Temptation 2

18 - madden

Weeks have gone by of restless nights and Hero doing his very best to stay awake with me. Some days, I catch him napping on the couch beside me, other days when I wake up from a nightmare, he slowly drifts off to sleep.

Right now, Hero is snoring on the couch and I'm able to walk without crotches. Sometimes, when I'm on my feet for too long, it hurts but I'm mostly fine. My ribs are pretty much healed so bending over doesn't feel like sharp pains in my gut anymore. My bruises are yellowing now, the bullet wound stitches are out now it's just the nightmares really causing me annoyance now.

I go into the kitchen and through our back doors into the backyard. It's pouring rain outside but it's peaceful. I sit out on a lawn chair by the pool and watch the raindrops hit the pool water. An hour has passed and suddenly, the rain is no longer hitting me but it's all around me. When I look up, I see an umbrella being hold over my head, and at the end of the umbrella, the hand that holds it is not Hero's. "Let's go inside." He speaks. I follow him inside to the sunroom and look through the window to see Hero is still fast asleep. We sit across from each other and say nothing for a bit then I speak up. "Tom, how'd you get in the house? Hero has seriously upgraded our security in this place." He pulls a key out of his pocket and dangles it in front of me, "Didn't you know, Hero and I are best buds again." I can sense the distaste in his tone. Men. "He gave you a key." It's more of a question than a statement. "He's supposed to leave for set tonight but he keeps trying to get out of it. The studio is fighting him on it though. Don't get me wrong, I think the studio should be a little more sensitive since you two are going through all this but Madden, this could ruin his career." "So what? You're here to offer up a solution?" He scratches his chin and that's when I notice he definitely hasn't shaved in a couple days. "Well, the studio wants a British guy who's good looking and talented, so—" Tom is cut off by Hero's gravelly voice. He puts a blanket over my wet clothes as he sits beside me. "I offered the role to Tom. If the studio takes him instead of me, I don't have to leave." I turn to Hero, "Is this what you want?" "Madds, I don't want to leave you. It's not an option so do not try to talk me out of this. "I'll come with you," I suggest. Hero just shakes his head. "Hero, I'll come with you. You have wanted to do this movie since before I met you. I think it's generous of Tom to do this, but I also don't want you to give up on your life. I'm doing better, I'm okay." He wraps his arm over my shoulder, "If I go, I'd be on set for hours..." "Hero, please we have been together for years, I know what this life entails." I turn to Tom, "Sorry Tom, but we don't need you to do this for us. We're going to leave—together—and we will be fine." Tom stands up and hands the key to Hero, "She's tougher than she looks."