Online Angel

Prologue
She opened the door, let Kevin in and immediately he could see that something was wrong. Cheryl had been acting strange for the past week, and Kevin had that queasy feeling in his stomach. Something was up and he was not going to like the outcome.
“You want to sit down?” Cheryl asked leading him into the living room of her apartment. Many nights he’d sat blissfully beside her on the couch nuzzling while some chick flick movie played on the television. Many more nights were spent in equally blissful happiness making love in her small bedroom about 10 feet away. For some reason he had a feeling that this night wouldn’t end so blissfully.
“What’s going on Cheryl? You’ve been acting weird for over a week now. You don’t want to go out, you don’t want me to come over and then all of a sudden you call me and say you want to see me. I don’t get it. What’s the matter with you?”
Kevin had seen the change since her sister came for a visit last month. Very soon after Meg left Cheryl began to act very odd. He waited patiently for her response.
Cheryl curled her feet under her on the couch and sighed. “This isn’t going to be easy for me Kevin, but I want you to know I’ve given this a lot of thought.”
Uh oh, Kevin did not like the sound of this at all. This was the beginning of a break up speech. His heart was being squeezed in a vice-like grip. “Are you breaking up with me?”
The look of relief in Cheryl’s eyes was the only answer Kevin needed. It was true. Oh god, what was he going to do? “Why, Cheryl? I thought we loved each other. I know I love you. I’ve told you a thousand times. I even went ring shopping the other day to see what I thought you might like. What have I done wrong?” He didn’t like the fact that his voice sounded just a little desperate, but damnit he loved this woman.
“Rings? Oh, Kevin, what are you thinking? I can’t marry you. I’ve got three more years of law school to finish at Harvard. You are planning to leave town for that month long photography trip to Kenya. There is so much working against us.”
“What are you talking about? It’s only three to four weeks. We’ve been apart longer than that. Besides there’s email and phones. I’m not going to the Outback for God’s sake, Cheryl. I know you have three years of law school left. I know that. I’m not asking you not to go to law school and get married instead. I’m proud of you.”
Cheryl hung her head and sighed again. “Kevin, it’s just not going to work out. You’re leaving school; you haven’t even finished your degree. You’ve got other obligations and so do I. I can’t be at Harvard worrying about when was the last time I called or emailed. I’m going to be very busy. It just isn’t a good fit any more.”
Kevin stared at Cheryl as the underlying meaning of her words struck him full force. It was the same as being hit in the chest with a snow plow. He wasn’t good enough for her anymore. Other obligations meant Tony. “I see. Is this about my son, Tony?”
“Kevin, you know I’ve never cared that you had a son. I think the circumstances are very sad, but it has nothing to do with this conversation.”
He wasn’t sure he believed her. He told her about the girl he got pregnant in high school and how they’d decided to go their separate ways. Gloria wanted the baby, but she didn’t want to have anything to do with Kevin. He tried to be a part of Tony’s life when he could, but Gloria made that very difficult for him.
This conversation made no sense, and he would not give her the satisfaction of seeing him cry, but it was a battle to prevent the tears. “Are you sure about this Cheryl?”
Tears formed in Cheryl’s eyes. They slowly leaked down her cheeks. “Yes,” she nodded. “I’m sure, Kevin.”
“I’m going now. Good luck at Harvard. I leave for Kenya in two days. If you change your mind call me, but if I don’t hear from you in two days I’ll write this off.”
Kevin stood, walked to the door and opened it. “Cheryl, I will always love you.” He could hear her crying softly as he closed the door. When he reached the street he could no longer hold back his own tears. Blindly, he made his way home.
Two days later he left for Kenya without hearing from Cheryl.

Chapter 1
Cheryl’s shoulders sagged as she sat in the front of the laptop, its screen glowing mockingly at her. A reluctant tear plopped onto the brief she was preparing for her court case this afternoon.
One innocent moment taken to shop online for her three year old son had just turned into her worst nightmare. At first she thought the bank had made a mistake, but further investigation revealed the frightening truth.
Mark, that son of a bitch husband of hers, had cleaned her out. His gambling had cost her everything. How could he do this? She knew he played poker. In fact he was on a trip now, but she thought it was all in fun. Never did she believe he would take all their savings and blow it on a game. When had his addiction reached such a desperate level?
She slammed both fists down on her desk not even registering the pain. Who did he think he was? That money did not belong to him. That was money given to her by her parents so she could get their struggling law practice off the ground.
The tears flowed more freely now. She yanked a handful of tissues from the box on her desk normally reserved for the weeping mothers of her clients. Her shoulders shook with both despair and rage.
The thoughts came at her so fast she couldn’t breathe. How would they survive? How would her law practice pay the enormous bills he was racking up with all the travel and poker tournaments? Sure, sometimes he won big, but those times were infrequent at best and in the past he’d always used his winnings to fund his habit. Never had he turned to their joint account and the money her parents so generously gave her.
The phone buzzed on her desk, reality intruding on her despair. She quickly wiped her eyes, took a deep breath and hit the speaker button. “Yes?” her voice was shaky.
“Cheryl, you wanted me to remind you when it was time to go to court.”
Oh, shit! She looked at her watch. She was out of time and she hadn’t finished her brief. “Okay, thanks Penny. I’ll leave in a few minutes.”
She had to lock this down, had to bury this until she had time to deal with it. Jeremy, her thirteen year old client, deserved her full attention. Focusing on the laptop, she rapidly finished the brief, hit the print button and gathered her files for court.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 16.11.2009

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