Learn To Love Again

Chapter 13

"That's a lot of sugar, you know?"

"I'm aware," I said as I  reoccupied my seat at the table across from detective Sterling with a second cup of fro-yo. It was about half an hour later and we were still at tutti frutti.

"You're setting a bad example for all the little kids here," he said, then turned to Fancy, who was sitting on the chair beside him. "Sugar is bad," he told her. "If you eat too much sugar, you'll die."

"You'll die whether or not you eat sugar."

He gasped, covering her ears with his palms. "Why are you telling her that?"

"Why are you telling her that?"

Before he could respond, Fancy got down from her seat.

"Can I have some more yoghurt, uncle Chris?" She asked in that sweet little voice of hers.

"Of course, sweetheart. Just promise me you'll add only fruits this time."

Fancy had already taken off running toward the yoghurt machines before she yelled, "promise."

When she started talking to one of the assistants, I turned to face Detective Sterling again.

"She's so sweet," I said. "I could kidnap her!"

"Careful what you say, Mrs. Saunders," he said with a smirk. "Remember, I'm a cop, I could arrest you."

"Then I guess I'll just have to kidnap you too."

He laughed. "Don't you have any kids of your own?"

"No, I don't," I said. "You didn't notice that when you kicked down my door?'

"Are you ever going to drop that?" He asked with a smile. "I told you, it was a misunderstanding. Besides, we got it fixed before you even got home." He seemed to think of something, then said, "how come you don't have any kids? You're married, right? What, you don't like kids?"

My breath hitched in my throat, and for a while I couldn't think of anything to say.

I loved kids and it had always been a dream of mine to have kids of my own. Patrick and I had just decided to start a family when he was diagnosed with cancer. Now, even the slightest mention of it made me want to curl up in a ball and cry.

"Are you okay?"

I looked up to see detective Sterling looking at me with a worried expression.

I took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." I rose from the seat and picked up my purse from the table. "I should go. It's kinda late."

Without waiting for an answer I stormed out of the store, tossing the half full cup of yoghurt in a trash can by the door on my way out.

I hurriedly walked down the sidewalk, until I was in the parking lot. As I made my way to my car, I couldn't help but wonder where my life would have been if Patrick was still alive.

I would probably have a cute little two year old girl. And, who knows, maybe she would have a little brother or sister.

I smiled as I remembered how Patrick's face would light up whenever he talked about having kids.

I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn't hear the screeching tyres until about a second before I felt myself being dragged backward. The car missed me by about an inch and continued down the lot. I didn't get a chance to be relieved before I lost my footing and landed backwards on a hard, muscular surface. Breathing heavily, I rolled over onto my stomach and, placing both palms on the pavement, balanced my weight on my hands.

My heart skipped a beat as I found myself staring into the deep brown eyes of Detective Chris Sterling.

With a sudden surge of adrenaline, I rolled off of him and quickly got to my feet, then took a few steps back, my breathing heavy.

He slowly got to his feet, a frown on his face. He took a few steps, and I realized he was limping.

"Next time could you be more careful?" His voice was a bit deeper than usual.

He used a hand to rub the back of his neck, then flinched. When he removed his hand, it was red with blood.

I still couldn't find my voice so instead of answering, I walked around him and took a look at his neck. There was a deep cut the length of my pinky right below his hair line. Blood leaked from it and stained the collar of his shirt.

"I'm so sorry," I finally said, shifting uncomfortably on my feet. "I was a bit distracted. Would you like me to drive you to a hospital?"

"No, it'll be fine. I have to take Fantaysia home."

"Where is she?"

"She's still at tutti frutti," he responded. "I wanted to know what your problem was. You stormed out of the shop like I killed your cat."

I forced smile. "Did I? I didn't notice, my bad."

"So you're okay?"

I nodded.

"Okay. See you...whenever."

I nodded again and he started walking down the sidewalk, limping at first, before regaining his authoritative stride.

I watched until he disappeared around the bend, then let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding.

As I turned around to get to my car, I noticed my purse lying carelessly on the sidewalk. I picked it up and, after looking both ways to make sure no vehicle was coming, crossed the parking lot to my car.

The ride home seemed longer than usual and all I could think about was how close I had come to possible death. If Detective Saunders hadn't been there when he was, who knew what would've happened to me.

When I finally reached home, I left the car in the driveway and entered the house. I didn't even bother turning on the lights. I fumbled through the darkness until I was in my bedroom, then dropped myself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling until my thoughts put me to sleep.

________________________________________________________________________

A/N:

I was kinda running on autopilot when I wrote this so if it's crappy...

Anyways, thanks for reading. Don't forget to let me know what you think.

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★It's Carmen. Love y'all! ★