“ Well, here we are.”, Simone says, as she and Reese walk up to her front door.

” Safe and sound.”

“ Yeah. Safe and sound. “ There was an awkward silence between them, when Simone spoke up, “ I really had a good time tonight.”

” You did?”

” The company was excellent.”

Reese didn’t know how to respond. After all, things had been so awkward between him and Simone since ‘that night’. He just knew that he didn’t want to blow it.

He didn’t get the chance, because the door opened, and an angry Eve Russell was standing there.

” Simone Russell, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Do you KNOW what time it is?”

Before Simone said anything, Reese stepped up to greet Eve. “ I apologize, Dr. Russell. Simone being delayed is all my fault. I got into such a groove with the tutoring, that I think exhausted Simone on the first day.”

” You were being tutored? Oh, yes, I think I remember something about your counselor calling me. Reese, thank you for being such a dedicated tutor. But, that doesn’t excuse my daughter for not picking up the telephone and telling me where she was.”

” No, Mom, you’re right. I was wrong. I know you were probably worried. I didn’t mean it. I did get caught up. I know how important this grade is, and I didn’t want my grade to slip any further.”

” Ok…but, you’ll call next time, right?”

” Sure.”

” Well, Reese, I made some apple pie tonight ‘during my worrying phase’. Would you like to come in and get some?”

” Well, I don’t….”

” I think that’s a great idea, Mom. We should reward Reese for all his hard work.”, Simone said with a little hope in her eyes.

” That would be great, Dr. Russell. Thank you.”

Simone and Reese came into the house and headed straight for the kitchen.

Simone got the plates out, and cut the pie for the both of them.

” A la mode?”, Simone asks.

” Sure.”

Simone gets the ice cream and puts it on both of their slices. Handing him a fork, she just begins to dig into hers.

After a few minutes, Reese spoke up.” Why did you invite me in?”

” Because, you showed me a terrific time tonight. Thought that the pie and ice cream would top off this evening perfectly.”

Reese smiles. “ Yeah.”

They ate their pie and ice cream in silence, looking up from the pie into one another’s eyes ever so often, and each of them, getting a sly smile on their faces.

Their comfortable silence was broken when Whitney and Chad came through the door.

“ Hi Simone.”, they both said.

The relaxed mood on Simone’s face evaporated almost instantly. In its place was a scowl. She ignored them, and looked down at her plate.

Whitney and Chad looked at each other, and quietly left.

“ Wow, you could chill ice cream in the coolness of this room just then.”

” I told you how I felt about them. No sense in hiding it.”

” Maybe not, but, how long can you keep it up?”

” As long as I have to.”

” What does that mean? What do you think is going to happen? Chad will realize the error of his ways and decide he loves YOU?”

Simone looked up at Reese. “ Of course, not. I don’t even want Chad anymore.”

” Then, what is it about, Simone?”

” You wanna know what it’s about? I want those two to feel the pain that I feel, Reese! I want them to pay for their lies and betrayal. I want them to pay.”

” Simone….revenge never does any good. Somehow, when it happens, if it happens, it’s always hollow in some way, because it could never live up to what you want it to. I have to get home.”

Reese got up and went to the back door.

” You’ll tutor me tomorrow?”, Simone asks.

” Of course.”

“ Bye, Reese.”

“ Bye.”

TC sat in the park. He had been in his shed long enough, and decided to take a run. He had wound up in one of the more secluded areas of the park on a bench. Memories that he hadn’t thought about in years had come flooding back to him lately, and they scared him:

[FLASHBACK]

“ Doctor, what do you think the diagnosis is?”, the nursing student said next to the patient in restraints.

“ Severe depression coupled with an addiction to his pain medication. He’s going through withdrawal right now. Are you going to be OK?”

” Sure. He doesn’t frighten me.”

” Addicts undergoing withdrawal can be scary.”

” We’ll be fine.”

“ Well, I’ll be gone on vacation. This is a special case. I knew his mother, that’s why I promised her that we would take care of this privately like this. You’re going to be isolated out here with him. She didn’t want his reputation damaged by being checked into a facility.”

” I understand. I have everything that I need.”

” You’re young. How did you choose this area for your studies.”

“ Several young men that were older than me in my town went off to Vietnam, and came back wrecks. I saw a couple of them get through their addictions, and a couple died. I wanted to help other people the same way.”

” Well, if you have any trouble..”

” I know what to do. You can go.”

The doctor left, and the young woman sat at the side of the young man strapped onto the bed. His body was obviously going through the symptoms of withdrawal. He was shaking constantly, and he was going through night sweats. She could have to monitor him, because he could easily begin the vomiting that sometimes accompanies withdrawal. She put the damp cloth to his head, trying to cool him off. This phase passed, and his body settled down, and he slept for awhile.

Once she knew that he was really asleep, she looked at his file once again. He had been in a horrible car crash that left him in a coma for over a month. He had to relearn how to walk again. He had been a promising athlete, and his career had ended in the crash.

The loss of his athletic career had sent him careening into a deep depression, which only fed into his addiction to painkillers. He had been caught breaking into the local pharmacy, looking for drugs, when in an agreement with the owners, and the law enforcement, his parents would pay the damages, and this was sought as an alternative to anything to do with the legal system. They wanted him to get help, and because this was a small town, and they knew him, they wanted him to have this option.

So, he was brought to his parent’s cabin by the lake, and she was assigned to the case. She knew it was because she was low on the totem pole and had no seniority, but, she didn’t care.

She looked at him sleeping. There was something very gentle about him. Something that touched her. She was staring into his face, studying it when he wokeup.

“ Is there something wrong?”, he cracked.

“ No. Just looking.”, she responded.

” I guess that’s something to be thankful for. Outside of being chained like an animal, I guess I’m doing ok.”

” It’s only temporary. Just to get the drugs out of your system.”

” What about my mind?”

” Well, we’ll work on it.”

” WE?”

” That’s my job.”

” You don’t look any older than me. How are you supposed to be of help to anyone?”

” You’d  be surprised how much help I can be.”, she snapped at him.

” Well, a little attitude. I like that. I thought you were going to be Mary Poppins, or something.”

” Mary doesn’t deal with addicts. I do.”

That quieted him, as she saw the shame on his face when she said ‘addict’.
 

” Yeah, that’s what I am, I guess. A junkie.”

” No. An addict. “

” There’s a difference?”

” There can be. If you let me help you. If you’re ready to face the demons.”

” I’ve got demons for days.”

” Then, we should have a rip-roaring time, shouldn’t we?”

He got quiet. “ I don’t know if I can do it.”

” Good. That’s just what I want to hear. The people that scare me are the ones too stupid to realize that this isn’t going to be easy. It’ll be the hardest thing you’ll ever do. But, it will also be the most rewarding. You can get your life back.”

” What kind of life do I have to get back? I have nothing.”

“ WRONG. You have a lot. You have family and friends who loved you enough to get you this chance. You have a future. Sure, maybe not the one you wanted, but, a future. Not everything goes according to plan. You CAN build a future for yourself. “

” You seem so certain. I’m not so sure.”

” TC, you have to take this one step at a time. Right now, the only thing you’re thinking about is either a) the pain you’re in physically at this moment, because you’re not medicated, b) how you can knock me out so that you can go get more drugs. Future is just a word. But, the longer we stay together, you’ll see that it’s so much more.”

“ Nice speech. Since you’re going to rock my world, may I at least know your name?”

” Melody. My name is Melody.”

She shook TC’s strapped hand, and smiled at him with such warmth. It was the first real emotional moment that he’d had free of drugs since the accident all those months ago.

[END OF FLASHBACK]

TC ran his hands through his hair. He couldn’t be thinking what he was. The past couldn’t be coming back to haunt him like this.