New Short (very short) Story - Missing Scene SR
Well, I wanted to get this story out on my birthday, which was yesterday, but it wasn't happening. For a switch, I thought I'd give all you gals a little treat. This is a short tale from a missing scene in Sweet Revenge. Thanks to Dawn for the quick edit and all the goodies that she brought me! I hope you enjoy!
The Language of Love
“Look! He’s…he’s awake! He’s awake!!”
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Starsky’s eyes were open! And the nurse watching him was just sitting there reading her dime store novel! I didn’t think, I just reacted. I grabbed an arm and slapped that silly thing out of her hands.
“I’ll go get a doctor,” she said, twisting free from my grasp. She looked scared-no doubt thinking I’d somehow gone insane. Before I had a chance to apologize, she rushed out the door, abandoning her opened book on the floor. Poor woman, I didn’t mean to shake her up like that, but I had to shake something; and Starsky sure as hell was out of the question.
Realizing an army of medics would soon invade our temporary solitude, I went over and stood at Starsky’s bedside. Other than appearing tired and confused, he looked pretty damn good for surviving a mob hit. God! My partner was alive! I could even see that…that tiny bit of sparkle in his eyes.
Not able to resist, I leaned in closer. “Hey, buddy,” I whispered.
My heart wanted to dance as he cracked a little smile. His eyes lazily drifted to one side and then focused on me again.
“You’re in the hospital,” I explained. “But you’re gonna be fine.”
Well, that last comment might have been jumping the gun, but so what? Starsky was here with me, conscious and awake, blinking and breathing, and that’s all that mattered. Yeah, it’d been touch and go for a while, but as far as I was concerned, my partner just made every doctor in this hospital eat his words.
Starsky gave me a little nod, like he wanted to say something, so I bent lower to hear. The two words were hushed and slurred, but I understood them perfectly.
“You got shot,” I said, needing to force each syllable out. “Remember? We were at the precinct, standing by the car.”
That was all I could say. A rush of raw emotions unexpectedly swirled in, overtaking and crushing my heart. I glanced away, embarrassed to let Starsky see the hurt in my eyes. For days now, I hadn’t been able to stop reliving the sight of that patrol car heading straight for us, hearing Starsky’s cry severed in mid-breath by a barrage of bullets. A few whizzed by my head before I hit the pavement but Starsky had nowhere to go. My eyes began to burn, irritated from a buildup of tears, but I made it all stop. This wasn’t the time to start falling apart, to realize how damn close we’d come…how close he’d really come…to dying. I struggled to let the relief I’d felt only moments ago surface again and looked back at Starsky. His expression showed concern but a sense of peace soon fell across his face.
Seeing that look brought back memories of him in the emergency room, right after plugging Vic Bellamy full of holes. Lying there helpless on the stretcher, fighting for each breath of air, Starsky tried to tell me something. Whatever it was, he couldn’t say and I never asked him either. I don’t think he would’ve told me anyway. Some things in this life, you just can’t find the words for. And our friendship is one of those things.
Letting myself slip back into the present, I noticed Starsky staring at me.
“You reading my thoughts?” I asked needlessly.
He smiled again, this time even bigger than before.
No, we don’t always have to use words to tell each other how we feel. We just open our hearts, and let our love speak.
The End