Page 62 of Character Flaws
Chapter Twenty-Three
Joey
Theater geek turned hero
“Theo, can you hear me? Are you okay?”
Theo’s head is cradled in my arms, his head in my lap as I sit with my legs stretched out in front of me. The noise and chaos levels have dissipated now that they’ve removed Tommy from the premises.
Glancing over to where Melody sits, her back up against the old wooded-wall, her knees drawn up to her chest and forehead at the top of her knees, I can now see what was hiding under the surface all these weeks. Although I don’t know her all that well, I do know she’s a sweet woman. Shy, reserved…and obviously scared.
And right now, she’s shaking like a leaf, with a sob that departs from her lungs every few seconds. Birdie rushed over to Melody’s side, leaving me with Theo. She refused to call the police, which I think is a huge mistake, but she did promise to go stay with a friend and wouldn’t return to Tommy.
Theo mumbles something incoherently.
“Shh, it’s okay. Someone’s going to get you an icepack to put on that eye of yours.” I barely feather my finger over the top of his eyebrow and he closes his eyes in a flinch.
“’Surts,” he complains, as he lifts one hand to touch that side of his face.
I want to kiss him. Whisper in his ear that he’ll be fine and I’ll take care of him, but I can’t. There are witnesses. I’m already getting weird side glances from the crew because of the way I’ve positioned Theo’s head on my lap.
Well, screw them. Let them think whatever they want.
At a time like this, all that matters is that Theo knows he’s cared for and someone is here for him after his heroic attempt to thwart wrong doing. I want him to know how brave and amazing he was to stand up to that horrible abusive monster.
I’ve always been a bit squeamish when it comes to blood and stuff. Two years ago, one of my students was tripped while walking into my class. The kid, Benny, fell into his sharpened pencil that had been clutched in his hand. He stabbed himself in his upper shoulder – poor kid.
Blood spurted everywhere and it looked like a scene from The Walking Dead. I just stood there like an immobile zombie. I seriously couldn’t move. I watched it all happen in slow motion and it took three of my students yelling at me and shaking me to move into action. I finally snapped out of it and instructed someone to call up the nurse and I stopped the bleeding with my favorite knit sweater.
Damn, I loved that sweater!
Thankfully, Benny lived another day. And , of course, I received a new title,Hurling Miss Hughes.
Because yes, I did immediately upchuck in the class wastebasket after the adrenaline wore off.
But not now. Now I feel a calm to my core. I have no fear. I’m invincible. And slightly turned on, to be honest.
The moment I walked in and saw Theo jump into action – all hulking alpha male – I may have had a mini-orgasm.
He was my own Bruce Willis inDie Hard. Or Clark Kent. Or insert geek-in-real-life superhero name here. That’s who he is.
Phew. Is it hot in here or what?
I know I’ve teased Theo over the last few weeks since the Woody incident, about his less-than-alpha attributes. But there was none of that the moment he decided to defend Melody and go up against her attacker.
Poor girl. I hope she leaves his ass in the dust for trying to lay a finger on her. Oh geez. What if this is her daily life? What if she’s been abused often by this horrible fire breathing dragon of a man?
I shake my head to ward off the thoughts that my imagination conjures up and refocus my energy on Theo.
“I’m not sure if I should be embarrassed or make a pass at you, considering where my head is at the moment.”
I gaze down into Theo’s grinning face and know he’ll be okay, with or without the shiner now appearing in a deep black and blue under his left eye.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about,” I reply, shaking my head. “That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
He squints and then thinks twice about it, his hand rubbing between his eyes, his expression evening out across his face.
“So, you’re suggesting that getting me punched in the face turns you on? Does that mean I’m getting laid tonight?”
