Wrestling Against Myself (72 page)

“Hi,” a small voice said from the bed.

Tony snapped his head towards the pillows and saw that Courtney's eyes were open. He hadn't imagined the sound but was at a loss for what to say.

“You look so tired,” Courtney said in a strained voice.

Tony smiled as the tears streamed freely down his face. “You know me, I'm not happy unless I'm pushing myself to the limit.” The teenager got up from his chair, foregoing use of the crutches to make his way to the bed. He would have stood over the girl if he could, but instead sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her as if she could drift away at any moment.

The question lingered in the air, even though it was never asked. “I did it for you,” Courtney said as she placed her hand on top
of Tony’s and allowed his tears to fall on them. “I couldn't live with myself knowing you got hurt because of me, knowing it could happen again at any time only this time worse. I tried to keep you safe by pushing you away. It made me miserable, but at least I didn't have to worry about hearing someone killed you because they didn't want you to be with me.”

Antonio dried his eyes with the back of Courtney's hand. “It wasn't your fault I got attacked, it was never your fault. They just used you as an excuse, but any excuse would have done. If it weren't me, it would have been someone else. Some people have a lot of hatred in them and it spews at whatever they don't know or understand. We can't let others define who we are; it's hard enough that we do it on our own with our own baggage.”

“I thought I could live without you and thought it was showing real love going back to being what everyone wanted me to be.” Courtney's voice was steady, but fading. “But I found that I couldn't live like that and I didn't want to live without you.”

“Silly girl,” Tony said as he brushed the hair out of Courtney's eyes with his hand. “I never said you had to. I'm here for you, and will always be here for you. Love is powerful enough to conquer the fears of those who don't understand, but we have to be true to it.”

The end

Tony looked toward the seat next to him. Courtney looked so beautiful in her blue evening gown that he could have sat parked in his spot and stared at her for an eternity. Tonight was a special night, tonight was a night where they were going to show the school and the world that they were going to stand strong whether others supported them or not.

“Are you ready,” Tony asked with a goofy grin.

Courtney nodded even though her expression said she wasn't sure.

“Good. Let me show off the most beautiful girl in the school.”

Tony got out of his car, made his way to the passenger side and opened the door for his date. He held out his hand and helped her up. She and her mother spent hours on her hair and makeup that it made Tony feel guilty he dressed in his suit in under five minutes.

“I'm ready.” Courtney took Tony's arm and was lead to the school cafeteria that was converted into a hall for the homecoming dance.

Tony walked proudly with his girlfriend on his arm and held his head high as they began to pass other students along the way. He made it to the entrance and held the door open for his date.

The cafeteria was dark as disco lights danced about the walls and a band played from the front of the room. It was dark, but not so dark that people couldn't see who walked in.

“They're all looking at me,” Courtney said as she clutched Tony's arm tighter.

“Nonsense,” Tony made light of the situation to ease his girlfriend's mind. “They're looking at me. I look fabulous in this suit.”

Courtney looked up and smiled.

As soon as the room realized who had entered the cafeteria, a hush grew over the crowd. Even the band stopped playing as all eyes turned toward Tony and Courtney.

“I don't know about this,” Courtney said.

“I'm here for you. Together, we'll do fine.” Tony led the girl through the crowd as the students made a path for them to get into the center of the dance floor. Not a word was spoken.

Courtney and Tony were standing surrounded by the student body as the awkward silence persisted. Tony nodded his head towards the band.

The music began. A slow tune, suitable for dancing in a reasonable fashion with someone you loved. Tony took Courtney by the hand and placed his free arm around her waist. Slowly he began to sway her to the music, but could feel how tense she was in front of all these people. He gently lifted her chin. “It's just me and you, my love. No one else matters.”

The student body gawked at the two slow dancing in the center of the cafeteria and eventually the whispering began; some thinking the scene was perfect and others objecting to a relationship they felt shouldn't exist.

To Courtney and Tony those words didn't exist and never had a chance to invade on their moment. It was just the two of them as the crowd around them faded into oblivion. Tony often noticed that sensation when he was wrestling, where the only people who existed were him and his opponent. Now, all that existed was him and her and the music as he gave himself to something he loved even more than competition. It didn't matter that the whole student body watched, he didn't notice them anyway. In this moment they didn't exist and as perfection took hold of the seconds he leaned down and kissed the one he loved and thought, to hell with the clamor.

I wanted to thank you for reading the book and to tell you the I appreciate the fact that you read my work. One of the joys of being a writer is hearing feedback from those who invested their time and made it all the way to the end. I hope that I didn't disappoint and that you would consider reading my other works. Now that you finished, I hope you would do me the kindness of posting a review on Amazon and let me and others know what you think. I look at the reviews often and use them to gauge where I need to improve as a writer and it is also nice to know that people thought my work worthwhile.

Thank you,

Katie Leone.