Mortal Life Calls

Chapter 2

Chapter 2





    Jess ran down the hall without the faintest notion of where she was headed. She ran past the elevator, into the stairwell and down the five floors, then out near the ER. She ran full tilt through the ER waiting area and out the doors. Once outside, she turned left and ran into the middle of the road, in front of the hospital, and collapsed to the ground sobbing uncontrollably.

    Car tires squealed on the hot pavement as the drivers stomped the brakes, swerving to avoid the grieving woman, creating a bottleneck in the  traffic. Several screamed obscenities at her and others yelled for her to move out of the way, while still others got out of their cars to see if they could help the so obviously distraught woman.

    Detective Foster ran out of the ER, halting traffic as he ran to Jess’ side. “Why are you sitting in the middle of the road? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

      Jess looked up at him with tears streaming down her face and glinting in the sunlight. Her eyes were black pools drowning in the sunlight as emptiness slowly crept up into them.

    He saw the answer held within her eyes,  YES! He squatted down beside her and an overwhelming emptiness that made his own heart ache gripped him. He cradled her against his chest and softly cooed to her in an attempt to soothe her. He rocked her gently in his arms as if she were a child.

    Slowly her sobs quieted and the Twin Rivers dried up. She felt the hollowness recede a little and the pain deepened. She had the impression that her coldness cost Jimmy his life. She thought the trauma she suffered as a child had caused it. The images resurfaced, deepening the well of emptiness.

      As she looked up into his eyes, she saw the emptiness fill him too,as if it some disease inmfecting him as it did her. She felt guilty, like someone on trial for a crime they did not commit. That guilt rise up within her and she suddenly looked away from him.

      He put a finger under her chin and pulled her face up, forcing her to look at him. He wondered why she didn’t want him to see the emptiness wash over her.

      Some part of him, of his being, had slowly drained away and left him empty and as quickly as it drained away, a great blackness filled that void in him. He gasped in shock and somehow knew he’d never be the same again.

      She met his gaze and suddenly averted her eyes. She did not want him to see how vast the emptiness was or how that darkness made her feel and how very lonely it made her.

        Dan looked down at her cradled in his arms, his blue eyes softened as they drank in every detail of her face. His blonde hair fell around his face, creating an illusion with the sunlight.  She reached up a soft, delicate hand and ran her hands through the soft, gentle waves. It was merely reaction to what she perceived from his body language because she, honestly, felt nothing for him. She felt nothing at all, no emotion whatsoever. Se was indeed dead inside.

        He wanted more than anything to taste her lips, to feel her lips on his bare skin. But that would be inappropriate behavior for a detective assigned to investigate her fiancé’s death and also because she needed time to heal this particular wound.

        The urge to kiss her made him tremble in an attempt to resist that particular temptation. It grew overwhelming and simply became too much for him and so he leaned over, slowly, inching closer to her.

        Jess looked up and saw his eyes were glittering like sapphires in sunlight, almost glowing bright blue as his hair fell forward casting shadows on his face.

        Gently, he pressed his lips to hers as his hand slid down her back. His hair fell around her face like a golden veil and through her tear blurred eyes, it appeared to be spun silk. She reached a hand up to frame his face but instead she caressed that golden veil of hair. It made her think of golden sand of some mystical place only seen in dreams.

*NOTE: not finished yet