SECOND CHANCES 

By Stacey

Prologue:

Colin took a large gulp of air, opened his eyes. The loud bang he heard startled him from the brink of unconsciousness. A gun shot? He looked over, eyes blurry and stinging from the smoke and flames that had begun to engulf their car. She was dead. Midori was dead. His heart ached but at the same time he was at peace. He was there with her. Her love for him was all that mattered. He had nothing else; nothing to live for. He closed his eyes once more, relaxed his body, smiled at the thought of being with her again – but this time for all eternity. He was ready. He was at peace.

Suddenly, arms were all over him and he felt his body being lifted. Where? Was this what it felt like to go to Heaven? He heard voices …muffled…coming from all directions, as he was being carried away…away from…her. No! His mind screamed out, but no words would form. An instant later, his ears were filled with the deafening sound of an explosion. Afterwards, all was quiet. All was black.

Colin woke days later, in a brightly-lit hospital room. He looked around, tubes and wires all around him. His head and body ached, but not as much as his heart. Why had they pulled him out of that car? He should be with her now, not here….not hooked up to tubes and machines

“Ah, good…you’re awake,” a female voice rang out from across the room, startling him from his thoughts. He looked up, trying to focus his eyes on her. “And how are you feeling, Mr. O’Brien?” the nurse asked, now standing beside his bed, smiling down at him.

Colin cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.  His mouth was dry and his throat hurt. Sensing his discomfort, the nurse picked up a cup of crushed ice from the counter next to his bed.

“Here, this will help,” she told him, gently placing a piece of ice on his parched lips. Her face was filled with concern and compassion for him, as she continued with her task, allowing the ice to melt into Colin’s mouth, before placing another piece to his lips.

Colin closed his eyes momentarily, savoring the coolness of the melting liquid filling his mouth and running down his throat. He took a deep breath, let it out. Opened his eyes again, he studied the tag on the nurses white uniform.

She noticed him looking at it and smiled. “Carol. My name’s Carol,” she said, picking up his chart from the foot of the bed and going over the data recorded on it. He continued to study her, trying to take in the features on her gentle face. She was much older than him, grandmotherly even – her pale hair twisted neatly about her head and tied up into a bun. She made him feel comfortable, safe. He liked that, needed that. In that instant, he couldn’t help but think of Midori – how she had tended to his injured hands back in that motel room. How he had loved her – loved her still.

“Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you, Mr. O’Brien,” Carol told, as she set his chart back on the little hook at the foot of his bed. “You get some rest now, and I’ll be back to check on you again later.”

“Thanks,” he managed to reply, and then closed his eyes. By the time she had walked to the door, he had already drifted off to sleep again. She turned, smiled at his sleeping form, then opened the door and left.

The next morning, Colin awoke to find two men standing beside his hospital bed. Surprised by them being there, he tried to sit up, but his body rebelled and he lay back down in pain.

“No need to get up, Mr. O’Brien,” the first man told him, pulling out his wallet and showing him his police badge. “We’re here to ask you a few questions…questions about you and your little girl friend and the string of dead bodies you both left behind on that little joy ride you took.”

Colin stared at them, didn’t say a word. How could they understand what had actually happened? What he and Midori had been through? Finally, after a few moments, he opened his mouth to speak. The words came slowly at first, his throat still rough and raw, but then, after a while, they seemed to just pour out of him like a gusher. When he had done…when he had said all there was to say…he laid his head back and closed his tear-filled eyes.

The two cops looked at each other, as if deciding on whether or not Colin was telling the truth. Finally, the first man spoke up, “Thank-you for your statement, Mr. O’Brien. However, I’m afraid that under the circumstances, we’re going to have to place you under arrest. As soon as the doctor says you’re able, we’ll be transporting you to the jailhouse to await your trial.”

Colin squeezed his eyes closed, unable to think of anything but Midori’s smiling face, as the cops proceeded to read him his rights. When they had finished, he felt the cold steel of a handcuff as they cuffed his left wrist to the side of the hospital bed.

Chapter 1:

Colin O’Brien took a drag of his cigarette, slowly exhaled. Nervously, he turned and looked around the half-empty barroom. “No one there, Mate,” he thought to himself, as he picked up his bottle of beer and took a swig, then turned back towards the barman. For days now, Colin just couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. As he drank his beer he kept his eyes on the mirror in front of him, waiting…waiting for something or someone.

 Five years had passed…five years since he had lost her….five years since he had gone to prison for the crimes he had committed. He took another quick look over his shoulder, and then picked up his bottle of beer, swallowed down the last of it, and set it back on the bar in front of him.

“Expectin’ someone?” the large, tattooed man behind the bar asked him, eyeing Colin suspiciously. He’d never seen Colin in his bar before, and he wasn’t quite sure if he trusted him or not. Thought he had the look about him of being up to no good.

Shaken from his thoughts, Colin managed a slight grin at the big man, then quietly answered, “Um…no. Not really.” 

The barman nodded at him, picked up Colin’s empty beer bottle. “Get you another?” he asked, placing the empty bottle in a crate under the bar.

“Yeah…yeah, that’d be great,” Colin replied, taking another drag of his cigarette.

The barman set a fresh bottle of beer down in front of Colin, and then walked off to the other end of the bar.

Just then, the door flew open with a loud bang. Startled, Colin quickly spun around on his barstool, just as a young woman hurriedly made her way across the room – bumping into several patrons seated at nearby tables.

“You’re late!” snapped the barman, as he filled a mug of beer and slid it to a man seated at the end of the bar.

“So sue me,” replied the young woman, sarcastically, as she hastily tied an apron around her waist and grabbed an order book and pencil from behind the bar.

The barman narrowed his eyes, and then shook his head. “Just don’t let it happen again, or you’ll be out of a job.”

“Oh, like you’ll really get someone else dumb enough to work in this shit-hole to replace me?” the young woman chuckled, as she made her way over to one of the tables – her order-book and pencil at ready position.

The young woman was quite attractive, and Colin couldn’t help but stare at her as she proceeded to take the order from the couple seated at a nearby table.

“Oi! Sheila! ” yelled a man from the next table over. “Get your sweet arse over here and bring us a beer, will ya?”

“The name’s Kate and I’ll be with you when I’m done here,” the young woman snapped back at him, as she continued to write down the couple’s order.

The man turned to his 3 friends seated with him, grinned, and then turned back to the woman. “Didn’t you here me, darlin’? I said…get over here and bring me a beer!” the man chuckled along with his friends – who were clearly egging him on.

Colin jumped up off of his barstool and walked over to where the man was sitting. “Oi! Shit for brains! Didn’t you hear the young lady, Mate?” he said, practically breathing down the guy’s neck. “She said she’d be with you when she’s done.”

The man stood up, turned to face Colin. “What’s it to you?!” he snarled, his fists clenched, as he leaned in so that he was a mere 3 inches away from Colin’s face.

Just as Colin opened his mouth to reply, Kate jumped between the two men and pushed them apart. “Sit down, Roy, ya drunken bastard,” she said, shoving the angry man back to his seat. Then she spun around to Colin, “And you, Sir Lancelot, I think I can manage to handle this myself…so go sit back down on your barstool there and sheath that sword of yours.” She grinned, motioning for Colin to go back to the bar.

Colin stared at her for a moment, blinked, and then replied, “Colin. My name’s Colin…not Lancelot…and I was just trying to help.”

Kate smiled at him. “Well, Colin… thanks but no thanks. I think I’ve worked here long enough to know how to handle a drunken bastard like Roy here.”

“Fine then…Kate, was it?  I’ll be getting outta your way and back to my beer,” Colin nodded at her and sat back down at the bar. “Nice meeting you.”

As Kate took Roy and his pals’ orders, the bartender made his way over to Colin. “Don’t be wastin’ your time with her, Mate,” he nodded towards Kate, “Bad attitude, that one.”

Colin grinned, took a sip of his beer. “Oh yeah? I happen to like a bit of a challenge now and then.” He turned to sneak a quick look back at Kate, who was walking back towards the bar with her order-book in hand. “Could be fun...”

The bartender shook his head and laughed. “Yeah, or she could have your balls for dinner. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”

“Hey, Frank!” Kate yelled over to the bartender, “If your done wankin’ off over there, I’ve got a couple orders for you here. ‘Preciate it if you’d get goin’ on them before my tables all walk.”

“Yeah, yeah…” replied Frank, “Keep your shirt on…I’m getting’ ‘em.”

Kate’s eyes met Colin’s and they grinned to each other.

“See what I told ya?” Frank said to Colin, as he filled another mug of beer and handed it off to Kate. “Bad attitude, that one…”

Colin sat there, still grinning over at Kate and sipping his beer. “I think I’ll take my chances,” he said, tipping his beer up towards Kate. He watched as she carried a tray full of food and beer over to the tables behind him. He liked the way she moved, the way she carried herself…confident-like. He hadn’t thought of another woman like that since he first met Midori. “It’s time you moved on with your life, Mate,” he thought to himself, still watching Kate out of the corner of his eye, “She’d want that for you…want you to be happy.

Kate noticed Colin watching her and walked over to where he was sitting. “Can I help you with something?” she asked, tapping him on the shoulder.

Colin turned to face her, smiled. “Um…excuse me?” he replied, surprised by her direct approach.

Kate’s grin broadened, “Well, it’s just that I noticed you staring at me, so I was wondering if you needed something. Another beer, maybe?”

“Actually, I was wondering what time you get off work here,” Colin replied, smiling back at her.

“Ah, well, I’ll leave you to your wondering then,” she chuckled, patting him on the back and walked away – stealing a quick look back at him as she went.

Colin chuckled to himself as he lit up another cigarette and took a drag.

“Here,” said Frank, handing Colin a small piece of paper.

Colin looked at him, eyebrows raised. “What’s this?” he asked, turning over the paper in his hands.

Frank just shrugged and nodded over towards Kate, then went back to refilling beers at the other end of the bar.

A big smile spread across Colin’s face as he read the note: “10pm. Meet me out back. Don’t be late…Kate.”

“Ten o’clock it is,” he said out loud to himself, grinning.  He looked up; Kate was smiling at him from across the bar. Colin smiled, held up the note and nodded back at her.

“Ten o’clock it is.”

ON TO PART 2

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