"Hold On" (used to be "untitled")

[moodyblue84]

This was something I've been working on when I'm not swamped with other stuff. It's still a work in progress, just so you know.
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Part 1

She stared at the canvas on her scuffed wooden floor and didn't know what to make of her latest project. The crimson colored canvas worked well with the black and white splatter; but in her mind, it was missing something else. Before she could grab a tube of paint, her cellphone rang loudly to the tune of a random Talking Heads song.

She picked it up from the floor and glanced at the phone number. Thinking that it was Sloan---who always changed her phone number on occasion---she pressed the send button anyway.

"Hello?"
"Kale?"

She paused for a few moments and didn't know what to make of this person's groggy voice.

"Ray, if you're trying to bug me again, I suggest that you head home and reread a huge document called 'stay 200 feet away from your ex-girlfriend' or the law will bite you in the..."
"It's not Ray, you dork. It's Marty."

She slowly stood up from the floor and felt her heart pound heavily when she heard his voice. It had been days since he traveled to Dayton for a benefit concert with a friend of his and promised to call. Normally it wasn't a problem for her since she understood how hectic a schedule was for him. But hearing his voice after almost a week gave her a sense of relief.

"Kale? Hello?"

Kale cleared her throat and replied, "Yeah, I'm here. Sorry...I didn't recognize your voice for a second. It sounded...different."
"I know," Marty muttered on the other end. "Hoffer got sick with the flu a few days ago, and I think his germs somehow managed to travel into my system."

"That sucks. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Next time he'll go get the friggin vaccine and not the spray."

She smirked and stayed silent for a few minutes until he asked, "What made you think that it was Ray?"

"I don't know," she said. "I've been getting these hang up calls for six days now, and I keep thinking that it's him."

"But you're number's unlisted, K. Why would he even try to...?"

Kale suddenly heard someone knock on her door and told Marty to hang on. Everything was a blur for what seemed like seconds as the sounds of Marty's voice on the end of her phone were mixed in with loud shots that continued to ring in her ears until she saw flashes of red and her surroundings got dark and cloudy.

(To be continued...)

[bostongirl]

Hey
Another great story. I love stories. Great start. Can't wait to read more.

THanks,

[HY]

I really like the start to this! Anxiously awaiting more!

[starcrossed]

Welcome to the Creativity Vault Moodyblue!! great start....

[bostongirl]

Hey,
I see that you are a new member. Welcome to the org.

Boston

[wildroses]

I love this, keep going!!!

[moodyblue84]

Part 2

(24 hours later)

"How's she doing?"

She turned to Matt almost solemnly. "She lost a lot of blood from the surgery and they've been giving her a lot of medication for the pain but...she hasn't regained consciousness yet."

He watched as his girlfriend glanced back at her close friend and sister, whose health seemed to be hanging by a thread as the monitors beeped.

"Where's Marty?" Sloan asked, wiping a tear from her eye. "He should be here in case anything else happens."
"I told him to go back to his place," Matt answered, taking a seat next to her right. "He didn't get any sleep once you called us up and..."

"He still needs to be here, Matt!"
"The guy was busy answering questions to the cops and the doctors for four hours! And he's freaking out because he thinks the cops don't trust him! What more do you want from him, Sloan?!"

She started to yell at him in sadness and disgust until one of Kale's fingers started to twitch and her head slowly turned to the left.

"Oh my god," she whispered nervously. "Did you see that?"
"That's not the start of a seizure, is it?" Matt asked.

Sloan shook her head "no". "Go out to the payphone and give Marty a ring. I think she's coming out of it."

He nodded and rushed out of the room while Sloan moved closer to the bed and lightly touched her sister's hand.

"Kale?" She said softly. "Kale, it's Sloan. Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."

After some silence Kale responded and muttered, "I can hear you just...fine."

Sloan smiled and watched as she opened her glassy eyes, tiredly looked around the room, and started to get nervous.

"Where's Marty?"
"Matt's giving him a call right now. He's worried about you. Actually, we were all worried about you."

Tears formed in Kale's eyes as she tried to move. "Don't let him find me," she whispered.

"What?" Sloan asked.

"Don't let Ray find me. He's gonna know I survived and..."
"The cops are doing what they can to get him and haul his butt to jail. It's OK."

(to be continued...)

[Trees]

Love the writings Moody Looking forward to Ray's ass in jail and Marty showing up!!! ;D ;D ;D

Or is it going to be a cliff hanger Doesn't matter I'm hooked

[Cheza]

Great work, Moodyblue! We have such a little unique group of writers here at the .org. I'm hoping to work up a story over break...we'll see if there's time.

[moodyblue84]

Part 3

(1 year ago---before the shooting)

"Oh c'mon, K! How can you tell that he's married?"

She glanced over at the almost middle aged man in business attire, who fumbled with his drink while he attempted a conversation with a woman by the other end of the bar without breaking a sweat.

"Just look at him, Sloan," Kale said. "The round thing bulging out of his pocket is a wedding band...and he's never done a ONS before, so it's obvious to me that he's nervous about asking the girl if he wants to do the deed with her.
"Jeez," her sister replied in some laugher, almost as if she were to say I can't believe you're telling me this. "Anything else you want to add, Madame Observant?"

"Yeah. Not only is he lying about his age and his 15 year marriage, but he's lying about his bald spot, job, and his actual age."
"And how old do you think he is?"
"He says mid thirties, but survey says that he's more than that. And he's lying about his supposedly huge..."

"Stop!" Sloan yelled as they both tried to compose themselves without causing a scene. "My drink's gonna come out of my nose if you don't stop the insanity!"
Kale glanced at her. "What're you talking about? That's just what I'm thinking at the moment. I didn't say that you had to..."

"Hey."

One of the waitresses walked over and placed her drink down near Kale's side of the table.

"There's a guy here who wants to buy your drink," she said to her. "Not to mention your cell phone number."
Kale looked at her in suspicion while Sloan looked around. "Great. Uh...which guy are you talking about?"

"The blond rocker from across the room," Sloan told her as the waitress walked away to serve other customers. "The one with three other guys."

Kale looked with Sloan and spotted a blond guy talking to three of his friends while he looked her way a few times and smiled lightly.

"So...what's your theory on the 'blond rocker', sis?" Sloan asked.
Kale turned away and shrugged. "He's not my type."

"That's it? C'mon."
"I'm serious! He could be playing with my mind just to show how immature he still is to the guys and everyone else he knows around the area."
"That's a load of bull. Why don't you walk over and give him a chance? He might be better than Ray, since he was nothing but an ass to you for six months."

She turned to Sloan. "Ya think I should?"
"If you don't, then some Playboy wannabe is gonna be all over him for the entire night."

Kale hesistated for a few moments, but finally got up and said, "Be back in 30 seconds."

"Don't rush yourself, sis."

After manuevering herself through the crowds, she spotted the blond walking over to the bar and started talking to one of the bartenders about the city's baseball game on TV, which had just started off the season with a great opening.

"Hi," Kale said almost nervously.
Waiting for him to blow her off, he turned to her and smiled. "Hey. How's it goin'?"
"Uh...good," she answered, not knowing that an hour long conversation would start up between the rocker and a local painter. They also never knew that a relationship between them would form after only 2 weeks of dating...
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(Now---the hospital [1pm])

"She OK?" Marty asked, walking over to Sloan.
"Yeah," she answered. "She's been waiting for you...but other than that, she's fine. Problem is that it's gonna take some time for her to get over the fact that he's not gonna come by and kill her."

"Cops still haven't found him?"
"Nope. And you know how the cops are around here. Takes them more than just 3 hours to catch a criminal like him..."
"And 45 minutes for an ambulance to resusitate on a shooting victim like her while she's suffering alone in her apartment."

He shook his head. "Thank god she's not dead...or worse."

Hours later, he walked into her room and tried to close the door slightly, but the knob slipped from the palm of his hand and the door slammed shut; causing her to open her eyes and look over at him in nervousness.

"Sorry."

She watched as he pulled up a chair and sat near the left side of her bed.

"This doin' anything?" He asked, looking at the IVs.
"I'm not in any excruciating pain," Kale answered softly. "So that's usually a good sign."

He nodded and watched as she smiled for a quick second.

"How're you?" he asked. "Aside from...you know..."
"I'm still sore," she replied. "How about you?"

"Relieved that you're not...uh..."
"You don't have to say it. I know what you're gonna say."

Marty watched as she started to wipe a tear from her eye and pulled his chair closer to her side.

"Relax, Kale," he said, wrapping an arm around her as she covered her eyes and started to sob. "OK? You're gonna be fine. Just relax. I'm here."

(To be continued...)

[Cheza]

I love how Marty's always rescuing our heroines here...GP did that in her story, we did it in the Create the Story/Battle to the End threads, and now Moodyblue's continuing the great .org tradition!

[bostongirl]

Yeah . ANother excellent story. Love it. Can't wait for the next installment.

[Trees]

Poor Kale laying there with all the IV and Marty with his soothing voice.

[moodyblue84]

Best I could do so far. I've been busy as hell this week.
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Part 4

(Weeks later---12pm)

"Hey, sis. It's me. Just checkin' in to see...or hear, rather...how you're holding up. I know we haven't spoken in a while but...I miss you. I wanna know how you're doing."

Sloan sighed on her end of the phone line while the answering machine recorded her voice on Kale's end. "OK well...if you get this, you know where to reach me. You can even call Matt, too. He doesn't mind. Love ya."

Once the machine beeped and clicked, Kale turned on her side of the bed and wiped a small tear from her eye. She was still in pain, but not as much when she was in the hospital for almost a week just for precaution. Things weren't the same thanks to her ex-boyfriend, who was still on the run for what he did. She couldn't sleep at night, didn't bother to continue any of her projects at home or in the studio, and still feared that he would come back when no one else was around and finish things.

Her thoughts suddenly paused when she heard someone open and close the door from outside of the room. When she heard him throw his things to the ground and breathe a sigh of relief, Kale couldn't help but feel relieved herself and mentally thank god that it wasn't Ray.

She slowly got out of bed, quickly smoothed the kinks in her hair and threw on a sweatshirt before she could fake a smile and say "hi" without looking upset.

(To be continued...)

[starcrossed]

Great work. I know the feeling...I am pushing myself really hard right now and do not have enough time to post on the poetry thread or on my story thtread...keep up the good work. I like what you have so far!!!

[moodyblue84]

Part 5

Marty looked up when the bed room door opened and closed, and he watched as his girlfriend walked in almost tiredly and whispered, "Hi."

"Hey," he said, wrapping his arms around her slowly. "You still tired?"

"Not really."
"That's a shock...since you didn't conk out til...4am this morning."
"It wasn't 4am."
"OK fine. 4am...ish."

She said nothing for a few moments until their embrace ended and Kale walked over to the refrigerator.

"Weren't you supposed to practice with the guys today?" Kale asked, grabbing two Coke cans.
Marty shook his head and replied, "They had other last minute plans. Dino and Bobby had to head into Peoria and Billy had to take care of something out of state. So..."

"It happens, Marty. Like everything else."
"Yeah, that's true."

Once she handed him his drink, he was about to open in until he stopped and grabbed a small box from out of the bag.

"What's that?" Kale asked.
He placed it down on the counter and said, "Just something to lift you up for a moment."

"Is it some early anniversary gift or something?"
"Uh...kind of. More like a 'holibirthantine' gift."
"What?"
"You know...a late holiday, birthday and valentine's gift rolled into one."

Kale smirked, shook her head and replied, "Right. I get it."

When the box was opened, she spotted a small, silver chained bracelet with a small medallion in the center that had a hand etched in.

"I think it's supposed to represent peace...or faith," Marty said, looking at it with her. "I don't know. One way or the other."

She finally smiled and looked up at him. "Thank you," she murmured, staring at it in awe. "It's great."

"Really?"
"Yeah. I love it."

(To be continued...)

[HY]

This story is really great! You've got me hooked.

[bostongirl]

Just checking in to see how the story is coming. Look forward to the next installment.

[moodyblue84]

Part 6

(Another 2 weeks later)

Kale nervously fumbled with the bracelet on her small wrist as she walked into the lobby of the art building where she was constantly at work on her projects. She had resisted going back there at first after all that had happened; but she couldn't stay inside her apartment and hide for an eternity.

"I can do this," she whispered to herself. "No sweat."

"Afternoon, Kale."

Kale turned and lightly smiled at Courtney Bradford, who was the owner of the building and studio for more than a decade. She had always appreciated Kale's talent for her quirky designs and was in the process of putting together an art show at a local gallery for artists like Kale.

"Hi, Mrs. Bradford," Kale said as she walked over to her. "Great to see you again."

"It's been ages since any of us have seen your face. How're you holding up?"
"I have my moments...but other than that, I'm OK."

Mrs. Bradford nodded and said, "Well, if you need to talk about anything, I'm always here. And I can also recommend someone I visit on a regular basis."
"Thank you," Kale replied, fumbling with her bracelet again. "But I'll be fine. Seriously."
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She was about pick up a tube of dark red paint when her cellphone started to vibrate and ring to the tune of "Smile Like You Mean It". Without even looking at the number, she pressed the talk button.

"Hello?" She asked.

Kale heard static on the other end, which caused her to clear her throat nervously and repeat her greeting once again.

"Guess who?" The voice on the other end sneered.

Her heart paused, then started to beat extremely fast with fear.

"Ray," she said nervously, but with some anger. "You son of a..."
"Whoa, easy there," he taunted. "That's not a nice thing to say when an old friend calls up to check in on you."

"Don't give me that crap. You deserve to be locked up for what you did and you know it! You don't have any god given right to pull this kind of sh---"
"Oh really? Maybe I should come in and see what would happen if..."

Kale suddenly ducked and screamed as bullets started to fly from the window and into the room.
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(Now)

She heard someone knock on the door and jumped when the sound echoed throughout the room. After quickly glancing over at her half done portrait, she placed a sheet over it and rushed over to the door, opening it slightly to see who it was. Kale's nerves started to relax when she spotted Marty and widened the door.

"Hey," he said. "You still busy?"
"Nope," she answered. "I was just...finishing up."

"Cool."

Before she could say anything else, he touched her hand, noticed the deep red stain on her palm and got concerned. Kale looked down and slightly blushed at what he saw.

"Stupid paint tube," she said, throwing it in the garbage bin. "They're supposed to be durable and obviously they're not."
"That paint's non-toxic, right?" He asked, watching as she rushed over to the sink.

"Yeah."

Moments after she got rid of the red stain, she watched as he glanced at the covered easel and proceeded to lift up the sheet.

"Hey. No peeking over there."

Marty stopped and placed the sheet down. "Sorry," he said. "I wasn't sure if it was ready or not."
"It's getting there. But I don't wanna spoil anything," Kale replied, smiling at him.

They were out the door hours later and about to head across the street when Kale spotted Ray. Before she could turn around and run, he vanished in a blink of an eye, causing her to worry until Marty tapped her shoulder.

(To be continued...)

[guitargirl]

keep going i love your story