by Remember Me
almost don’t want her to have to be there when I take it public, I’m pretty protective of her.”
“Give her some time to understand everything before you go to the media with any of the
research,” remarked Cheryl. She pulled out a pencil and paper and began writing something
down on it. “When she’s ready for you to tell her about everything, here’s my address and phone
number. I would like to meet her and sit down with her. I think she should know a little bit about
Edward. He was the man who brought her into the world.”
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 67
“Agreed,” answered Ray. “You’re as big a part of this as anyone else. I won’t go forward
with anything until you’ve had an opportunity to talk with her face to face about it. When she’s
ready to confront the issue, I’ll bring her to you. You can help show her Edward’s side of the
work.”
The two old friends were interrupted by Margaret and her mother coming from the store
with the dress. Ray’s wife looked over at him making sure it was clear for them to bother the
two. Cheryl answered her question for her.
“You’ll look just stunning for your graduation, my dear,” Cheryl spoke to the young girl
who stood with her mother. “Now if you’ll all excuse me, I have to be getting back to my
shopping. Congratulations on your accomplishment, young lady, it’s something to be proud of.”
Cheryl stood up from the bench and patted the hands of Margaret and her mother as she
walked past them. Alice looked over at her husband with a puzzled glance and then back over at
her daughter. Margaret seemed unaffected by the unexpected encounter.
“How’s Cheryl doing, dear?” Alice asked her husband.
“She seems to be doing really well,” answered Ray as he wrapped an arm around his wife
and led his family towards the exit of the mall. Margaret could hardly look up from the box
containing the dress that she carried so proudly in her arm.
The ride home that afternoon went by much faster. Margaret thought about her dress, and
dreamed of how her graduation night would turn out. Something had bothered her about the trip,
but she didn’t know what it was. Soon, the previous night’s events came back to her, and she
found her thoughts returning to Amy. The new information must have come as a shock to her,
and Margaret wondered what Amy thought about right now. It seemed silly, and she knew that
back in Deer Hollow, Amy’s mind worked furiously, trying to imagine why she had never
known her father.
Laura lay with her eyes shut under the warm covers of her bed. Her room in the basement
always felt cool, and she had to wrap herself tightly beneath the blankets to keep her body heat
locked inside. It was long past midnight, and the house remained totally silent.
Laura had finished writing in her journal an hour earlier and turned out the lights. Her
thoughts overflowed with visions of the future. Almost a week had passed since her encounter on
her back porch, but she had already planned the next few months of her romance. Now she could
only wait for the next appearance by her secret lover.
Laura couldn’t sleep. She just lay there with her eyes closed, trying to clear her thoughts
so she could get some rest, but it did her no good at all. Her mind remained focused on the same
thing which had filled her thoughts for the past two days. His face seemed permanently scribed
on the back walls of her mind.
A Novel by Brett Barney Remember Me?
© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 68
A light banging on her bedroom window startled her as she opened her eyes and prepared
to lash out at anything that moved. Laura had a deep fear of unknown sounds in the dark. She
started to let out a scream, but stopped herself before any sound flowed from her lips.
The tapping noise sounded again, and she could make out the silhouette of a man hiding
in the moonlight which streamed into her bedroom. Anticipation overcame fear as she ventured
from her bed towards the window to investigate the lurking prowler. She picked up her tennis
racket on the way to the window, in case she needed a weapon to defend herself.
Laura leaned up against the wall and slid a corner of the curtain away to peek outside.
She instantly recognized the individual who matched the image that haunted her like an
unrelenting spirit. He wore blue jeans and his letterman’s jacket. She moved into his view and
cracked the window so she could speak with him. The old frame of the window creaked just
slightly as it opened.
“What are you doing here, Todd?” she asked in an excited, but extremely low whisper.
“I couldn’t stand to not see you,” answered the soft voice. “I’m sorry to wake you, I just
had to come over and see you once before I close my eyes for the night.”
“That’s so sweet,” she sighed. “I couldn’t sleep either. I just can’t seem to get you out of
my mind.”
“Well don’t try so hard. It’s nice to know you’re thinking about me too. I had hoped you
wouldn’t forget about me.”
“Not on your life,” she assured him. She stood for several seconds staring into his deep
eyes. They looked so inviting under the moonlight. The chill from outside brought her back to
her senses as her skin became riddled with thousands of little bumps.
“Would you like to come outside and go for a walk?” Todd invited.
“I’m not even dressed,” she informed him. She slowly pulled the old window open wider,
so he could fit through. “Here, come on inside.”
“What about your parents?”
“The whole family went to sleep hours ago. Don’t worry, Todd, they’ll never know. Now
come in, you’re letting all the warm air out.”
Todd slipped down into the window well and lowered his legs through the window. He
arched his back and he used his arms to gently drop down to the floor of Laura’s bedroom. She
wondered at his strength as she watched him.
He turned around and looked Laura over. She wore a long night shirt to bed. It flowed
down her shapely curves to stop halfway up her thighs, covering her completely, but still
flattering her. She wore her hair in a ponytail to bed. Laura closed the window behind him and
quickly walked over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 69
Todd welcomed the invitation and gently wet her lips with his own. The bitter chill of his
skin didn’t bother her as she helped him out of his jacket. They gently dropped the jacket on the
floor as she grabbed his hand and led him over to sit down at her bedside.
“This isn’t exactly the easiest place to talk,” he whispered lightly. Laura could sense the
nervousness in his voice. She knew he was right, the sound of voices might wake her parents.
“I wasn’t really in the mood to talk anyway,” she whispered in reply. “Why don’t you lay
down with me a while. It would feel nice just to hold you for a while.”
Todd leaned over and unlaced his shoes. Laura had already returned to her position
beneath the covers when he slid in beside her. She laid her head down on his chest as he wrapped
an arm around her and pulled her close to him. His arms felt good holding her after several day
s
of longing for his touch.
Laura lay on his chest for several minutes, listening to the pounding of his heart. She
explored the contours of his chest with her free hand, slowly unbuttoning his shirt to feel his bare
skin. Seconds later she found her lips gently kissing his as she looked down at his face.
The uninhibited teens quietly released their feelings of hesitation and began to more
intimately share one another’s company. Time seemed to stand still as layers of clothing fell
carelessly to the side. Before she realized how far they had gone, Laura found herself lying
beneath his naked body, urging him to continue.
Laura placed a single finger against her lips, reminding him that they had to keep things
quiet and then willingly welcomed him to carry on. The two lovers broke free of all hesitations.
Their bodies became tangled in a slow moving embrace and Laura felt a new comfort in his
arms.
Her quiet moans moved Todd with incredible desire. He tried desperately to hold back,
but soon surrendered to nature. Laura felt his body tense up and longed to express her feeling
with verbal sound. She held back her vocal expressions, fighting the strange sensations that the
moment had unlocked.
Todd collapsed in the sheets beside her and she moved closer to him to share his warmth.
The smell of his wet, rough skin enticed her senses. She felt more comfortable this time, and had
taken a more active role in the encounter. It seemed strange how natural her instincts were, even
though they were carnal instincts, and not something she would usually pride herself on. Things
felt right now, and she didn’t find herself regretting anything which had occurred. The physical
satisfaction she gained had all but buried any feelings of guilt which might creep up to bother
her. Laura closed her eyes and soon lost herself in the wonder of her dreams.
A Novel by Brett Barney Remember Me?
© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 70
Laura woke to the sound of birds chirping outside her window. The light from the
morning sun had slowly crept towards her bed from the window and began to warm her face. She
opened her eyes and looked over to the window, wondering if it was just a dream.
Laura felt completely rejuvenated from her relaxing sleep. She couldn’t recall a morning
in a long while where she had felt so refreshed and ready to begin the day. She slowly stretched
her muscles as she spread out across the fullness of her bed.
A feeling of terror came over her as her hand came to an abrupt halt against the solid
object beside her. She explored the object with her hand, hoping that it was not what she feared.
A low moan arose from the object as it moved beneath her grasp.
Laura jumped up in her bed and placed a hand over Todd’s mouth. His eyes opened in
confusion as he tried to figure out where he was. A fearful expression crept over him as he stared
up at the naked girl before him. Laura looked over at her clock sitting on the night stand. There
were still three minutes before the alarms would start ringing throughout the house, signaling the
inhabitants to wake up.
“Quick,” she whispered in panic. “Get your clothes on, you have to leave before my
parents wake up.”
Todd jumped from the bed and scurried around the room, trying to locate his clothes
scattered across the floor. Laura watched in amazement at the speed he exercised as he threw on
his clothes. Laura hurried over to the window and quietly opened it, trying not to make too much
noise.
She turned around to see Todd scurrying to lace up his shoes.
As she stood in front of the window, eagerly awaiting his departure, the chill creeping in from
outside reminded her that she was naked. She ran over to her door and threw on her robe as Todd
stood up and hurried towards the open window.
The sounds of clock alarms going off throughout the house broke the morning silence in
the background. Laura helped give him a boost up to the window as the sounds of footsteps from
the floor above them alerted the two that others in the house were awake.
“Oh no,” worried Laura aloud. “What about your car?”
“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I walked.”
“Be careful. Make sure nobody sees you.”
“Are any of the back windows open?” he asked, trying to figure out an escape route.
“They shouldn’t be.”
“Good,” he uttered with relief. “I’ll see you at school.”
“What will your parents say when you’re not in your bed when they go to wake you?”
“I go out running in the morning all the time,” he assured her. “The hard part is getting
away from here without getting caught.”
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 71
Todd waved good-bye and crawled against the wall of the house towards the backyard.
She listened for a minute for someone to catch him sneaking away, but all was silent.
The sound of her door opening behind Laura startled her as she turned to face the door.
Her mind furiously searched for a story as her mother looked over at her oddly. Laura realized
that she hadn’t done her robe up tightly and much of her skin remained uncovered.
“What are you doing standing in front of an open window without any clothes on?” asked
her mother with a look of total confusion etched across her face.
“I was burning up,” Laura exclaimed. “Doesn’t it feel hot down here?”
“No,” answered her mother firmly. She walked over and placed her hand of Laura’s
forehead, feeling for a temperature. “You feel fine to me?”
“Well, I was just headed to the shower,” Laura explained. “It must be getting close to my
period or something.”
She closed the window behind her as she tightened up the robe and walked down the hall
to the bathroom. Her mother followed her, still confused, but not doubting the story. She walked
past the bathroom and climbed the stairs towards the kitchen as Laura turned on the light.
“Hurry up,” called her mother back to her. “Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes. After
that, you can fend for yourself.”
Laura and Heather sat huddled together in the bleachers with a blanket wrapped around
them. The umbrella held over their heads protected them from the densely falling rain from
above, but the bitter chill of the air made leading any cheers impossible. The squad decided to
call it a night and join the crowds in the stands as they finished watching the game. After losing
two games straight, the crowd didn’t really seem that enthusiastic. Laura just wanted the game to
end. She hadn’t seen Todd in some time, and wanted their relationship to consist of more than
just weekly engagements. Exchanged glances in the hallway between classes didn’t match up to
her expectations, but she knew in the end they would be together. It was just a matter of time.
“So do you think we’ll lose this game too?” Heather asked.
“That’s an awful attitude for the head cheerleader to have,” scorned Laura. “They’re just
in a slump right now. They’ll snap out of it.”
“Oh, come on, Laura,” defended Heather. “We haven’t won a game since homecoming.
This will be our third straight loss. They’re wiping up the field with us. We have four minutes
left to
score four touchdowns just to tie the game up. Face it, we stink. We probably won’t even
be invited to play in the state tournament. It’s been almost ten years since a Harrison football
team didn’t make it to the state tournament. Our team is pathetic.”
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 72
“They could still snap out of it,” assured Laura optimistically. “There’s three games left
in the regular season. If we win all three, we automatically get an invitation because we won our
first two games this year. Any team with a winning record gets invited to the tournament.”
“I don’t think so,” answered Heather. “We can’t even win against a team like this. Our
last three games are against three of the toughest teams in our region. We might be lucky to
squeeze out one win, but three in a row, try again.”
Laura ignored the negative comments about the team. She still had a glimmer of hope
that the team could pull things off. The year had gone so well, better than her wildest dreams.
Everything had fallen into place perfectly, her entire life felt as if it had meaning. The only thing
she could think of to make it better was for the football team to at least go to the state
tournament.
She had dreams of running out onto the field and throwing her arms around Todd as he
regained his title as the town hero. Laura knew he still had the potential to lead the team to the
tournament. She felt so proud of him, and she just wanted the rest of the town to give him the
credit he deserved. She wanted to stand by him as he stood tall when he walked down the street.
Laura watched as one of Harrison’s players broke free from the pack and ran the ball
down to the end zone. She recognized his number under the bright lights and jumped up to cheer
him on before he crossed the line. The crowd of wet and cold spectators roared to life joining
her.
Heather jumped up beside her and placed each of her pinkies in her mouth, releasing a
loud, sharp whistle. She stopped suddenly as she recognized the numbers on the jersey of the
player.
“It’s just Todd, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” lied Laura. “Even if it is, what does it matter, it’s our first touchdown of
the game. We’re supposed to get excited when we score, it’s sort of our job out here.”