrassed, Eric turned to close the door.until he saw the bruises. Christina's left side was one big bruise. Near her shoulder on the left arm was a big bruise in the shape of a man's hand. Her face was a mess, though much of it may have been her makeup there was a rather large lump and some blood. "ERIC!" Christina cried, but her heart wasn't in it. She collapsed onto her knees and great sobs wracked her body. Eric rushed to her side. He didn't grab her for fear of hurting her, but she turned to him and grabbed him and held him, her face buried in his shoulder as her body shook and trembled. Slowly, he reached his arms around her and brushed her hair with his hands. They stayed that way for a little while until most of the sobs had quieted down. He just held her and comforted her as best as he could, trying hard to avoid the bruises. "Evan did this to you?" He felt rather than watched her shake her head. A fury rose in him then, an anger that burnt hotter than anything he could remember feeling. Desperately, he pushed it down. Later, there would be time for the anger. Right now, his cousin needed him. "You have to go to the police, Chris." "No. No, I won't." "They'll take care of this. You have to." "Eric. No. I don't want to. I just.I want to be left alone." Her words were slurred in her grief, like she just didn't have the heart to talk anymore. He lifted her easily, not even thinking about it as he did it and she didn't resist. He carried her carefully into the bathroom and set her on the carpet. She clung to him, not letting go, so he had a hard time turning the water on in the tub and setting it to the right temperature, but he did it without reproach. When the tub filled, he put her in it but she didn't say a word, and he almost had to disentangle her arms from around him. Christina looked gratefully at him, and he almost cried when he saw the bruise on her face and the swollen lip. He started by washing and rinsing her hair, and she was content to let him. Gently, he washed her face taking the blood and makeup away to reveal the large bruise underneath. He washed her shoulders and neck, but stopped when it was time to go further. He lifted her hand and put the soap into it. Christina looked at him, pleading in her eyes. She placed the soap back and pulled his hand to her breast and used his hand to rub the soap in. She moved his hand to her stomach and washed. Then she moved lower. It was then that Eric balked and started to jerk his hand away. Christina held fast. "Please, Eric. Please," she pleaded with him, tears filling her eyes. "Please.just.clean me. I don't want to feel dirty any more. I don't want to feel.him.any more. Just wash him away, please? This isn't about sex, there's nothing sexual about this. I just need him washed away and I can't do it.just wash me, please?" His breath caught in his throat, but he pushed his hand between her legs and applied the soap to the sparse growth there. He was crying as he felt his hand work the soap against the lips of her vagina and further down to her anal opening, being careful to be gentle and mindful of her pain. It wasn't tears of pain as tears of loss. His cousin had been hurt, and she was right. This wasn't a sexual thing as much as a purification. He understood that she needed someone to absolve her of this blame and that the washing was just an instrument of that absolution. He knew that she wouldn't listen to his words if he told her that she wasn't to blame, that she couldn't possibly be to blame for this beating. Somehow, this was the correct way to do this. So he washed her sex and then he continued down her legs. When he was done, he sat back. Christina just lay still, her eyes closed. She still shuddered a little, but she looked like the worst of her grief was past. He opened the stopper on the tub and let the water drain. Carefully, he lifted her no longer caring whether he got wet or not. She never opened her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder. He had to sit on the closed toilet to dry her when he realized that he still had to pee.and very, very badly. "Chris? Can you stand up for a minute?" he asked, but Chris never answered and her arms never loosened from clutching him. So, he lifted her slightly and undid his pants quietly and pulled them down. Opening the lid, he sat back down and aimed into the commode. "Are you peeing?" Chris whispered in his ear. There was a sound like a gentle laugh in her voice. "I'm sorry. I couldn't hold it any more. That's where I was going when I heard you." his voice trailed off. "It's okay," she whispered. When he was done, he lifted his pants back up and somehow managed to button them. He lifted her back up and flushed, then carried her to her room. The clothes she had been wearing were lying in a crumpled heap on her bed, and he could tell that some of them were ripped. He grabbed them and tossed them towards her hamper, then pulled the covers back. Slowly, he placed her in her bed. "Don't leave me?" She questioned, her arms leaving his neck. She never opened her eyes. "I'll sit right here until you go to sleep," Eric promised as he sat on the floor by her bed. She smiled and rolled onto her side, facing the window next to her bed. Eric didn't have to wait long to hear her breathing fade to a soft snore, interspersed with a whimper. He stood up to go and took one more look down at her. Even hurt like this, she was beautiful. Another sister to protect, he thought ruefully.and then realized that he meant it. Christina, for all her faults, was his sister now. His promise to his mother resounded through his head. He bent down and kissed her forehead, then walked out turning off the light behind him. How she did it, Eric couldn't begin to fathom, but Christina managed to hide Friday night's events from her parents that weekend. She spent nearly the entire weekend in her room feigning sickness, but when she and Eric did meet in the halls she gave him a warm smile. When Monday came, she stayed at home sick again. Eric managed to get through his classes Monday, but he knew that something was bothering him. Shawn could see it to. They spent as much time as they could together in the halls between classes but Shawn could see that he was clearly distracted. She asked him about it, but he had just smiled and kissed her on the cheek and told her not to worry about it. Still, she did. She could tell that nothing had changed between them.they still felt the same way towards each other, but Eric's mind was wandering somewhere. They met after school and were walking hand in hand towards home, when they passed the football field. Evan Thyme was a defensive lineman and one of the best in the state. He was as big as a house and built very solid. Him and a few of his football buddies were hanging out on the field when Eric and Shawn passed them. Eric only heard a snippet of conversation from Evan, but it was enough. Something to the effect "then the bitch squealed and I plugged her." Everything in Eric's world turned red. Something inside him broke right then, though what it was he couldn't really understand nor explain. A fury filled him, the same fury that had been building since Friday night. Shawn couldn't understand why he turned and walked through the gate onto the football field, but she followed him. He didn't try to hide, he didn't try to sneak up. He didn't even walk. He stalked onto the field, a rage welling within him. Evan saw him coming and was a little amused. He laughed at Eric as he walked up, "Hey, Er.how's your hot-to-trot cousin?" Evan's two friends laughed at the joke. Eric swung as soon as he reached Evan and caught him square on the jaw. For a split second, Evan had the audacity to look shocked as he fell like some great tree. It didn't take more than a second for Evan's buddies to come to his aid, each of them took an arm and hauled Eric back before he could jump onto Evan. "Now you're going to get it you pussy," Evan yelled, and started slamming his fists into Eric's body. "Stop," Shawn screamed. Evan paused in his pummeling and turned. "Ooo. Hold the pussy, fellas, I'm going to take care of this little bitch right now." He grabbed Shawn and started pulling her under the football stands. Evan's buddies began to laugh. Eric barely felt the pain. He had lived with pain his entire life, compared to that this little beating was nothing. However, his head jerked up as he heard Shawn screaming. As he watched, helplessly, as Evan dragged Shawn kicking and screaming under the stands, his rage returned a thousand fold. Anger, like white hot pokers, seared across his brain. He trembled as the full fury of his wrath crested over him. As he jerked his arm out of Dave Busch's hand, the pain in his side told him that at least one of his ribs were broken. He brought his leg up and stomped down as hard as he could at Ryan O'Keefe's knee. The satisfied crunching would have been enough to tell him that he had done some serious damage, but Ryan's hands letting go of him to clutch at his leg was an added bonus. He turned on Dave as Dave turned toward him and didn't hesitate to swing a right to Dave's nose. There was a sharp pain in his knuckle accompanied by a pain in his side, but he ignored them both and immediately followed with his left at the bloody remains of Dave's nose. He turned, not even bothering to watch as Dave fell to the ground writhing in pain. Ryan lay on his side, clutching his knee. Eric kicked him hard to the face as he stalked past. Ryan stopped moving. With a look of grim determination, he walked under the football stands. Shawn was fighting Evan's advances, but he had managed to rip her shirt and bra off. Eric grabbed him with both hands around the neck and heaved, throwing Evan off of Shawn. He could feel and hear things popping in his side and the pain in his side grew to a painful ache. Once again he ignored it. "Fine, you little dick, now you're really going to get it." And Evan caught Eric a blow to the nose that left a sharp shooting through his head. Eric fell then, trying desperately to catch himself before he sank into unconsciousness. Evan walked forward, an evil grin splitting his face. All Eric wanted to do was sink into oblivion. Two things stopped him. First, he knew if he did he was dead. Evan would finish him. Second, Shawn would be next on Evan's list. As Evan began to stoop to finish the job, Eric did the only thing he could. He kicked as hard as he could at Evan's groin. The kick wasn't very powerful; Eric didn't have a whole lot left in him and he was off balance. Still, it did the job. Eric's face lit up in surprise and pain, and he fell back clutching himself. Eric crawled to his knees. He coughed and was surprised to see blood spraying out of his mouth. He blinked the watery fluid out of his eyes, trying desperately to focus, but he was only partially successful. He crawl ed over to Evan, grabbed him around the neck, and dragged him out from under the stands. By this time, Eric was fading in and out of consciousness, but he wouldn't let himself fall into the dark abyss. When he was sure that he had dragged Evan far enough away from the stands to give Shawn a chance to escape, he straddled Eric and started swinging to the face. He had nothing left and every swing brought shards of new pain from each of his sides, but he didn't stop. Not until someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him off his unconscious foe. He didn't even have enough strength to struggle his unseen attacker, and he knew that if it was one of Evan's friends he was done for sure. As he looked up, though, he saw a blue uniform with a flash of silver. A police officer. He struggled to sit up. "No, you just lay back down for now, slugger. There's a couple of ambulances coming." Then Shawn was with him and she was crying. She tried to grab him but the officers pulled her away. "Miss, you have to stay away from him. He's hurt really bad. Just settle down." "Shawn," Eric called, and he was surprised when only a whisper escaped his lips. "You.okay?" Shawn stood there, her shirt and bra around her waist, her mind hysterical and tears coursing down her face. She couldn't believe it. He was lying there, beaten beyond anything she had ever seen. Blood streaming from his nose and mouth and spraying when he coughed - which was often - and he was worried about HER. "I'm fine, my love," she called through her tears. But she couldn't tell if he heard her as he lay unmoving. Eric was drowning in darkness. He felt pain everywhere, pain like he hadn't felt in a long time. He heard snippets of conversation around him. Things like "seven broken ribs" and "perforated lung". Things like "broken nose" and "broken bones in each hand". He couldn't make sense of it all, but he hoped that whoever they were talking about had made his peace with God because it didn't sound like they were going to be with this world much longer. He couldn't figure out what was going on really. He was in a kind of haze, where nothing made sense. He could only barely remember who he was and he didn't know how he had fallen into this darkness. He floated, the pain buoying him from the pit, but part of him longed to dive into the abyss and finish with all the pain. Luckily, the other part of him talked himself out of it. It was several days before Eric came fully awake. The first face he saw was Christina's. "Hey, Er," she said softly. At least, it seemed like she was speaking softly. There seemed to be something wrong with his ears. "Are you awake." He tried to talk, but nothing much came out except a gurgling whistle. "It's okay, don't talk. You're in the hospital. You've been beaten pretty bad, but the doctors say you're going to be alright. You just need some time. Now, don't say anything and don't move, okay? You need to be still so you can get better. He wanted to tell her that he understood, but when he blinked Christina was no longer there. Something had changed. It was night time and a nurse was checking a bunch of cords that seemed to be coming from him. He blinked again, and the daylight returned and Aunt Jean and Uncle Tom were there, and Gwen was looking at him with enormous tears in her eyes. "Eric? You've got to hang in there, son. It's going to be okay." The sounds faded out, and darkness claimed him once again. Eric was in the hospital nearly two months, and he was in pain nearly every day. However, he had a lot of practice at healing, so his wounds eventually began to work themselves away. Slowly, all the lines and tubes coming from him began to dwindle as doctors took away one and another. Finally, when none were left, he was told he could go home. He got home a week before Valentine's day, and he was weak as a kitten the first few days. He could walk, but slowly and it was almost as if he had to learn how all over again. Slowly, day by day, his strength began to return to him. Still, no one spoke to him about what had happened and he didn't ask. On Valentine's morning, he was awakened by everyone crowding into his bedroom. His Aunt and Uncle stood by the side of the bed, Gwen was at the foot and Christina was on the other side. "Well," he smiled. "This is a bit of a surprise!" His uncle just looked at him, but he could tell that he was fighting to maintain his composure. "Eric, we had our differences when you came here. You know that and I want to say that it was kind of our fault as well. We should have realized, you know." "What your uncle is stumbling around trying to say," his aunt interrupted exasperatedly, "Is that we love you and we are so proud of you that we just can't put it into words." His aunt was crying and she laid a card on the bed. She turned and, grabbing her husband, walked out of the room. "Me, too, bro," Gwen said. She walked up to the side of his bed and bent down and hugged him. He sat up and hugged her back fiercely. "I love you." She too walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. "That just leaves me, I guess," Christina giggled nervously. She sat on the bed and Eric pushed himself against the headboard so he could sit up comfortably. "Eric, when you.found me.I wasn't going to tell anyone anything. I was just going to pretend that it never happened and try to get on with my life. "But then, you attacked Evan.and Dave and Ryan.and they were going to punish you, so I had to come forward. It's been hard, you missed the arraignment luckily.but it all came out. I.I just." her words stumbled to a halt. Then she bent forward and kissed him, a long slow kiss on the lips. Her tongue came out and licked playfully at his own, but Eric was far too surprised to do anything more than sit there stunned. "I'm sorry. I.I had to do that," her words came out in a rush, as if she were worried that if she didn't blurt them out quick enough she wouldn't be able to say them at all. "Eric, you are my knight in shining armor. I know that that is as far as I'll ever get to go with you, because we're related and all, but I had to kiss you because if you weren't my cousin I'd take you out and make sure that you never even thought about another girl again. As it is, I only hope that I find a man as nice and as brave as you are." Then she was crying and ran out of the room. -- Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated. +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | alt.sex.stories.moderated ----- send stories to: <ckought69@hotmail.com> | | FAQ: <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/faq.html> Moderator: <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Discuss this story and others in alt.sex.stories.d, look for subject {ASSD}| |Archive at <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org> Hosted by <http://www.asstr-mirror.org> | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+