Taking Chances

by Deanna Frances

  “Spencer? Oh, yeah. He was there…when Michael was…”

  I nodded, not really wanting to remember it.

  “I was really worried when I first found out you had forgiven him for what he did to you with the whole Matt situation, but he assured me it was all a misunderstanding, and that he could never even forgive himself.”

  I let out a soft smile. “I love him,”

  “Well, I’ve always known that.” She laughed, and I smiled.

  “Oh,” Spencer came into the room with Jeremy. “Hi, Miss George,”

  “What did I tell you, call me Megan,” she said laughing, and then looking at Spencer and Jeremy. “Can I talk to you two outside for a minute?”

  “We’ll be right back,” she promised me as they nodded.

  I was alone for a mere five minutes before Spencer came back into the room.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Nothing. She just wanted to lay down a few rules, that’s all. She’s just being a parent. She wants to stay here tonight, and she said I can stay tomorrow night so that I won’t have to wake up for school in the morning, alright?”

  I nodded sadly, as if I had lost.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow, and I’ll stay with you. Aunt Megan should be able to keep you safe of nightmares for now.” He leaned down and kissed my lips softly. I smiled.

  He walked away and when he reached the door, I said, “I love you, Spencer Stevenson. Don’t ever forget that.”

  “I love you, too, Sydney Baker. Don’t ever forget that.”

  He smiled my favorite smile before leaving for the night.

  * * *

  The next day was Friday, and Aunt Megan left around nine in the morning. I thanked her for staying, and was restless waiting for Spencer to arrive. He came at around five, bringing a new poem he had written.

  “I’m going to read it for the Creative Writing class on Monday,” Spencer told me as he handed me the poem entitled, “Healing Hearts.” I read it carefully.

  Healing hearts show so much.

  They show pain and torture,

  and the love that you have lost.

  Healing hearts change everything,

  From the way you look at life,

  to what you feel inside,

  When your heart is healing,

  your happiness starts to return,

  and the pain starts to fade.

  So with memories in your mind,

  and hatred in your heart,

  all you want is for your heart to heal.

  “What do you think?” Spencer asked.

  I read the poem two or three times before I could speak.

  “It’s amazing,” I whispered. “I love it.”

  “Thanks. I wrote it after the doctors told me that…that you might not make it,” he said, putting his hand lightly on my face.

  I took his hand and held it close to my heart. “I’m not going anywhere.” I smiled.

  He tried to smile back, but his expression was filled with pain and worry.

  “Spence, I’m not leaving you. Please stop worrying so much.”

  “I’m trying,” he whispered honestly.

  “I’ll be out of here soon,” I reminded him. “And then, I’ll never have to leave your side.”

  “I like the sound of that.” He chuckled as he brought his head down to kiss me.

  It soon got late and the sun was long gone. “Thank you for staying tonight,” I told him.

  Spencer smiled. “You know I love you.”

  “Can I ask you something?” I asked.

  “Anything,” he promised.

  “What rules did Aunt Megan lay down for you yesterday?” I wondered.

  “Oh, she just said that she wanted to stay with you last night, and that she’d let me stay tonight. Well, she also took me aside and said that if I ever did anything to hurt you again, she’d make me regret it, but I try to ignore that. I don’t ever plan on leaving you again.”

  “She said that to you?” I questioned angrily.

  “As I said yesterday, she was just being a parent,” he said in her defense.

  I sighed, looking out at the pitch-black night. Spencer gently squeezed my hand in his and said, “You know, you said that you want to help people, and have that be your career…I am so sorry that I wasn’t there to help you.”

  I sighed.

  “Sydney…I don’t think you will ever be able to compare to the pain I feel…I am so angry with myself. It kills me inside to know that this has been going on for years…it kills me.”

  “Spencer,” I said. “You have helped me. You saved me. If you wouldn’t have come that night, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be gone forever. Don’t blame yourself for the things that happened to me. It’s not your fault…and by the way, thank you, for everything,” I whispered, messing with his hair with my free hand.

  “You’re welcome.” He leaned down to kiss me once more, and for the first time in weeks, I slept free of nightmares.

  Chapter 16

  HOME

  The next week was unfortunately slow, even though Spencer came to see me almost every day. Jacquie had let me know that she and Annie had won the talent show, and I told her that I was proud of them.

  During the middle of my second and final week at the hospital, Spence only came to see me one day because he had to clean the house for his grandparents who would be coming soon.

  It was mid-May, and I was able to leave the hospital and go back to the farm. Spencer picked me up that afternoon, and I was happier than ever to hold him in my arms again.

  Walking out to his car, Spencer kept one arm close and securely around my waist as I leaned into his side for support. I was super sore, especially since I had been lying in a hospital bed for two weeks.

  When I got back to the farm, Spencer held my hand as we walked inside. I looked at the house and smiled. It finally could be my personal heaven on earth.

  “Surprise!” my friends screamed as we entered the living room. I was speechless. Streamers and different colored balloons were covering every inch of the room. “Taking Chances” by Celine Dion was playing, and a big, blue banner with green letters read, “Welcome home, Sydney!”

  “Welcome home,” Spencer whispered in my ear as he kissed my cheek.

  “Wow,” was all I could say.

  Jacquie came up to me and hugged me as tightly as she could.

  “I missed you so much, Syd,” she said to me.

  “I missed you too, Jacqs…um…ow.” She was hugging me really tightly, and it hurt.

  “Oh, sorry,” she said, letting go of me and smiling shyly.

  “Did you know about this?” I eyed Spencer suspiciously.

  “Of course.” He chuckled. “Jacqs and I thought of the idea.”

  “When did you do all this?” I asked him.

  “Do you remember when I said that I couldn’t visit you because I was cleaning my house?”

  I nodded.

  “I wasn’t exactly cleaning my house,” he admitted. “I was cleaning yours.” He smiled my favorite smile.

  For the rest of the night, we had a little party. There was food and drinks and movies. It was nice to be with all of my friends again. I had finally won the fight. The farm was finally my home.

  * * *

  At school on Monday, a lot of people came up to me and asked how I was feeling. I told them that I was fine. Also, people wanted to sign the cast that would be on my arm for another three weeks. I also had to walk with a leg brace on my left leg, but no one could really see it under my baggy jeans, and I didn’t have to participate in P.E. for the rest of the school year.

  Tuesday after school, Spencer stayed the night at my house for the last time before Aunt Megan, Lillian, Rebecca, and I would officially be living at the farm together. Lillian and Rebecca were at Aunt Megan’s house in downtown Shabbona, and Maddie was in a rehabilitation center for the week until a decision could be made as to the duration of her stay.

  “Do you
know what’s going on next Saturday?” Spencer asked as we sat on the queen-sized bed up in my room.

  “Um…no. What’s going on next Saturday?” I asked.

  “Well, I want to take you to it, but I want to know if you’ll feel alright going. I don’t want you to feel like you have to go,” he said.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Prom,” he replied.

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. I was wondering if you’d like to go with me.”

  “Yeah. I’d love to go.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” he asked, cautiously. I saw him look at my arm in its cast and my leg in a brace.

  “Yeah. I’ll be fine,” I said.

  “Okay. Well, you might want to tell Jacquie. She and Annie are going dress shopping tomorrow, and they want you to come. It’s last minute because they didn’t have any time to go before hand.”

  “Alright.”

  I called Jacquie and told her that I’d be going shopping with her and Annie the following day. She was ecstatic, and told me that Emily, who had become Dean’s girlfriend when I was in the hospital, would be joining as well.

  * * *

  Saturday came around, and though I had started to worry about Prom, it turned out to be a great time. Being with Spencer had made the whole ordeal even better. Though, while we stood in line for the Grand March, I saw someone that I hadn’t expected to see. Matt was there with his new fiancée, Belle Spickerman. I’d seen her around school, but I’d never known who she was until then. Spencer told me Belle was his ex-girlfriend, and I realized that she was the girl Matt had talked about the day we went Homecoming dress shopping. Belle had cheated on Spencer with Matt…just like Spencer thought I had done…Matt proposed two weeks prior, and they were planning to get married sometime the following year. I sighed as they walked away, wondering what their engagement would lead to...

  * * *

  After Prom, Spencer and I were invited to a party at Jacquie’s, but Spencer said he wanted to be alone with me that night, so we went over to his house instead.

  We lay next to each other on his bed, talking. Spencer had changed out of his tux and into jeans and an unbuttoned white shirt. I changed out of my dress into jean shorts and a T-shirt. My hair was still in the roll bun, only because Spencer said that it looked really pretty that way.

  I lay next to him, resting my head gently on his bare chest.

  “Do you think you made the right choice, coming to Prom tonight?” he asked, stroking my hair lightly, making sure not to mess it up.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  It was silent for a moment before Spencer said, “I want to know how you feel…about…me.” He whispered. “You already know how I feel. I’m completely in love with you, but…I just want to know exactly how you feel.”

  I thought about it for a minute. I thought he already knew how I felt. I slowly lifted my head off of his chest, and turned to face him.

  “I love you with all of my heart, Spencer. I know that it may sound stupid…but…you’re the only person I’ve ever loved…and…I want it to stay that way,” I confessed. “I’m in love with you, Spence, and I always will be. Don’t ever doubt that.” I stroked his chest lightly with my fingertips and smiled.

  He leaned slowly toward me and brought his lips to mine. He kissed me much differently than he had before. There was a new feeling to the way his soft, warm lips moved with mine. It wasn’t eagerness; it wasn’t happiness, yet he was happy. It was definitely our indescribable love for each other.

  Many questions were answered that night; questions about our relationship, and our love for one another. Spencer and I were more than happy about the way things had turned out in our lives.

  We were in love with each other, we would be able to stay with each other forever, and most importantly, Spencer had saved my life by clearing Michael out forever. Seventeen years of hard work had finally paid off. I could live in peace with my friends, family, and the most amazing man that I could ever ask for. I could finally count on being able to help people for the rest of my life. Taking chances had finally brought joy and peace into my life. I wondered where it would lead me next.…

  Epilogue

  FREE

  I took a deep breath as the judge let me sit back down next to Lillian, Rebecca, Aunt Megan, Maddie and Spencer. Sitting up next to the judge as a witness was almost like being interrogated. Spencer took my hand in his as soon as I sat down, calming me somewhat. But there was still one decision to be made: How long would Michael serve?

  The court deliberated while I sat in complete silence and terror. What if they don’t lock him up for very long? I thought to myself. What if he comes back?

  The judge sent us out of the room and said we’d be called back when a decision was made.

  “Sydney, calm down. You’re shaking like crazy.” Spencer took my hand, in an effort to stop my fingers from tapping anxiously on the arms of my chair.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “You know they’re going to lock him up for a while,” he told me.

  “But what if they don’t?” I whispered. Spencer sighed, and I guessed he didn’t have an answer for that. They called us back a while later and the courtroom was filled with anxious people awaiting the judgment.

  “Has the jury reached a verdict?” the judge asked.

  “Yes, your honor.”

  “And your verdict is…?”

  I looked over at the jury members as a small tear of fear rolled down my cheek.

  “We find the defendant guilty of child endangerment and attempted murder.”

  I trembled at the word murder, but I already knew that…but for how long? I waited impatiently; time was moving so slowly.

  The judge nodded. “And according to the law of the state of Illinois, the defendant will serve up to ten years in prison for child endangerment, and up to thirty years for attempted murder. “

  I smiled. Thirty years. By the time he was out, I would be gone. I would be off with my own life, living without fear.

  I looked up at Spencer and smiled. I was finally free.

  About Deanna Frances

  Deanna Frances grew up in a small town in northern Illinois. She currently attends Northern Illinois University. Besides writing, she enjoys singing, acting in community theater, photography, scrapbooking and spending time with friends and family. This is her first novel.

  Table of Contents

  Reviews

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Epilogue

  About Deanna Frances