TITLE: "The Butterfly"
AUTHOR: Blu
EMAIL: Blu2cool@AOL.com
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: All rights to the characters and places of General Hospital and Port Charles are reserved for ABC, Bob Guza, TPTB, producers, writers, etc. I use the General Hospital characters for my own personal enjoyment and that of others, not for profit. None of them belong to me. I own nothing, so don't expect much if you decide to sue. No copyright infringement intended.
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My apologies for this taking so long! I had an almost exciting weekend, and I've also been updating my webpage (it's all here!)
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"Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run"
From Collective Soul's "Run"
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300. 301. 302.
Watching my ceiling fan swirl endlessly was giving me a headache. My clock read 1:03 am, and the Sandman was still nowhere in sight.
A frustrated sigh slipped from my lips as I sat up. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and wiggled my toes. My sweatpants were still crumpled near the closet, where I'd dropped them last night. And my running shoes were waiting by my bedroom door. I rifled through the clean clothes on top of my dresser until I found my gray hooded sweatshirt. I tied my hair back haphazardly.
I limbered up next to my window. The glass was cool to the touch when I placed my palm against it to open it up. My shoes gripped the shingles as I carefully made my way down. The second my feet touched the ground, I was jogging toward the street.
My feet pounded the pavement to the rhythm I set in my head. My breath emerged frosty in front of my face. All of the houses were dark. I turned down a side street and then another. I didn't like to take the same route twice. But somehow I ended up in the same place every time.
The lone streetlight between docks E and F was flickering when I arrived at my favorite bench. Tonight it was too cold to sit, but I stopped for a moment and stood listening to the sound of the water slapping against the pilings. The familiar creaking of the water-worn wood was almost a lullaby to me. I closed my eyes for just a second.
My ears alerted me to the presence of another. I could feel the vibrations of footsteps with my feet. I whirled in a circle and spotted the shadow slightly darker than those around him. Something struck my as familiar.
"Hello?"
Right now I should be running away. Slipping into the shadows, like he was trying to do. Instead I get some mixed up message from my brain and call out.
"Hi."
The voice was male, and it made my heart jump.
"What are you doing out so late?"
"I could ask you the same thing." He dodged my question.
"I was running."
"So I noticed. You're very in tune with your senses."
The light from the streetlight fell on his hair when he stepped closer. Red highlights turned the gold into copper. I fought the urge to turn and run now. I had nothing to fear from him.
"I'm going to go home now," I said, inching away from him. Towards home, and the safety I pretended that it meant.
"I can't just let you go, you know."
My breathing stopped.
"It's not proper to allow a lady to walk home at night."
"Well, I wasn't going to walk."
"May I run with you?"
"If I say no, are you going to follow me anyway?"
"Probably."
"Look, you don't owe me anything, Sly."
"It's called duty. It's a man's duty to make sure a lady gets home safe and sound."
I rolled my eyes.
"You don't believe me? The Eckert code of conduct calls for it."
My body reacted to my complete stillness of the last few moments by beginning to shake. I prayed he wouldn't notice.
"You're not even wearing a coat." He started pulling his off. He stepped toward me and my heart began fluttering wildly in my throat.
I turned and took off into the darkness.
End chapter 3.
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