Names Will Never Hurt Me
By TT
Disclaimer: The Characters of the Stephanie Plum Series belong to Janet Evanovich and are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Challenge: 100_Prompts, table 100-B, 003. Sticks And Stones
Characters: Stephanie, minor Joe
Rating: Suitable for all ages
Feedback: Email TT
Names Will Never Hurt Me
By TT
Normally it doesn’t bother me.
Normally I can just let it flow off my shoulders and not think twice about it.
Normally, that piece of old schoolyard wisdom plays through my head – “Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me”.
As an adult, I knew that wasn’t true. Names could hurt you in ways sticks and stones never would.
Today I’d been called every name that you could think of by my skips.
Now, I stood there hearing names that my supposed friends were calling me, names people I barely knew were calling me – disaster, disappointment, embarrassment, failure.
They hurt.
They hurt a lot.
They hurt more than the stones I’d fallen on earlier or the branches I’d pushed through while chasing my skip.
I caught him, though.
Now I could feel the tears beginning as my anger and fight left me.
A hand came to rest on my shoulder and I turned my head to see who it was.
I could see the teasing light in Joe’s eyes and could almost see the smart comment on his lips.
But the teasing light faded and his eyes filled with concern and love as he took in my appearance.
Turning me so that I was in front of him, he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me close.
“Cupcake,” he whispered.
Guess names can comfort and heal as well.
End