5 comments/  16233 views/  1 favorites

Damaged Ch. 05

By: TrueNorth1969



Chapter 5

16 Years Ago

Alan emerged from the pond feeling a bit better. The water always managed to clear his head, no matter how bad his day went at school. It had been a really bad day. After drying odd and putting on his shirt, he sat at the clearing on the edge of the pond staring across the water. The sun was setting and orange and yellow light skipped and danced on the surface of the pond like it was on fire. 

Alan's mind drifted, thinking about how much Ms.Jennings' words had twisted in his stomach. His heart hurt so much at the time. She was so beautiful, so goddamn beautiful.

She had rejected his inadequate gifts, along with dismissing his puerile feelings, but accepted another's. The thought of it made him feel sick. 

He continued to stare across the hypnotic pond. As the sunlight faded, and the world around him darkened, he shovelled his emotions deeper and deeper into his mind, locking them away. 

Yet the image of Ms.Jennings still haunted him.

He didn't know how much longer he had sat there in the dark. He only lifted his head when he heard a pair of soft voices beyond the bushes. Somebody was at the Hobo Hut again. He came to his pond often enough that, once in awhile, he would hear voices by the old shack. He never cared to know what they were up to, though.

Then Alan heard a woman giggle. He frowned, thought about it, then stood.

Silently, he made his way in the dark, through the thick bushes towards the voices. He felt like he was being pulled towards them.

As he approached the old shack, he moved carefully and listened intently. He heard the female voice again and his heart raced. He firmed his jaw, concentrated hard, steadying his breaths and his heartbeats, preparing himself as he moved forward.

He crouched low beneath the uncovered window of the shack, the glow from a lantern shining through the opening. Again he listened.

He heard urgent breaths and gasps. "Ahh," a woman sighed longingly. It was a gentle, sweet voice.

His blue eyes were fixed and cold as he rose up slowly and peered into the shack. 

There were two people on a blanket on the floor, a man and a woman, their bodies aglow from the light of a single lantern. Alan dismissed the man, his shirt off and his pants at his ankles, almost immediately. Instead, he set his unmoving stare on the woman underneath him.

Her pretty dress was bunched up along her waist, pulled down off her shoulders and arms revealing her supple, quivering breasts, and lifted high over her milky thighs. Her pristine white bra and panties were crumpled on the dirty floor. Her long, wavy, soft caramel hair was tossed as she whipped her head back with each rough thrust of the man between her legs. 

"Ahn," she gasped sharply.

Alan trained his eyes onto the glittering object that dangled and bounced around her pretty white neck: a silver locket-pendant.

"Ah! Ah! Oh god," Ms.Jennings groaned desperately.

The man bucked harder into her, straining out satisfied groans of his own. Ms.Jennings' beautiful body, her beautiful voice, her beautiful face implored him for more and more. He obliged, shaking the old shack rigorously.

Alan slumped down against the side of the shack. He breathed deeply through his nose as the illicit cries continued to saturate the air around him but he refused to let them into his head. He bit down on his lower lip, stifling a tortured whimper as he looked up to the sky, his hand feeling around blindly on the ground beside him. It touched something long, hard, and cold. He grabbed at it, pulled it onto his lap. It had a good solid weight to it. Still looking towards the darkened skies, Alan gripped the coarse length of pipe tightly in his white-knuckled hands and waited for the moans and gasps to end.

*********

Teri stood outside of the shack, "Hobo Hut", examining it closely. It didn't look like a place where people could have been viciously murdered by some crazed transient. In fact, it wasn't nearly as ramshackle as she thought it would be. 

Alan walked up beside her holding the flashlight. He stood quietly, letting her continue with her observations.

"For some reason, I thought it would be more run down, spooky," she said in a hushed voice. It seemed almost as if somebody had been fixing it up.

Alan switched off the flashlight. For a minute, the shack seemed to disappear, but as her eyes adjusted to the moonlight above, it revealed itself to her once again. She looked at Alan, a soft blue, moonlit glow on his stoic face.

"You want to look inside?" he asked.

Teri, her eyes set on him, nodded.

Alan opened the door and followed her as she walked in. Teri stepped slowly inside the dark little room. The floor creaked a bit but it still felt solid underfoot. The smell of fresh wood filtered gently through her nose. Again, it wasn't what she had been expecting.

Alan stood behind her, his head tilted slightly as he watched her. He could barely see the outline of her body moving around in the dark. He knelt down and reached for something beside the door.

Teri blinked and turned around as a yellow-orange glow suddenly filled the room. She saw Alan stand up holding a large kerosene lantern. 

"Oh!" she gasped and squinted through the sudden brightness. When her eyes readjusted she looked around again. 

Now she was really surprised. She had been expecting dirt and clutter around the old shack. What the glow from the lantern revealed was a clean swept room. Wood walls that should have been faded or decaying, were capably re-enforced with fresh wood panelling, with two clean, unbroken windows on the sides. It was like a tiny cottage.

Teri felt her breathing intensify as she glanced around with a roll of her eyes, noting that the room was empty except for several heavy blankets folded on top of a long cushion in the back of the shack.

"You...you did this, didn't you Alan?" she asked watching her shadow on the floor stretch up the back wall, "Fixed this place up?"

Alan set down the lantern, took a couple of steps forward, and stood behind Teri. His shadow enveloped hers.

She could feel him behind her, his warmth, his smell, heard his steady breath. She hesitated for a moment then turned around to face him. As she looked up at him, she noticed his eyes sweeping around the room first, like he was making sure everything was in place, before looking back at her. 

She had wondered how much planning the man had done. And now with the realization sinking in, she wondered how far he had intended to take those plans.

Just then his lips stretched to an impossibly subtle smile. It was an expression she had never seen before from him but she was able to read it oh so clearly.

Teri could feel the trepidation swell within her, but as she settled her gaze on his determined blue eyes, she couldn't deny the attraction she felt for this man. 

"I have something for you, Teri," he said with a soft voice.

His eyes always on her, Alan reached into his pants pocket, pulling out a small chain and held it in front of her. Teri reached up and steadied the little object dangling at the end of it. It was a silver pendant-locket engraved with the initials "T" and "Y". 

"Alan," she gasped as she looked at it, her small black eyes suddenly widening, "I..."

Her voice trailed off, unable to chose the proper words to say. 

Without a word, he unclasped the chain. Teri bowed her head slightly as he reached behind her neck and put the necklace on. Her head remained tilted down as she looked at the pendant. 

Alan stepped back slightly and admired the demure woman as she stood quietly in the little shack. Teri was already beautiful. Now, with the pendant around her neck and the soft glow of the lantern cascading a gentle light upon her, she was perfect.

As she sensed the man shift closer to her, Teri, her eyes still on the pendant, slowly shook her head side-to-side. For her, the man was temptation, fascination, and lust all rolled into a physically desirable and emotionally intriguing package. Yet even then, despite the pounding in her heart and the ache in her belly, did she really want to give into her desire here? Now?

Alan's fingers touched her chin and gently raised her head to look at him. Searching his unflinching eyes she saw her answers in him, the answers Alan had always known: Yes here. Yes now.

Alan held her by her chin, leaned forward and kissed her small, soft lips. He could feel the tingle of hesitancy from her. It was incredibly enticing.

Teri didn't resist, didn't back away. As she felt him press his kiss on her lips, she closed her eyes and accepted him wholly.

As they quietly moved and folded their lips over one another, Teri shifted her shoulders slowly, feeling the man push her sweater off, letting it fall to the floor around her feet. Despite the night air, it still felt so warm in the shack. 

Alan kissed her on the cheeks and then moved to around her ear and down to her soft neck. He inhaled deeply. She smelled so fresh, like mountain air, no strong perfumes burning his nose or throat.

They continued to stand on the floor, their kisses steadily intensifying. The silence around them was deafening, Teri felt a twinge in her belly with every passionate gasp for air that slipped from her mouth to her ears. 

Alan pushed his fingers through her satiny hair and slid them down to the soft nape of her neck. They worked efficiently to undo the clasp of her dress. 

Her hands staying around the back of his neck, Teri broke from the kiss and leaned back looking down as Alan slowly lowered the front of her dress to her belly. Trembling she looked up only for a moment, seeing a subtle pleased look in his calm eyes, then back down as his hands made their way to the front of her heaving bosom. He massaged her breasts with firms rolls of his warm hands.

"A-Alan," she trembled. The uncertainty of what was happening filled her with anxious anticipation and confusion. "I...I'm not sure if..." 

He didn't listen and just undid the front clasp of her bra with a twist of his fingers. With a gentle "snap" it popped open. It also dropped to the floor behind her feet. 

She could barely keep herself steady, gazing upon her bare breasts, the silver pendant hanging between them. Alan's hands reached up and gently stroked them. His fingers and palms slipped around and under her smooth sloping curves. He leaned down and kissed around her dark tan nipple before covering it with his lips and pulling it into his mouth. Teri embraced his head, closed her eyes, and rubbed her chin and cheek against his curly hair as she felt him sample her with his teeth and tongue. He moved back and forth between her breasts until her nipples ached and strained to staunch attention. 

The school teacher was already breathing hard through her mouth, smacking her lips, licking her tongue along them, trying to keep them moist. Alan helped her as he stood up and covered her lips with his. She gasped when she felt his tongue slide into her mouth and filled her with damp, warm breaths. 

Alan's hands continued to move, rubbing her bare back before sliding down her body. His fingers pulled at her skirt, crimping it upwards into his fists until he was able to slip underneath her pretty yellow dress. He slid his rough hands around her supple round bum, bunching her panties along her crack so that he could have a unhindered grope of her smooth, soft flesh. Then his fingers twisted around the sides of her panties.

"Unng!" Teri cringed as she felt and heard one side of her panties snap, unable to resist the brusque tug of Alan's strong hands. Another stiff yank, and the other side gave way. 

Alan began to move with more urgency now. His lips and hands were all over her, kissing her, fondling her, touching her. The surge in his body was building momentum and he fed it with all the buried desire he could muster from deep within. Everything culminated towards this moment perfectly. The excitement was undeniable and the more he had of Teri's body --the more she gasped in ecstasy and anticipation-- the more he allowed those explicit feelings to surge. He was so focused on her, he was almost surprised to realize how hard he had become, the pressure in his pants demanding release and gratification.

Alan stepped back from her and tore his shirt open, buttons skittering to the floor. Teri only had a moment to reach out and touch the hairs on his broad chest, before he seized her around her back and bottom, lifting her from the floor. He clutched her close, pressing her bare breasts against his hard chest, as he carried her a couple of steps back and lowered her to the pad on the floor. He sat her up against the wall, the blankets at her back.

Teri let the man guide her as she had always done, both eager and anxious to see and feel what he was going to do next. Alan rose to his feet, standing over her. She watched him with admiring eyes as he pulled off his shirt with a deliberate twist of his torso, displaying the bumps and curves of lean muscle packed onto his V-shaped body. She tried to keep her eyes on his face, but when she heard the whine of his zipper, she found her sight lured to the waist of his pants. He let his pants drop. His boxer briefs couldn't hide the rigid and imposing length straining against them from underneath. A nervous sigh quivered from her lips.

As he knelt down in front of her, Teri found herself drawing her slender legs closer to her body. Alan reached for her ankles and pulled them towards him, removing and tossing aside her shoes unceremoniously. 

Aware of how Teri was watching him, he hooked the sides of his briefs and quickly pushed them down his thighs. His hard cock slipped out, angling sharply upward in rigid attention. 

Again Teri shirked and felt her body curl in close. Alan was having none of that now, grasping her ankle and calf, pulling her towards him, her back slipping lower against the wall. The bottom of her yellow dress was bunched around her waist now. She could see Alan looking down at her exposed snatch. He leaned forward between her pale legs and reached a hand behind her head, pulling her away from the wall to give her another long, passionate kiss. 

Teri felt the side of his cock brush against her inner thigh and skim her lower belly. It was so hard, so hot. She knew in a moment she would be intimately aware of how physically intense it could actually feel. 

The woman may not have been able to tell by looking at him, but Alan was bursting inside. No more sampling. No more teasing. Now he had to take her completely.

He knelt close to her between her legs, her knees angled around his waist. One hand still holding her from the back of her neck, his other slid the tip of his cock up and down the line of her snatch, nudging apart an opening between her folds and petals. 

Oh God...Oh God... Teri repeated in her head as her whole body tensed. She couldn't inhale deeply enough and finally just held her breath. She swallowed hard and gasped, "Alan..."

Alan let go and pushed forward sinking his throbbing length into her with a slow, deep thrust. 

"Ah-ahn!" Teri gasped aloud, her breath draining from her with a shudder. She felt him surge into her, pushing her apart with brash determination. 

Alan closed his eyes. The sensation of finally being inside this woman was incredible. He felt her tender, damp, inner flesh clench around his stiff cock, almost pulling him in. Then he opened his eyes and rolled his hips back and forth. His lengthy shaft pushed and pulled in and out of her with precise, gliding strokes.

Teri's brow angled sharply upward in the middle as she looked up anxiously at Alan. Her short, straight hair fell across her right eye but still she focused on the man above her. Initial discomfort gave way to tantalizing, warm tingles as she felt every inch of his hard, hot length fill her completely over and over. He drifted into her with zealous thrusts, her feet rising off the floor higher and higher, clenching her calves tighter against his torso.

"Uhn! Uhn! Ahn!" she groaned, her mouth rounding wide open. Her mounting cries seeped through the walls of the shack and floated into the secluded woods surrounding them. He felt so good, so very good.

Alan began to pump her harder with stiff strokes, grinding his crotch against hers. One hand on her tightly clenched stomach, the other on the wall above her head, he leaned over her, positioning himself for even more unabated bursts.

The shack creaked under the duress of their intensifying passions. 

Alan relished the strain on Teri's pretty face, flushed red from the heat around them and the wanton zeal flowing within. He watched as the pendant skipped around her neck and shook above her trembling breasts. It looked so right on her. 

He was also breathing hard now, a gruff wheezing seeping into his gasps for air. His muscles were tightening and his cock was throbbing painfully. But he wanted more and he needed for Teri to want more.

Teri's body and head shook harshly against Alan's relentless drives of his rigid shaft. It throbbed within her. She didn't care anymore what toll this vigorous, delicious banging would take on her later on. It felt good now, that was all that mattered. Her legs were drawn high, her hands wrapped around his forearm and waist, her body curling towards his, ignoring the pain in her tightened stomach.

"Oh God...Alan! Uhn! I can't...Ah! Uhn!" she gasped, unable to speak clearly.

Drops of perspiration fell freely from his body onto hers, running down her neck and around her shaking breasts. His normally placid expression was straining, his face red. Faster and harder, he surged past his peak, pouring into her blanketing warmth. Good god, she felt incredible. Alan could never have imagined. He redoubled his efforts and thrust into harder and harder and harder.

Her whole body shook uncontrollably with each deep, rapid strike from Alan. She couldn't hang on anymore and her hands let go of him as she dropped back down onto the cushion. 

"Ah-Alan! Oh God!" Teri cried, her whole body sliding onto the floor now. She sucked in all the air she could, turned her head, and screamed, "Ah-Ahh!!!"

Her back curved upward, her torso twisting, as she succumbed to an exquisite wet flow spilling from deep within her slender body. It was a sensuous rush.

Alan felt her clenching around his shaft, her legs clutching like a vice against his torso, and her wetness flowing over him. The veins around his neck and his arms were all pulsing with blood and he felt like every muscle in his body was about to tear apart. He pumped two more hard strokes into her then leaned back and groaned loudly, "Ah-UHH!"

His deep guttural moan vibrated through the wooden walls of the shack as a thick stream of cum jetted from him, filling Teri. Wrapping his hands around her sleek waist, he leaned back on his knees and pulled her against his crotch. He clenched his butt, pushing into her deeper and deeper, as hot, passionate fluid shot out of him in full, rugged release. He inhaled quickly then grunted again, twitching every last drop he had burning within him. 

His body heaved over hers as he stayed inside of her until he was utterly spent. His glassy blue eyes blinked as he gazed at the ceiling, looking as if he head been wakened from a deep, dark slumber with a splash of cold water.

Teri writhed deliciously beneath him, as she felt him explode within her and savoured the sweet aches and tingles within her overheated body. Alan looked down at her. He couldn't think of anyone more desirable as she was. He couldn't think of anyone else, period.

He slowly lowered himself on her, embracing her, kissing her. Teri shared his embrace and warmth, holding him close to her body, caressing him, soothing his exhausted body.


Damaged Ch. 05



Silence finally settled around the small shack in the woods.

*********

It was dawn by the time Alan's pick-up truck pulled up in front of Teri's house. She had been as quiet as he was during the ride back. 

It had been uneasy and tense between them from the moment they had awoken together in the shack. Lying on the cushion, Teri had looked up at Alan expecting to see warmth and contentment in the man's eyes. Instead she saw a cold stare that looked back at her only briefly before he got up and quietly got dressed. Her mind unable to find the words to question him, Teri had simply pulled up her dress around her neck, pushed the skirt of it to her knees and picked up her shoes and torn underwear from the floor. Then she followed Alan as he walked out of the shack. 

They sat in the cab of the truck outside of her house for a long moment, the engine running. Alan just stared straight ahead, unmoving. Teri couldn't think of what to say.

Finally, she just leaned over and gave Alan a kiss on the cheek. As she turned to climb out of the truck however, he grabbed her arm. 

She looked at him. "Alan?" she said softly.

Alan pulled her back into the truck. As she looked up at him, he held her close and moved towards her. He gazed deeply into her eyes and she saw an intense longing reflected in his expression. Then he gave her a deep and passionate kiss that seemed to last forever --like he needed it to last forever-- filling her with a satisfying warmth. Teri smiled gently as they parted, then she turned away again and stepped down from the truck. 

Standing on her lawn in her bare feet and yellow dress, holding her shoes and her underwear, she waved slowly as Alan pulled away and down the street.

**********

Alan went home and checked in on Dean. The boy was still asleep in bed. Then he got himself another shirt and put it on as he walked to the kitchen.

He scribbled a note on a small slip of paper: "Cereal for breakfast. I'll be back before noon to make lunch. -Dad"

Then he left in his truck again. 

He drove for a few minutes through to the other side of town and parked at a street corner. He watched from a fair distance as Turner Locke came out from his house, got into his car, and drove away. Walking from his truck, Alan went up the steps to the biggest house in town and knocked.

Sophia Locke answered the door in a long royal blue robe completely hanging open down the middle. It was still early morning but she looked as fresh as a rose, her juniper-violet scent drifting through the air.

She curled a smile then said, "So lover...had your fun?"

She stepped aside and Alan walked into the house without a word.

Sighing, Sophia closed the door thinking that the man had better have saved something for her.

To Be Continued



Damaged Ch. 06



Chapter 6

12 Years Ago

Sophia MacKinnon stood in front of the mirrors as her mother primped and adjusted her dress and veil. It had taken 6 months of choking down celery and brown rice and putting herself through boot camp 3 days a week, but it all paid off as she zipped into that goddamn funnel of a wedding dress -- the unforgiving material cinched around her lean waist, pinching against her ribs, and pushing up her curvy bosom.

"Oh my God, Sophia," her mother cooed as she looked over her shoulder into the mirror, "You're positively gorgeous."

Sophia tilted her head slightly upward, looking over the tip of her sharp nose. Her skin was porcelain, her lips red and glossy like a ripe cherry, and her hair was fine strands of gold flowing around her like a radiant waterfall. 

"Turner Locke is a very lucky man," her mother whispered, her toothy smile far too wide on her face.

"And I'm sure you feel like a very luck mother to be," Sophia thought to herself, sneering inwardly. She knew her mother had long been hoping someone would just take the volatile Sophia off her hands already. That Sophia was going to marry the man most likely to own the biggest house in the region was a bonus that made her crassly giddy with delight.

The most beautiful woman in town could only marry the richest man, of course. Or it was more like the richest man had earned the privilege to marry the most beautiful woman. Sophia had no problem with being a "trophy wife". She didn't want to work and this way she could live comfortably. And Turner was too proud to have her by his side to care much about her notoriously icy nature. More importantly, he never questioned her actions nor was he curious about delving into her past. She looked hot and he got to screw her as often as he liked. That's all he cared about.

Sophia continued to stare into the mirrors, unmoving. Her mother sprayed her perfume on her, the scent of juniper and violet falling along her neck and chest. She blinked, brought out of her trance as the smell reached her nose. With a sigh, she walked away from the mirrors and looked out the window of the dressing room. As she gazed into the parking lot of the chapel, her eyes widened. 

"I want a few minutes by myself," she said dismissively as she continued to look out the window.

Her mother left the room without another word, closing the door behind her.

Sophia turned and faced the door. For the first time that day, including during all the preparations for the wedding, she actually felt anxious. After a couple of minutes, the door opened. A slim, handsome man stepped into the room, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, definitely not wedding attire. He was young, college age at most, but his demeanour and expression showed the weight of a man twice his age. That's what Sophia always found so appealing about him: a calculating maturity in such a fresh face. And those cool, unfazed blue eyes always sent a thrilling chill through her body.

"I'm glad you could come, Alan," Sophia said with a sharply angled smile. That was another thing: he always came no matter how often she called him. She called him a lot.

The young man said nothing, closing the door behind him and locking it. 

"Hope you didn't have any trouble getting away from...what's your little girlfriend's name again?" Sophia said mockingly. She never bothered to remember her name because she could tell Alan really didn't care much for his silly plaything, either. "But I'm very happy you could be here to give me your best wishes on my wedding day."

Still silent, Alan reached into his pocket and pulled out a condom.

Sophia arched her brow and grinned as she hiked up the hem of her white dress, kicked off her shoes and wriggled her hips to shimmy her panties down her long legs. She only thought momentarily about not messing up her make-up before she leaned back against the window sill, drawing the blinds as Alan approached her. 

The organ in the chapel began to play as guests took their seats. They would have to wait a little longer for the bride.

*********

It was almost noon when Alan left Sophia's bedroom.

"You know, I'm really embarrassed to say that you've got me wrapped around your little finger," Sophia said as she followed him down the staircase of her home.

He finished buttoning his shirt as he reached the bottom. Sophia was tying up her robe.

"I think even more so than your sweet teacher friend," she added, "I seriously doubt Ms.Yao could do any of things I've done for you --the things you've made me do for you-- and I'm not just referring to the bedroom upstairs."

She snickered to herself. Alan pulled on his jacket and made his way to the door.

Sophia grabbed him by the arm and said, "Alan, you're done with her, right? You've taken what you wanted from her. There's nothing else that she can do for you. She's just a hollow shell, a stand-in. You needed to play out that peculiar little fantasy in your head and you've done so. You couldn't care less about her. You're done with her."

The man turned around and looked at her. The usual veneer on her cool, calculating face was showing signs of strain, her sharp features softening with concern. Alan smiled, leaned towards her, and kissed her. Then he left the house.

Sophia stood by the door watching him walk away. She didn't feel reassured at all. 

**********

Teri stirred in her bed, an empty rumble from her stomach finally waking her from a deep slumber. She had slept right through the morning and into the better part of the afternoon. The sun was already slipping below the horizon when she sat up in bed. The days were getting shorter. 

She wondered if she should call Alan. She was curious to know if he had done the same thing as she did, slept through the day, allowing his body to recover.

She gently rubbed the side of her neck as he stared out through the bedroom window, a hazy yellow glow filtering back into the room. Her body still ached a little but that wasn't nagging her as much as the thoughts running through her head.

Every moment up until now played out slowly in reverse in her mind . She tried to figure out when Alan had started planning to get her into that shack. When they swam at the pond and she had asked to see it, he was reluctant to show her.

She fell back onto her pillow and rolled to her side. She reached out to her nightstand and picked up the pendant-locket he had given her. It shined from the ebbing sunlight as it dangled from her hand.

"He fixed up that shack," she said softly to herself. 

He had guided her, manoeuvred her, there. He never intended to just show her the "Hobo Hut" that the kids were talking about and then leave. His full intentions were realized from the moment of their first kiss to the last moment when he filled her completely, deeply, with his flowing, fluid warmth. 

Her body was aquiver at the thought.

Yet, she didn't feel wary of his manipulations. At some point, she had wanted it as well. She may not have been as clearly conscious of her actions in the past --at the school, in her home, at the pond-- but she had been undeniably drawn to him and at some point, wanted him to be with her. She hated the idea of him being with Sophia. So when their passion flared in that little shack, she knew she had played her part in making that moment happen. 

Her stomach rumbled again. Though she didn't want to, she finally dragged her body out of the bed and went to the kitchen. She picked out a cup of yogurt from the fridge and sat down at the table as she spooned the creamy sweetness into her dry mouth. Her cell phone beeped softly. A text message come through. 

Picking it up from the table, she viewed the short message: "I won't bother you again. Sorry. Greg."

Her mouth froze as she read the message before she slowly swallowed. She had forgotten about Greg...completely.

It took her forever to finish the small cup of yogurt as she tried to recover her drifting thoughts and feelings. Finally done, she stood up and walked slowly back to her bedroom and slipped under the sheets of her bed again.

*********

It was dark by the time Teri woke up again. This time her body was really paying for her lazy day. She felt restless and her joints and muscles were begging for a good stretch. 

She got up, dressed up in her jogging gear and went outside. Her body shivered as the cool night air hit her. She zipped up her track jacket. The late warm spell had lulled her into forgetting that colder weather was just around the corner.

As she listened to her MP3 player, she performed a few warm up stretches at the end of her driveway. She squinted as a set of headlights from the street slowly approached her. 

A large SUV pulled up close to her driveway as the driver's window slid down. Sophia leaned over the door smiling broadly at her.

Teri couldn't quite reciprocate.

"Hi Teri...it's okay to call you Teri instead of Ms.Yao when we're not in school, right?" she giggled.

"Hello Sophia," she replied continuing to stretch her legs.

"Late night jog?"

Teri nodded.

"Might want to wear something brighter," Sophia said looking up and down the street, "Not really that many cars that use these roads at this time of night, but you should probably play it safe." 

"You're probably right," Teri answered curtly. She wished the woman would just drive away already.

Still grinning, Sophia asked, "You wouldn't have happened to have seen Alan today? I can't find the man anywhere."

Teri stared at her. Even in the darkened streets she could see the woman's prickly smile. She offered nothing but a non-descript shrug of her shoulders.

Sophia leaned back in her seat and sighed, "Ah, those silent, brooding types. Always up to something, aren't they? You sometimes wonder what he's thinking behind that handsome face of his."

"I'm going to go now," Teri said with a cool deliberateness and she turned and set off down the street.

"Okay, have a good run, Teri," Sophia waved, "Be careful on these roads!"

Teri had already turned the volume on her MP3 up the moment she had looked away from Sophia.

*********

The following afternoon, after classes ended, the teachers gathered around the tables in the faculty lounge for a brief monthly meeting. 

Teri was more than a little distracted, her eyes, along with her thoughts, drifting out the window. None of the words of the others reached her. She hadn't seen Alan all day. 

"So onto community safety bulletins," the principal Mr.Helms announced. He looked up from the table, "Teri? Still with us?"

The young teacher's chin slipped off of the hand that had been cradling it over the table. She blinked and shook her head quickly to the sounds of some stifled chuckles around the tables.

"Oh! I'm sorry! So sorry!" she said nodding her head apologetically around the room.

"That's alright. Long day," the jovial man waved at her, "But as I was saying: community safety bulletins. The community council would like all teachers to remind their students not to play on or near the train tracks."

There were some shaking of heads and clicking of tongues amongst the teachers. 

"You'd think they learn," one of the older female teachers sighed.

"Well a lot of our kids probably aren't old enough to remember what happened to that teacher and her boyfriend," Mr.Helms replied.

"What happened?" Teri asked, sitting up in her chair.

"It was about 15 years ago or so I think," the principal spoke with a grim voice, "One of the teachers from the local high school and her boyfriend were hit by a train while they were walking on the train tracks one night."

Teri winced and drew a sharp breath, "Oh my god."

"Yes, it was very disturbing," Mr.Helms continued, his recollections of the night drawing vivid images in his head, "They said their bodies were crushed beyond recognition."

There was a despondent murmur in the room.

The older teacher who had spoken earlier shook her head slowly as she looked at the table in front of her, "I remember her: Sheryl Jennings. She was such a pretty, young teacher...a lovely woman."

Teri's eyes trailed off thinking how tragic a story that was.

*********

After the teacher's meeting, Teri gathered her things and exited the school. As she walked to her car, she noticed one child still in the playground, climbing the little wood fort.

She narrowed her eyes and called out to him, "Dean?"

The boy looked towards her and waved. 

Teri waved back and asked, "Was your dad at school today?"

Dean shook his head.

She frowned, trying not to let any wild thoughts of where he could be flurry her mind. She called to Dean again, "It's getting kind of late. Do you want a drive home?"

The boy immediately jumped down, grabbed his bag, and ran over to her. 

As they drove to his house, Teri couldn't help suddenly feeling a little guilty with Dean sitting beside her. He had been left alone in the house all night long while she and Alan were...

She couldn't even think about it with his son sitting there in her passenger seat. 

"You did well in class today," she said to him, "Did you enjoy it?"

He looked her and smiled genuinely. "Yeah," he replied, "It was fun.' 

"Good. I'm glad," she said, returning his smile. She repeated, "I'm glad."

They pulled up to his house. Both of them got out of the car and walked up the porch. Teri looked around. Alan's truck wasn't there. 

"He's not home?" she asked.

Dean shrugged and replied, "I don't think so."

She guessed that he didn't know where his dad was.

"Well, will you be okay on your own?" 

The boy nodded quickly. Somehow she got the feeling he was used to this.

She noticed the boy staring at her, not at her face but lower down. She realized he was looking intently at the pendant Alan had given her hanging around her neck.

"Pretty, isn't it?" she smiled.

Dean didn't answer. He went into the house, waved to her and closed the door.

Teri was left on the porch alone with an uneasy feeling wending its way through her gut.

*********

Alan sat on the log in front of the Hobo Hut. He had brought his tools along with him but as he stared at the shack, he realized that there was no more work to do. He was finished with it.

Yet he didn't feel complete.

The night he spent with Teri had helped relieve him of the memory from 16 years ago. Images from that time that swirled around in his head were replaced by the more visceral, tangible feelings and sensations from the previous night. 

Now new thoughts filled his mind and he didn't know what to make of them. He recalled it all so vividly: holding her, kissing her, sinking his swollen passion into her over and over. He stored the sounds of her lovely, gentle voice gasping and crying out to him in the back of his mind. He still was gratified with how he had brought Teri to that moment, but it was the thought of being with her that excited him.

Yet he was supposed to be done with her, just like the shack. That was the reason for everything. It was never about the emotions. It was about fulfilling every lustful thought that had tormented him for the last 16 years. Every thrust was a cleansing, a purging. This was about sealing an obsession away forever and becoming normal again.

He was not supposed to be wanting Teri even more. He was not supposed to be wanting anything more from her than just sex. 

He was supposed to be finished with her -- supposed to be.

At some point, he started to 'care' about her...but he had no idea what that meant.

What good would it be for a person like her to be with a man like him? He was damaged, irrevocably damaged. Even Teri couldn't cleanse him of the scars he bore on his soul and his conscience.

Moreover, to be involved with him would mean being involved with her, Sophia.

Sophia was the type who could do a lot of damage. 

*********

The next day, Teri was back in class. She still hadn't heard from Alan. 

She tried her best not to over think this. She refused to believe that she had been manipulated like some toy just so Alan could sleep with her. His planning had been so elaborate...it didn't make any sense. 

There was one other thing that reassured her that she hadn't just been used and tossed away once he had her. It was the kiss in the truck when he had dropped her off. For a moment, when he had stopped the car in front of her house and seemed to be so distant and unmoving, she thought that maybe it was all a twisted game. 

Then, as she moved to get out of the truck and he grabbed her arm and pressed his lips on hers in a desperate, impassioned kiss, she knew he was as serious about her as she was about him. She felt the genuine longing and relief in his kiss, the type that couldn't be planned, schemed or faked. She knew it.

As the kids continued working on a math test, Teri gazed out the window beside her desk. She heard a clatter outside, down below her window. There was Alan dragging a couple of garbage cans towards the building. She sat up, leaned out the window and waved. She successfully flagged down his attention as he stopped and looked up at her. 

She smiled and raised her finger to her lips, nodding towards the inside of her classroom. 

Alan stood there looking up at her. She frowned and tilted her head. What is it? was what she wanted to ask. 

Then she looked more closely. The look in his deep blue eyes filled her with the same feeling as the kiss in the truck. It was a feeling of intense longing. Her heart raced as they continued to simply stare at one another in silence. 

Finally, Alan lowered his head. He hesitated, but then continued into the school dragging the garbage cans. 

Teri realized she was breathing deeply. She blinked and looked at her watch. 5 minutes till lunch. The minutes couldn't tick by fast enough for her. 

To the sounds of some protests and some cheers, she ended the test right then and told the kids to hand in their sheets and go for lunch. Then she left the classroom and quickly made her way downstairs towards the custodian's office.

**********

Alan leaned forward on his chair in the custodian's office, his hands clasped together in front of him. The thrum of the boilers and systems in the room filled the drab room with white noise, allowing him to sink deeper into thought.

"Stay away," he whispered, "Stay away."

The words were meant for several people --Teri, Sophia, and himself-- and for even more compounding reasons.

For now, he needed to stay away from Teri and she from him. It troubled him deeply to do so. 

There was a knock on his door. He stood and walked up the short flight of metal steps and opened it. 

Teri stood outside. There was concern on her face as she looked at him and said, "When you kissed me in your truck, were you telling me good-bye?"

Alan froze, not to buy some time or for any other calculating reason. As he looked at the anxiety on the woman's pretty face, he was genuinely at a loss.

"Alan? I need to know." 

He turned and walked down the stairs. He had to get away from her. 

Teri caught the door before it closed and slipped in. She shut the door behind her and followed him down to the office. 

"I'm asking because it didn't feel to me as if you were saying good-bye," she prodded. 

Alan sat down at his desk, looking up at a bulletin board on the wall, his back to her. 

Teri levelled her breaths and weighed her thoughts. She didn't want her voice to crack or to waiver. "Alan?" she said as calmly as possible, "Tell me you didn't just...you didn't fuck me as part of some game of yours."

The harshness of the words from her lips actually rattled him. He closed his eyes and dropped his head feeling the hurt in her voice. It wasn't supposed to feel like this.




Damaged Ch. 06



"Did you go see Sophia after you were with me?" 

Her voice was steady but she was just tearing him to shreds like a sword in the gut.

Teri had a strong notion as to what his answer about Sophia was. She had an idea about Alan and Sophia from the moment she saw the woman back at Duffy's lounge. She saw thru their connection for the contrivance that it was and for the shallowness of Sophia's interest in Alan. Teri wasn't going to lose him to a woman like that.

Teri took deep breaths, her chest rising and falling noticeably. She needed to look into his eyes. His words had always been chosen so carefully before he spoke them, but she had learned to read what he was feeling by just looking into his eyes and face. 

Slowly the man turned in his chair to face her. He stared towards the floor at her feet. He hadn't been able to come up with any words, concoct any plan. He had to give her an answer, raw and from his gut.

Teri watched him look up at her. She saw a weariness in his brow that she'd never seen before. As his deep blue eyes settled on hers, she saw the same man who kissed her so achingly in the truck that morning.

"You probably should go," he said. There was no weight nor truth at all behind his words.

Looking at him, Teri's breath slowed as her mind focused. Her face set to a brazen determination, the young woman strode over to him, bent down, grabbed his face and pasted her mouth over his. The chair leaned and slid back slightly on its wheels with the force of her kiss.

Alan's eyes actually widened for a second as his heart skipped. Teri's actions were so sudden and overwhelming. It was like a blow across the face, not an indignant, scornful one, but rather an urgent wake up call to his feelings for her. As she pressed her lips onto his, her kiss told him that she knew how much he actually cared for her and needed her. 

Teri was swept away by her emboldened actions, her mouth moving rapidly around him as she wrapped her arms around his head and shoulders. She felt the man's hands on her torso, steadying her body as she leaned harder down against him, tilting him back in his seat. The humming boiler systems couldn't subvert the passionate gasps that escaped her lips. 

She stood back and, with Alan gazing up at her, quickly unbuttoned her blue blouse.

Alan looked at her, saw the reddish-black bobbed hair fall across her flushed-pink face. She didn't bother to sweep it aside. Her blouse parted down the middle, he could see that she was wearing that black bra of hers. She pushed her shoes off at the heels with her toes as she undid her slacks and let them slide off her slender creamy white legs to the floor. He realized his fingers were wrapped tightly around the armrests of the chair as he watched her.

Teri pushed her black panties down her legs and over and off her feet. As she walked back towards him, Alan had a clear glimpse of her neatly trimmed black bush. 

The woman reached for the buttons of his shirt and undid them from the collar down, yanking it out of his pants to get the last two. She pushed her hands outward along his bare, hairy chest, spreading apart his shirt. As she bent down to kiss and nibble at the man's nipples and chest her hands rubbed across his stomach. She swiftly went to work on his belt. 

Alan was already breathing through his mouth, the rush that was carrying him along came from deep within and was coaxed to the surface by Teri's exploring lips, tongue and teeth on his body. His whole body tingled with electricity, every hair bristling. Even before she had unbuckled his belt and pulled down his fly, he was swollen and rigid. He lifted his butt off the seat slightly, helping the woman tug his pants and underwear down to his ankles. His shaft jutted upward in solid attention. 

Teri desperately worked her mouth and tongue with his again, driving herself onto him, as she shifted her body and straddled him on the chair. She drifted her kisses along his cheek and neck. She nibbled his ear and breathed, "Tell me you want me, Alan." 

He wanted her so badly. He felt his tip nudge against her thighs and pelvis and belly as she wriggled around him. 

"Say that you need me," she sighed. She steadied her body, shifting only her hips as she held his face and looked down at him. 

Alan felt himself positioned at her slit. She settled her body just enough so he could feel the pressure of her tenderness on the head of his cock. It took everything he had not to just thrust up into her. Instead he looked up at her, gazed into her soft dark eyes and waiting, small pink lips and said gently, "I want you Teri...I need you." 

The woman smiled warmly. That smile began to quiver slightly as she slowly dropped her hips, and sank onto him. She licked her lips, closed her eyes, and listed her head back slightly as she felt his hard, hot shaft slip tightly into her. She settled completely onto him, her smooth, firm bum on his lap. They kissed as she began to roll her belly and gyrate her hips over him.

Alan held her body at her back and around her bum, feeling Teri undulate and sway rhythmically on him. His mouth moved down to her neck as she leaned back slightly, then further still to her chest. Her blouse had slipped off her smooth shoulders, her sleeves crumpling at the bend in her elbows. His nose and lips and teeth worked to lift the cups of her black bra up over her breasts, bunching it below he collarbone. As she embraced him close, he sucked and licked at her supple flesh. He slinked his tongue and dragged his teeth around her pert nipples. 

"Ah! Mmm!" Teri cooed her appreciation of his touch. He sampled her hungrily, sending waves of tantalizing shivers up her back. She pressed her cheek against the top of his head, her breathing increasingly less steady.

Alan was throbbing hard, feeling the warm, tight pressure around his cock. He bucked his hips gently eliciting pleased cries from Teri.

Both of them were exhaling sharp, warm breaths now. Half of Teri's face was completely shadowed by the hair that had fallen across it. The veins began to show in Alan's neck as the immense pressure built within him. 

"Ahn! I need you so much, Teri," he groaned looking up at her. His words and voice drove her even harder on him. Her stomach felt like it was going to tear itself apart as she bucked and ground herself onto his crotch.

"Huhn! Oh god! Alan! Uhn!" she gasped painfully. She felt him swell inside of her and she covered his mouth again with a kiss.

Alan squeezed his eyes shut and froze, his fingers pressing tightly into her tender flesh. Moaning into Teri's mouth, he fired a sudden, forceful stream into her as she settled on to his lap. He could feel it squirt and jet out of him relentlessly as he succumbed completely to it. He felt all of his energy being sapped from his body, filling her.

Teri could feel the slippery warmth deep inside her, his cock throbbing its release against her inner flesh. She broke away from the kiss, holding his face tightly. She pressed her forehead against his and shut her eyes as she trembled and groaned aloud, "Ahh-unn!"

She spilled over him like a slick flood. Her luscious, dripping dampness mingled with his viscous fire as she quivered against his body. She blinked, a weary but warm, gratified look on her face. She looked down and saw the same expression on the man below her, in her.

Deliciously drained and spent, she slowly slumped her body against him. Alan drew his arms up around her back, under her shirt, caressing her skin, holding her gently. 

With the sound of the boiler system regaining its presence in the room, they stayed that way, exchanging only breaths and heartbeats. They slowly recovered before the end of the lunch period.

*********** Sophia was lying on her back in bed, golden hair splayed over her silk-covered pillow, as she stared up at the ceiling. Her sight was unsteady, unable to keep the ceiling lamp centred in her line of vision. It probably had something to do with the heavy man who was on her and in her, riding her like she was a hobby horse. 

"Aw yeah! Damn, Soph! You're so fucking hot," Turner Locke said as he heaved himself over her again and again. Her husband was never one for the delicate details of passion.

Turner's idea of romance was stepping out of the office during lunch and driving home for a 20-minute quickie. She had to let her pasta Florentine go cold for this.

Her eyes rolled around in her head, separating her mind from the rigorous shaking her body was experiencing, and lost herself to one very disturbing thought: Alan was with Teri again. She knew it. She felt it. It made her seethe from within.

Turner groaned like a hoarse goat as he climaxed. 

Her green eyes narrowing, Sophia figured it was time to interject herself directly between Alan and Teri.

To Be Continued



Damaged Ch. 07



Chapter 7 

It was Saturday afternoon. Alan sat up in his bed, his back propped up on a pillow as he gazed out the window. He never saw the point in regarding how it looked like outside until now. It had been a bright, sunny day. It was beautiful.

He turned his head and looked at the woman lying on the bed beside him as she napped. She was beautiful.

Teri had drifted into slumber about an hour ago while Alan remained awake, watching over her. 

He shifted to his side, leaning on an arm. Slowly he reached out with the back of his hand and gently caressed her bare shoulder with his knuckles. Her light, milky skin was so soft and smooth. With a light, deliberate touch, he pulled at the blanket covering her, slipping it down her body towards her legs, exposing more of her delicate flesh. 

"Mmm...Alan, it's cold," Teri said frowning and pulling her arms close to her body. 

He slid the blanket past her bum admiring the curve along her waist to her smooth, round buttocks.

"Alan," she grumbled again and rolled over on to her other side to face him. Her eyes closed, she smiled, "Give me back the blanket."

He let go of the blanket and she quickly pulled it up back to her chest. Alan slipped back down onto the bed and the two shifted closely together, her head resting on his arm, against his shoulder. Opening her eyes, she skimmed her hand over the soft hairs of his chest.

"So much for this being just a brunch," she scoffed playfully as her fingers circled lightly over his pecs, "But I think I know now what sort of Teri Medal to give you."

Alan actually smiled.  It was slight, but it was an honest smile. He curled his arm around her, clasping his hand on her rounded shoulder. This all felt so...normal.

Teri sighed thoughtfully, "I feel so sorry for Dean. We keep leaving him by himself."

"He's fine," Alan said, "Dean's a good son."

Teri chewed her upper lip as she thought. The she asked, "Whatever happened to his mother?"

"She left town," he said after little hesitation. 

"Just left? She didn't want to take Dean with her?" 

"No. She didn't want Dean," he said.

Teri frowned, "I can't imagine what it would take for a mother to abandon her child like that."

"We were both young," he said, "Neither of us had any interest in staying together and being a family. I wanted Dean. She didn't."

She sensed his love for his son in his words and voice.

Teri nestled in closer to Alan, draping her slender leg over his. This felt so right.

They were content to continue to stay like that in bed for the rest of the day but then Alan's phone rang. He picked it up from the nightstand. "Yeah," he said, "Hi Kendall...Oh yeah? Yeah...okay...sure. Give me about 15 minutes. Right."

As he placed the phone down, Teri asked, "Going somewhere?"

"Problem at Kendall Duncan's place," Alan replied, "Switchbox shorted out."

He didn't want to but he moved away from Teri and stepped out of bed. He went to get dressed.

"Should I leave?" Teri asked.

"No, you can keep Dean company if you want," he replied, "I'm not sure how long this will take but can you stay for dinner?"

"Sure," she nodded and stood up. 

Alan watched her walk around the room, her lovely, petite nude body lit up by the sunlight filtering through the shades, as she picked up her clothes.

He moved towards her, coming up from behind. Wrapping his arms around her, he pressed his chest and torso against her back. Teri dropped the clothes she had picked up back onto the floor as she leaned back and craned her neck around to meet his lowering lips with her own. She felt his soft length twitch and slowly harden against the small of her back. 

Alan's hands came around to her front, brushing the pendant he had given her hanging around her neck. One gently cupped her soft breast, the other slid down past her belly. His fingers stroked the line of her slit and rubbed her quivering clit. 

Teri sighed and gasped, her body twitching unsteadily as Alan's fingers swirled around her body. As she leaned forward, she braced herself on the bedroom dresser. Her mouth and eyes widened the moment she felt Alan's hard shaft drive into her from behind. Feeling his firm grip around her waist as he pulled her against his crotch with stiff tugs, Teri gripped the dresser, the piece of furniture shaking as their bodies quickly found a pointed rhythm.

Kendall Duncan would have to wait about 40 minutes.

**********

A little later, Teri sat on the sofa listening to Dean talk about a book he had read about fishing. She smiled. This was the most she had heard the boy speak in one sitting. 

He talked enthusiastically about how he and his dad would go fishing in the nearby pond. 

"Are there actually any fish in that pond?" Teri asked, "It's so hard to see anything more than 6 feet deep."

Dean didn't answer as he looked at her. She noticed that he was focusing on the pendant-locket around her neck again. 

"Do you like this?" she asked, "Would you like to see it?"

The boy shook his head and said, "It looks like the one dad has hanging in his closet."

"He has a pendant like this in his closet?" She held it up and asked, "Did it belong to your mother?"

Again Dean shook his head. He stood and hurried off to his dad's bedroom. A minute later, he came back and held out his hand to her.

Teri looked at the boy, blinked, and then took the silver locket-pendant from his hand. It was very similar to hers: a silver, oval shaped locket. It was engraved with the letters "S" and "J" with a treble clef in the middle. It had been well preserved, polished to a smooth shine. She opened it up. It was empty -- the picture had been removed.

She stared hard at it, tilting her head as her mind worked with the little information that she had. She was so lost in thought as she held it in her open palm that she never even noticed when someone entered the room from the backdoor of the home,

"It's so very pretty, isn't it Teri?" Sophia said standing a few feet in front of her.

Teri shirked back and gasped, surprised.

"It belonged to a so very pretty woman, too," the taller blonde woman with the pointed face said. She dropped her purse on the coffee table and sank into the chair across from Teri. "She was so very pretty not unlike yourself. In fact, almost identical to you...well, in nature anyway. She didn't have your lovely Oriental looks."

"What are you doing here?" Teri said, her small eyes narrowing on the woman. She could feel Dean shift closer beside her.

Sophia scoffed to herself. The gall of this stupid girl! she thought. 

"We need to talk," Sophia insisted, "Woman to school teacher....adults only."

Her eyes set on the woman across from her, Teri patted the boy gently on his back. "Dean," she said softly, "Can you go into the backyard and play for a bit?"

He got up and walked out the door to the back. Sophia's cool green eyes followed him out and then just as smoothly returned their gaze upon Teri.

"Did Alan tell you that Dean's mother didn't want him?" she said, diving right in.

"He said that she left him with Alan," Teri replied calmly.

"Yes, well it does make him the noble one, doesn't it? Young man of 22 or 23 left to take care of his son on his own?" Sophia said whirling her hand in the air. 

Teri noted how the woman wore a sharp smile, but there was nothing warm about it.

Sophia inhaled deeply then said, "He begged me to pay off that woman so she'd give him the kid and leave town."

Teri's frown deepened. 

"Poor Alan," Sophia continued, "All the slut needed to say was that she wanted the boy and it sent the man into a panic. She didn't care about Dean. She just had him to keep Alan around. When she decided to leave, she just wanted some money. Not much at all, either, for the little mute."

Teri looked out the sliding back door and saw Dean tossing a ball in the air. She was relieved he wasn't in the room to hear any of this.

"I gave her the money, of course. I saved him from that woman!" Sophia sniffed, "Alan never knew that she had no intention of taking Dean. But he was deeply indebted to me...and we both know how well he can show his...appreciation, don't we Teri?"

The younger woman glared back at her, the blood beginning to race through her veins.

"He certainly demonstrated that with you, didn't he?" Sophia said, angling her head downward. Her lips curled at the edges, "Especially at the shack? That 'Hobo Hut' last Saturday night? My goodness! Tsk-tsk, Ms.Yao!"

Teri's mouth fell open, her eyes widening. She was more than caught off guard by Sophia's words.

"Oh, was that supposed to be a special, intimate moment you shared with Alan? Your sweet romantic secret, hmm?" Sophia goaded as she smelled blood in the water. She leaned forward in the chair and said, "I guess no one told him the rules of keeping a secret because I know every dirty detail of your nasty little fuck-fest in that rotting shack!" 

Teri's fists were clenched. She wanted to scream and then pummel the spiteful woman's face in until she didn't have a mouth to speak with anymore. It was her thought's about Alan, the twisting confusion in her mind about him, that held her in place. 

"And you actually thought he did that all for you?" Sophia laughed, "Fixed up that shit-hole just for you? Lured you with his cool, quiet charms because he has feelings for you? Alan? He has no feelings! He was playing out a sick, sordid fantasy, Teri! Just wanted to get his rocks off on any pretty young thing!" 

Teri looked away, her upper lip curling under her lower one. Her vision blurred. She was ready to burst but she didn't want to cry -- not in front of this woman.

"It's sad isn't it? When you realize your prince is so tarnished," Sophia settled back into her seat, "He's a broken, twisted man, Teri. What's even sadder is that you don't know just how damaged he is. Do you think someone as naïve as you can save him? You don't even know when he's just using you for a good fuck!"

Teri stood and strode over to Sophia. With a flash of her hand, she slapped her hard across her cheek but the woman made no attempt to avoid the blow, accepting it like a medal of honour. Sophia smiled and touched her cheek as it seeped with a red hue from beneath her skin. 

Teri dropped the locket on the table and hurried towards the front door.

"Maybe you should go for a jog," Sophia called to her, "Clear your muddled little mind a bit."

Teri slammed the door shut as she left.

*********

Alan drove back to his house in the late afternoon. He allowed himself a twinge of excitement anticipating Teri to be there waiting for him to return. It just as quickly dissipated the moment he realized Teri's car was gone and Sophia's big SUV was parked on the curb side. He stopped on his driveway, got out of the car, and ran into the house. He smelled the juniper and violet scent the moment he entered.

Sophia was still sitting in the easy chair, legs crossed, her head turned away as she looked out the window.

"Where is she?" Alan scowled at her.

The woman turned her head slowly and glared back at him. She threw something at him. Alan caught it against his chest and looked at Sheryl Jennings' pendant.

"Why do I always have to clean up your messes?" she said shaking her head. 

"Where is she?" he repeated, a touch more remorsefully, as he stared at the small bauble. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her just enough to get her to leave and to distract her," Sophia insisted, "Just something for her to chew on while you and I figure out what to do with her."

'What to do with her...' Alan knew how Sophia's mind worked. She already knew 'What to do with her'. 

Alan shook his head and said, "She doesn't know anything. We can just let it go."

"Oh come off it, Alan!" Sophia stood from the chair, "She'll figure it out eventually because you're going to get on your knees and confess to her like she's some freaking angel!  Isn't that right? You were so obsessed to just fuck her and now you think you care for her? She's no one! You only screwed her because she reminded you of the pure and innocent Ms.Jennings! And you can't keep away from her because you think she's going to save you somehow? Make you a better, normal man? Meanwhile, you keep piling your sins up one on top of the other!"

The woman paced the floor like a gorilla striding back and forth in a cage, puffed up and angry. Alan continued to stare at the pendant.

"I paid the mother of Dean because you asked me to. She's gone. That's done with! I had the guys from the warehouse beat down that boyfriend of Teri's because you needed to live out your stupid obsession and be done with it. And you did it. You had your fun with the angelic Ms.Yao or Ms.Jennings or whoever the hell is in your messed up head. I allowed you to fuck her! It's done! She's not an angel anymore! She's a whore like every other woman now. She can't do anything for you!"

Alan looked up at her, a vicious gleam in his eye. "I'm not the one who started this," he said, "Do you really want to discuss sins, Sophia?"

Sophia closed her eyes and calmed herself. She spoke with a low, slow voice, "Alan, we've taken care of each other for so long now. Haven't I been good to you? I've let you go with your little indiscretions because I knew you'd always come back to me. We need each other because we share in the same dirty little secret. Do you really think that she'll stay by your side if she finds out the truth about you? If she goes to anyone about this, what will happen to Dean?"

Alan grimaced. She always knew how to tangle her words and ideas into his mind, finding a sick logic in the poison she spewed.

"And she will find out, won't she Alan?" Sophia said picking up her bag and walking towards him, "She already has a puzzle piece, that shiny thing in your hand. That woman seems like the type who can't resist solving a good mystery...especially if it involves the man she's in love with."

They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, facing in opposite directions. He could end this now, stop Sophia in her tracks. It would be simple. He would be free.

"I'm not going to let the little tramp screw up my life. How about you? You know that you've already lost her from what I just told her," Sophia said. She nudged him and nodded towards the hallway. Dean was clutching at the corner, staring at them anxiously. "Now, are you willing to risk everything else for her?"

He let her continue to the door.

"Don't worry Alan. You're still young. You've got drive," she said with a indignant sneer, "There's a lot more pretty, young school teachers where she came from." 

Sophia exited the house and drove off. Alan stayed rooted on his spot as the sunlight slowly faded from the room.

"Dad?" Dean said softly from the hallway, "I like Ms.Yao."

Alan quietly turned around and left the house.

*********

Alan sat on the old log staring at the shack in the darkness. It was so quiet. He held the necklace and pendant in his fingers, rubbing it like it was a string of rosary beads.   

After he had left the house, he had first gone to the pond, a place that had always comforted him. But now when he was there, the black pool of water offered him little solace. So he came to the shack.

He sat there for a long time, unaware of the creeping chill in the air. He figured if he sat there long enough, he would be isolated from Sophia's plans. The woman seemed to drag the inevitable along with her, he couldn't stop her. It was best to just stay out of her way.

He inhaled deeply, squeezing the pendant in his hands. Sophia was right: Teri would never forgive him . He was going to lose her eventually. She had to be cut loose. He knew that once it was done, he could go back to the way he was. 

The way he was...

Alan began to shake but not from the cool night air. He frowned, squeezing his eyes tight and hit his forehead with his fist over and over as he clenched the locket. A steady rumble growled up through his throat. 

"GAHH!" he yelled and stood up. He flung the pendant at the shack then stumbled towards it. 

As he screamed in a rage, he tore and clawed at the wooden structure, pulling off nailed in planks of wood and siding. He pounded it with his bare fists, bashed the windows in with his forearms and kicked in the door.  

His strength drained, he leaned back against the side of the shack and collapsed to the ground in a heap, trembling and groaning. He looked up towards the sky but saw only darkness, clouds blocking out the stars above.

Alone in the middle of the woods, for the first time since he was a teenager, Alan cried.

**********

Teri sat in her kitchen staring at the phone. She wanted to call Alan's house but had no idea what to say if he answered. Actually, at the moment it wasn't even Alan that she wanted to talk with. Sophia had gotten her so worked up in a blind rage that she stormed out of the house leaving Dean alone with that bitch. 

She held her breath then finally picked up her phone and dialed. Each ring twisted the anxiety in her stomach tighter and tighter. She was actually thumbing the "end call" button in case Alan picked up.

"Hello?" a soft, small voice answered.

Teri exhaled, feeling relieved, "Hi Dean. It's Teri...Ms.Yao. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," the boy replied.

"I'm sorry I left like that today," she said. She hesitated then added, "That...person, Sophia, did she bother you?"

"No," Dean said, "She just sat in the chair until dad got home.  They got into a fight."

Teri closed her eyes and shook her head. No, she didn't want to think about what might have happened, what was said, and she didn't want to ask the boy. She already regretted that he was there to experience it first hand.

"Is..." the next question was the hardest for her, "Is your dad there?"

"No. He left right after she did."

Teri leaned forward in her chair and continued to squeeze her eyes shut as she rubbed her temple. "Okay," she said, "So you're fine?"

"Uh-huh."

She sighed, "Alright. Have a good night, Dean. Sleep tight.."

"Ms.Yao?"

"Yes?"

There was a long pause on the other end. Then he said, "Nothing...it's okay. Bye."

Teri put down her phone. She stayed in her chair, feeling restless, thinking about what to do now. Speak to Alan if she could find him? Confront Sophia and get her to tell her everything already and then pull her blonde hair out by their roots?

She had fragments scattered in her head but none of them seemed like they were even part of the same puzzle.  She finally recollected that the initials S & J may have stood for that teacher Sheryl Jennings who got hit by the train along with her boyfriend 16 years ago. But why would Alan have her locket? He would have been a teenager back then. Would he have taken it from her or was he going to give it to her? What would that have to do with him and Sophia?

"Oh god Alan," she winced. Every time she thought of him, she felt the strain on her heart. "What the hell is going on with you?"

A vicious emotional circle wracked her head. She realized now just how much she cared for him because it hurt so much to feel betrayed like this. 

Despite everything, she wanted to be with him now more than ever.

Teri leaned back in her chair rubbing her legs as she shook them up and down. This was no good. If she continued thinking about this all night, she'd go crazy.  Her choices were either to go curl under her sheets and cry or go burn off some anxiety with a hard run. She refused to cry. Through all of this, at least she hadn't broken down.

She would find Alan and speak to him tomorrow. 

Teri went to put on her jogging gear.

**********

It was an overcast night making it even darker than usual when Teri went for her nightly runs. Everything was cast in an eerie greyish-blue hue. She ran hard through the darkness, just under a sprint, hoping her quick pace would burn away the distracting thoughts running through her head. However, as classical music played through her MP3 player Teri still found her mind drifting while her body pushed itself harder and harder.




Damaged Ch. 07



She ran across town, through empty roads, barely noticing the exertion she was putting on her heart, lungs, and legs. She wasn't even aware of where her feet were taking her only snapping out of her thoughts every so often to realize she had made some arbitrary turn around a corner. 

She was following the train tracks now. Even in the dark, her eyes slowly began to register where she was and where she was headed. Starting to feel the strain on her body and the weight of thoughts in her mind, she slowed down and stopped at the side of the road. As she regained her breath, she stared into the woods. 

Teri knew where she was now. She could make out the roughed out trail she and Alan had driven his truck along. Her breaths steadying, Teri reached into her pocket and pulled out a small flashlight. The light from it stretched out barely 6 feet ahead of her, but she followed it anyway as she walked off the side of the road and into the woods.

To Be Concluded



Damaged Ch. 08



Chapter 8

Alan sat inside the shack, the glow of the lantern filling the small interior. He was somewhat calmer now. He sat on the laid out cushion, brushing it lightly with his fingers as he recalled that night just a week ago. That night was the culmination of his seduction of Teri but it became something more, his feelings for her changing even before he reached his intense climax. She was so giving, so willing. 

It was a brutal thought realizing he would likely never have that chance to be with her that way again.

"Alan?" a soft voice called to him from outside the shack. 

He looked up, stunned, not sure of what he was hearing. 

"Are you in there?" Teri's soothing voice asked, "I saw your truck out by the clearing."

Even before he could stand up straight, Teri was at the doorway looking back at him. He could see the anxiety in her gentle features, the nervousness. It was taking everything she had for her to do this, to approach him like this. She was hurting. He wanted so badly to ease that pain.

Teri's eyes glanced around the shack. She saw the broken glass from the windows of the floor, she probably noticed the torn pieces of siding outside. She knew Alan had been in a bad way a short time ago. Yet that still didn't stop her as she stepped into the shack and stood quietly. He could see her mouth open and close as she tried to think of what to say. Maybe she was hoping he would start but he had no words to say. He didn't have need for words right now. What he needed was Teri. He closed his eyes and settled his mind.

Teri's eyes had drifted to the floor. She was having trouble looking at the man directly without her heart pounding against her chest, making it impossible to find her voice. Finally she opened her mouth to speak, "I just-"

With unexpected speed, Alan reached towards her and grabbed her arms. He pulled at her and she fell against his chest with a gasp. As one hand slipped around her back, the other grasped and lifted her chin upwards and steadied it long enough for him to press his lips against hers.

Teri's eyes squeezed shut as she pressed against his shoulders. She struggled to push him away but he could feel her attempts quickly ease as their kiss deepened. Their mouths barely parted for gasping breaths. They clutched at one another so tightly their bodies shook and trembled. Soon, Alan was pulling Teri down to the cushion with him. 

They seized one another in earnest, all tentativeness was quickly discarded. Jackets were tossed aside, shirts pulled off, shoes and pants kicked away in haste and desperation. In a matter of a minute, two nude bodies were quickly entwined, bare flesh against bare flesh, melting into one another, succumbing to a primal desire.

Alan's lips were all over Teri, on her face, her neck, her breasts, kissing, tasting, sucking. He inhaled her with every breath. He held his hands at her smooth sides, feeling her curl and angle her body as he made his away down to her stomach. His tongue circled her belly button and felt her silky tummy twitch at his touch.  

Teri shifted her hips and licked her lips as she felt his hands slide underneath her bum giving her bottom a tight squeeze. She felt him raise her hips and crotch slightly. Then her head arched back, her eyes blinking at the ceiling, her fingers spreading wide as she felt Alan's slick tongue drag roughly against her tender opening.

"Uhh," she gasped.

Alan gently pried apart her soft folds of skin with his nose and tongue. He held her hips steady as he indulged in the sweet warmth on the tip of his tongue. Teri was breathing hard, pulling at his hair, her body writhing from the delicious tingles pinching her from within. Her feet flat on the cushion, she pushed her pelvis upwards into his burrowing face.

"Oh God, Alan! Uhh," she gasped. 

Alan was swollen rigid by the time Teri dragged him back upwards with a firm tug on his hair. He curled to his knees, raising her off the floor along with him, his hands at her back and bum. They kissed as Teri raised herself up above his hips. Alan positioned himself under her, feeling his tip pushing against her. They groaned in unison as he thrust into her. 

Teri lowered her head onto his shoulder. She rolled her stomach and hips in a seductive flowing motion as she ground herself over him, driving him deeper into her. The run had exhausted her physically but she needed this so much, wanted to reaffirm how she felt about Alan. Thoughts of still undisclosed secrets distracted her. She frowned, turned her head, and covered his mouth with a wet, reckless kiss. Her nails dug into the tight skin at his back.

Alan's own heated thrusts and driven strokes were just as much bourn from desperation as passion. He surged his hips upward, meeting her motions trying to ingrain this feeling on his body and in his heart forever. 

"Ahh, Teri," he groaned. He looked at her with longing in his eyes. She was so radiant. He dragged his fingers down her bare back slicked with perspiration. The cool air did little to squelch the heat their bodies were emanating.

Teri slipped her slender body off of him as Alan held her waist. He turned her around and lowered her onto her hands and knees facing the wall of the shack. She braced one hand against the wall as she felt him move between her legs from behind. She closed her eyes, dipping her head slightly as she breathed quickly through her nose anticipating his urgent thrust. 

Holding her waist, Alan rocked his hips forward, driving into her quickly.

"Ahh-uhn!" Teri cried out, her head snapping back.

Alan hit his stride quickly, pumping with stiff and sure motions, the heat and pressure around his swollen length spurring him on. His crotch slapped loudly against her exposed bottom, rocking her hard back and forth as Teri tried to steady herself, one hand pushing against the wall, the other gripping the cushion on the floor. Still she was willing to take more from him driven only by impulse. 

They rolled onto the floor on their sides, Alan always staying in her from behind. He pulled her back close against his chest, his fingers rolling across her stiffened nipples and velvety belly. Teri craned her head upwards as he leaned his face over her shoulder. As his motions quickened, his strokes shortening, they kissed like it was the last time they would do so, pulling and sucking in one another with their lips and tongues.

"Mmm! Ahh-ahh, Alan!" Teri gasped, still trying to meet his kiss. She felt the rush within her body, trying to hold it back but finally surrendering to it. She cried out, "Ahhn!" 

Alan felt her drench him. He slipped loudly into her over and over, draining every last bit of energy he could before he strained and groaned, "Huhn! Ahh-uhn!"

He clutched at her breasts as his throbbing length released itself fully into her -- a rich, slippery, warm stream seeping deep inside of Teri. He struggled to regain himself with loud, oxygen-sucking breaths. 

Teri felt him nudge and twitch against her from behind, each hitch of his body pulsing more cum into her. She held onto his arms wrapped around her body, never wanting to let him go.

They fell silent but they didn't sleep. Both of them stared across the floor. They had relieved their desperate passions, now a solemn dread filled the void. They both knew an emotional price would have to be paid for this brief moment.

They stayed that way for nearly half an hour without saying a word.

***********

Sophia sat behind the wheel of her SUV, parked in the dark street. She drummed her fingers along the wheel over and over as she thought. She had been driving around town for the better part of the evening. 

She was wondering how long that bitch of a school teacher was going to make her wait.

This wasn't something she could call on the warehouse boys to handle. Not that she wouldn't have been able to find somebody who had a price for this sort of job. It's just that she learned over the years that the less people you involved with a plan, the less you had to worry about. Even Alan was a handful on his own. 

She clenched her fingers around the wheel. Besides, part of her was going to enjoy this. It was a familiar feeling.

Trying to find this woman was testing her patience, though. The lights had been out at her home, her car was on the driveway. She must have been on her nightly jog somewhere. 

She wasn't at Alan's. Then again, Alan wasn't there either. The two of them couldn't have...?

Sophia closed her eyes, a sharp angled smile on her lips, as she slowly shook her head. Suddenly she had a good idea where Teri could have been. Part of her kind of hoped that she was wrong. Then again, it had been a long night of driving around town. She needed to get this over with.

As she started her car and drove off, the first droplets of rain began to fall.

**********

Teri pulled on her pants and top as she sat on the edge of the cushion. Alan remained naked, his back to her as he faced the rear wall of the shack.

"Alan," she started, speaking softly, "Is it true about Sophia paying off Dean's mother for her to leave town? You asked her to do that?"

Alan stared at the pattern in the grain of the wood. He breathed, "Yeah."

Teri focused her mind as she tied her shoes. That appeared to explain his connection to Sophia. But his relationship with that conniving, vicious woman seemed to run even deeper, like poison through the veins.

She chewed her lower lip then asked, "Who did the locket in your house belong to?"

The man traced his fingers along the wood, seeing images appear in the lines. He remained silent.

"I saw the initials," she continued, "Did it belong to that school teacher who was killed in the train accident 16 years ago? Why would you have it?"

As he remained taciturn, his back still turned towards her, Teri felt herself growing more and more anxious. His mute reactions caused more questions to open up in her mind. She didn't know where to begin.

"Why would Sophia know about it?" she spoke insistently. 'Sophia'. Her name was an emotional trigger for Teri. She looked back at Alan, "Why does Sophia know so much about you? Dammit Alan, why is she so entangled in your life? Please! Talk to me!"

Teri slapped the cushion and pushed his shoulder. Alan's eyes penetrated through the wood, losing himself within the fibres. He firmed his jaw, sealing his lips tight.

The woman was shaking now, her eyes watering. She cried, "Why did she know about us when we were...when we were here last week? Why did she have to know? God!"

He couldn't hear her crying , he told himself. He was disconnected from her hurt. He had to let her go.

"Alan!" Teri called to him, begged to him. Why was he doing this to her? "Please don't shut me out like this! I...I don't know...how to feel about you anymore. For God's sake, please! Say something!"

There was a painful pause, only Teri's uncontrolled sobs filling the small shack. Then, with a calm, unmoving voice, Alan said, "This meant nothing, Teri. This was just a game. I...I just used you."

Her face was red and frozen as she gazed at him. She shook her head. She knew he was lying but the sting was still like a bat swung against her chest. She couldn't breath. Why was he lying to her like this, destroying her like this? She couldn't take it anymore, not right now. 

Alan never took his eyes away from the wall as he heard her get up and run out of the shack.

*********

16 years ago

Alan followed Ms.Jennings and the man she was with as they left the Hobo Hut and made their way through the woods to the road. He had a secure grip around the length of pipe in his hands. 

He could have done it there in the woods, or when the two of them were lying together in the shack, but even with the anger he felt seething within, he still had to reconcile with the idea of crushing Ms.Jenning's head in with the pipe. 

She had betrayed him completely. Everyone was special to her but not as special as this man she had just screwed like a slut in a dirty shack. All it took was for the guy to buy her some cheap department store necklace and pendant.

Alan could have done that. If he really tried he could have come up with a way to get her into that shack with him. 

But he didn't want her anymore. Why did she have to do this to him?

Alan leaned up against a tree, trying to steady himself, sorting out the agonizing confusion pounding in his skull. He failed to catch a few tears the rolled from his eyes. He sniffed them back then steeled his jaw. He wouldn't cry for this woman again.

They were already walking along the road by the time he started to follow them again. They were ahead of him by a good length but it wasn't a distance he couldn't recover. It was overcast that night, very dark on the road, and the two of them were so involved with one another as they walked. So lost in each other, they weren't aware at all when Alan moved up quickly behind them, swinging the pipe back over his shoulder. 

In fact, they and Alan were so distracted by one another, they never even noticed the sedan with its headlights off before it sped past Alan, swept along the side of the road and ploughed through the fixated couple with a dual, loud, sickening "WHUMP!"

Alan dropped the pipe, his eyes wide. He watched it happen in slow motion as the slender body of Ms.Jennings, in her pretty dress, flew silently through the air and fell in a crumpled heap in an embankment metres away from the side of the road. The man was mowed down under the chassis of the car and spat out from the back like used chewing gum.

The car screeched to a halt. 

Alan remained motionless, his face blank, as he watched the driver get out, a tall woman, and walk unsteadily towards the torn up man on the road. He could hear her distraught sobs from where he stood.

"You bastard!" she screeched at the unresponsive heap on the ground, "You were fucking her?! You fucking bastard! You screwed her! What about me?!" 

She collapsed to her knees by the pulped body, slapping the mangled mess with loose fists. "You were fucking screwing her! You fucking son of a bitch!" she wailed over and over. 

In a daze, Alan shambled off the road and made his way over to the body of Ms.Jennings. He stood over her. Her normally graceful and lithe frame was twisted and bloodied as she lay on the ground. Her soft, caring eyes were wide open, seeing nothing, looking up at Alan as if to ask, "Why?" in her moment of happiness, "Why?"

He had an answer for her but he didn't say it.

An odd calmness settled over him and within him as he stared at the still figure of his former teacher, his former obsession. He was free of that now. He reached down and snapped the pendant off from around her cold neck with a sharp tug. Then he made his way to the woman bawling on the side of the road.

He crouched beside her, the scent of juniper and violet instantly wafting through his nose. "Are you alright?" he asked.

The woman, probably in her 20's with long blonde hair, looked up at him. Her face was puffy and damp from the tears but she still had pointed facial features, like a sly fox. She gazed at him, this calm young man, as he asked her if she was okay.

"I...I...he was just some warehouse worker. And...and he had to screw that whore...she...that fucking bitch..." she croaked as she looked back at the body. Her body quivering, she shook her head and gasped, "Oh my God, what have I done?"

The reality of her actions sank in as she woke up into her nightmare. Two people. Dead. She had killed them. She covered her face and sobbed.

"Oh God! What have I done?!"

Alan stood up and looked around. He glanced back at the body of Ms.Jennings and then focused on the woman crumpled on the ground at his feet. Silently, he bent down and lifted the broken body lying on the road.

"Wh-what are you doing?" the woman asked looking up at him.

Alan was dragging the man off the side of the road and up the embankment. 

"We put them on the train tracks," he said, "The freight train comes at 2:15 a.m. each night. We put them by the turn, it won't have time to slow down. They shouldn't be able to tell that they got hit by a car."

It would be a long shot, he knew, but for some reason, he wanted to try to help this woman. 

She held her palm to her mouth, sniffling. She blinked and frowned at the young man pulling the body up to the tracks. How could he explain his plan so calmly like that? No emotion or concern as he did the grisly deed. He was a complete stranger, yet he was helping her like no other person had done so before, like no person would ever do for her.

Sitting on the hard pavement for a couple minutes more, Sophia finally got up. Wiping the tears from her face with her palms and fingers, she went to help Alan move the bodies.

Afterward, Alan opened up the driver's door of her car. She waited eagerly for him to come up with his next idea, putting all her trust into this strange young man. Like him, she bottled up her emotions, detaching herself from her actions. It was surprisingly easy to do. 

Alan looked back, through the woods, towards his pond. 

"You report the car stolen," he said, "I know where to hide it."

Without another word, the two of them got in and drove away.

**********

Alan lay alone in the shack. Teri's open sobs had quickly faded into the trees as she ran further away from him. They were replaced by the sounds of a light rain starting to fall, crackling on the roof and on the ground outside. 

He wanted to tell her. Everything. She deserved to know. Instead, he paid back her love and concern with cruel silence. Yet, even knowing how much he had stomped on her heart just now, if he had to go back and do it again, he would. 

"I'm sorry, Teri," he said softly.

What price would she end up paying for his moment of penance, he thought. He didn't want her to forgive him. His past actions were unforgivable and he couldn't stand to think that she would compromise her beliefs by ignoring what he did. Yet, he also wasn't sure what to do if she turned him in.

If she knew everything then she had no other choice but to think that what happened between them was all an act, a twisted game of seduction and obsession from an emotionally crippled man. No matter how much he believed that to be no longer the case, there was no way to convince her of that. She had poured so much into him, gave herself over so trustingly, she would be ruined if she felt it was all a lie.

Those were scars he couldn't bear to see inflicted on this woman.

The rain started to fall more steadily. It was going to be very cold outside. 

He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. There was one more factor in this whole sordid equation: Sophia. She was intent on cleaning the slate. He knew what she was thinking, how she was thinking. He had intimate knowledge of how her mind worked. The two of them were more similar than he could ever admit. 

Sophia would forever be entwined in his life. 

Alan closed his eyes. For several long minutes he tried to find some peace within, stopping himself while the world continued to spin through its course. In his mind, all he saw was the caring, passionate face of Teri looking back asking "Why?"

Alan opened his eyes and stood. He gathered his clothes from the floor. 

He would make sure she would never have to ask that question again.

**********

Teri's tears were lost in the rain that streamed down her face. She was on the road having worked her way almost blindly through the woods but she still felt aimless. Her legs had little energy left in them and her heart weighed her down like an anchor. She was shivering but she didn't care. It would take her a long time to get home at this pace but she figured every step further away from that shack would be a relief.




Damaged Ch. 08



"Alan," she sobbed quietly, her voice lost in the patter of the rain around her.

Drowning in her thoughts, she stumbled forward through the rain, drawn to the dark road ahead.

**********

Alan drove up from the trail and turned down the road, his windshield wipers sliding side to side. He leaned close to the wheel, looking intently down the road. She couldn't have gone very far.

He had no idea what to say to her. He wasn't even sure if she would get into the truck with him. Yet he had to do something. 

Within a few minutes, his headlights caught sight of a solitary traveller walking on the road ahead. He felt the relief in his heart. It immediately gave way to sudden dread. 

It was more of a sixth sense that drew his attention to the dark outline of a large SUV barrelling towards the distracted woman, its headlights dimmed. Everything came together so quickly in his head. Reacting without thought, he blasted his horn and slammed down on the accelerator. 

Teri had been staring at the road as she walked slowly along, not bothering to wipe the rain that fell over her eyes. Though it was actually mere micro-seconds, everything seemed to register so slowly from the moment she saw the white light envelope her from behind, to the sound of a horn, to her spinning around to face an oncoming truck. She threw herself off to the side, realizing in that split second that the truck had swerved to avoid her. Even before her body hit the wet ground, she heard the brutal crash.

Two vehicles, a large SUV and the pickup truck, collided head on with an agonizingly twisting, rending cacophony of metal carnage. They tore into each other, melded into one another, glass and steel shredding through the air in the violent confrontation, neither vehicle giving an inch to the other. 

Teri remained curled up for a moment in the cool grass, her arms covering her head. Her heart could barely find a steady beat.  Finally, slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking as the rain bounced off her cheeks. After the instance of chaotic destruction, it was suddenly, eerily quiet except for the rain and some hissing sounds coming from the dying vehicles. Her eyes widened when she saw the carnage. It was like two pop cans crushed together -- impossible to tell where the first one ended and the next one began.

Teri stumbled closer, her head and vision clearing. Then she felt her heart sink down into her gut. She recognized the pickup truck.

"Alan!" she screamed. 

Teri ran to the driver's side of the truck, it's front end crushed in more than halfway to the cab. The door had popped open, hanging off its hinges. Alan's chest was wrapped over the wheel, his head hanging listlessly. 

"Oh my God! Alan!" Teri whimpered as she pulled at his wrecked body. She looked over to the driver of the SUV. Sophia Locke's head and upper body had gone through the windshield, resting on the crumpled front ends of the two vehicles. Her blonde, long hair and face were matted with dark ooze trickling from her scalp, nose and mouth. Her sharp features were battered and puffy. And her green eyes, open but doused of their spiteful flame, seemed to stare at Teri, asking her a silent question she had no answer for.

Teri continued to pull at Alan. She heard him gurgle a moan as blood spilled from the sides of his mouth. Teri screamed through clenched teeth as she tugged his body out of the truck and the two of them tumbled back onto the wet roadside. Pulling herself to her knees, she lifted Alan's head onto her lap. She cradled him, wiping the blood off of his face with her hands even as more seeped out and mingled with the rain falling on him.

"Oh God, Alan. No. No," she called to him, "Please, God! Just...please...help will be here. Don't leave me!"

Alan's blue eyes opened slightly, wearily. He felt a chill creeping up through his body, moving from his feet to his legs and upward. He was so tired. He needed to sleep. 

"Alan," a gentle voice echoed through his head. 

He thought of Ms.Jennings, of how much passion and confusion she had instilled in him. He wished he had been old enough to understand the feelings she had made him experience.

He thought of Sophia, of how they both had their freedom now, the twisted cord that bound them together was severed. There was no longer any need for planning or making dark, secretive deals. He wondered where he would run into her in hell. 

He thought of Dean, his quirky but gentle-hearted kid. He would be fine. He had family that would take care of him and would love him. Dean was a good son.

Alan felt the coolness claw its way up past his belly and chest. Before it reached his arms, he raised one hand and brushed the cheek of the woman looking down at him. He swept away the damp hair that stuck to her face. She held his hand against her face. It was night, it was dark, but she glowed with a soothing radiance. Through the rain, he could still taste the salty tears that fell from her eyes onto his face. They felt warm. 

"Teri," he rasped. The rest of his thoughts were sent to her through the fading gaze of his eyes.

I'm sorry to you for having hurt you so much. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you everything. I'm sorry for myself that I couldn't have been by your side longer. I wish I could touch you, hold you, make love to you again. You made me feel...normal.

"Alan." Her voice swirled in his head as the numbness made its way past his neck. He held onto her voice as long as he could, then he carried her away with him as his last thought.

"Alan!" Teri cried, her voice piercing through the patter of the rain. The tears flowed freely now as she shook him. She pressed her face against his as she rocked back and forth on her knees. 

The chill from the rain and autumn air had settled in for good.



***********

8 weeks later

Ms.Yao raised her hands up to gain the attention of her grade 5 class. Once they settled down, she spoke, "We have someone special who has come by for a quick visit, a friend and former classmate."

She beckoned towards the door. A boy with a roundish face, blue eyes and curly hair walked in quietly and stood beside Teri at the front of the room.

"Would you like to say anything to the class, Dean?" she asked.

Dean blinked then said softly, "Good-bye."

There were some quiet snickers amongst the students but a few others smiled and said "good-bye" back. That was pretty much what Teri had expected.

"Before I forget," she said as she walked over to the Teri Medal board. She removed one and came back to Dean. "Would you like to take this with you?"

Dean read it to himself: "Dean Rosetti: For Being A Good Son". 

Teri led the class in light applause. 

She walked with Dean out of the room and along the corridors of the school. 

"Do you like living with your great aunt, Dean?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Maybe she could teach you how to make those amazing meatballs," she said. 

Teri smiled. It felt good to do so....for now anyway. She still didn't have enough pieces of the puzzle to figure out the past and she knew she faced some tough problems with the school and personal challenges in the coming months ahead. So she had to live for the present and be satisfied with that.

She didn't know why Alan had refused to tell her everything. There was an ominous darkness surrounding him that she could never shed light upon. Yet, something at the back of her mind told her that she felt, in some intangible way, protected by him. She may never know the entire truth but she was able to take comfort with that thought. 

Teri led Dean to the exit. They stood by the door as a light snowfall dusted the playground with a fresh white powder. She knelt down and gave him a hug, feeling his gentle arms wrap around the back of her neck in return. 

"Hold onto the good, forget about the bad," she said as she looked thoughtfully over his shoulder.

As they parted, he took one last look at the locket-pendant around her neck, smiling as he thought of the picture of his father inside. Then he ran out into the schoolyard up to an elderly, kind-looking woman who looked back at Teri and waved to her. 

The young school teacher smiled and waved back. She watched them walk away. 

"You're a good son, Dean," she said softly as she caressed her hand on her belly, "And one day soon, you'll be a good brother."

It was the same promise she had made two weeks before to Alan as she stood in front of the old shack in the middle of the woods where secrets were made, for good or bad, and never forgotten.

~End~

Author's note: Thanks very much to those of you who read all or parts of "Damaged". I realize the story is quite different from what I have written before and that's maybe a good thing or a bad thing for those who have read my other stories posted here. However, this was a very enjoyable experience and challenge for me and the feedback has been most helpful as I hope to continue to grow as a writer. A special thanks again to cafejunkie: I think the best part of writing this story is that I gained a new friend. Thanks everybody. -Truenorth1969