Forever RiverCreek

Chapter 8 - Cory's Good Day

Tara's alarm blares, and it wakes Cory up, too, "Good morning, beautiful," he mentions staring into her eyes.

"Good morning to you too," Tara replies and begins to run her hand over Cory's bullet-wounded torso.

The ridges left on his body as they become scars bring sympathy and pain through Tara's body. Cory doesn't pay any attention to her rubbing his wounds lightly as he lies there with his eyes shut. Instead, the sensation of Tara's sensual light touch brings him comfort.

"Do they still hurt?"

"Huh?" Cory asks, coming out of the semi-trance.

"Your injuries I'm touching. Do they still hurt?"

Cory wiggles his head no and tightens his grip around Tara a little more, "Not really. But, of course, they ache when I'm under a lot of stress or when I have a bad dream. But, they're healing pretty well."

"I can't imagine what that felt like having bullets go through your body like that. Is it okay if I ask for the cliff notes of what happened?" Tara says with a hard gulp.

"Um, to put it shortly, there was a head guy of a band of fighters who were caught in a fight, and they brought him to my hospital unit. They somehow found out where he was being held, and they attacked us. I picked up a gun, and that's when I got shot, but a friend of mine, Sabrina, saved my life by slowing down how badly I was bleeding, but they tortured and killed her when she got caught tending to my wounds."

Listening to a brief version of events, Tara wipes her eyes and says a quiet little prayer. Then, after a few minutes of working up the courage, she manages to blurt out a question, "Was she pretty, or were you interested in her at all?"

"What does that have to do with the price of beans in China?" Cory jokingly says to avoid the answer.

Not laughing, Tara pulls back to look him in the eyes, "I'm serious. It's okay if you were attracted or went out with her. If she was pretty, I'd like to know. I promise I won't get angry because, I mean, we were broken up technically. I know I gave you a hard time at your dad's funeral, but that was to get under your skin for abandoning your parents."

"Sabrina was very attractive, and we were friends, but nothing could have happened because she was a nurse and I wasn't an officer. So we never did anything, but we would flirt to pass the time and joke around to piss off the charge nurse. We were reminded daily that nothing better happen or else we could face repercussions for it."

As Tara lies there with the fan spinning above their heads to help keep the bedroom cool, she feels her heart rate raise, preparing to confess a few things, "So, I had a few dates here and there, but they were nothing serious. I tried to resist, but there were times I felt too lonely at times. So, mom would watch CJ, and I'd go out to dinner, and that would be it. I never slept with any of them, and I swear no one ever met our son."

"That's not something to worry about since it's in the past. I don't have a reason to be mad unless someone ever hurt you or CJ, then I'd be furious. I understand being lonely, so it's cool to have someone to spend time talking about more than kid stuff." Cory explains with Tara feeling his pulse not rise at all.

Running short on time, Tara manages to get out from under the covers and into the shower while Cory continues to relax in bed. After she's showered and blow-dried her hair, Tara gets dressed in her black and white uniform. Cory whistles to get her attention when she bends down to get her nonslip shoes.

"Now that's a sight to see!" Cory teases and winks.

"You're still such a goof-nut."

Cory gets out from under the covers with a smile and struts to the shower. Tara announces that she's leaving, "I'm out! I'll see you boys tonight. Play nice and have fun. If you need me, text 9-1-1, and I will call you back. I love you, Cory."