--Rough Riders--

by Jacob Womble

I smiled as I looked into the mirror, brushing my hair back. Neon would be here soon. He always liked my hair long. He said it made me look even more beautiful then I already was. I always blushed when he said that. He certainly is a cute one, my Neon… I sighed happily, looking back into the mirror.

We had been going out for a few months, and I had started to notice the things about him I’d never noticed before. The cute way he blushed when I kissed him, the way his tail would wrap around me when I rubbed his shoulders, the cutest little moan he’d give out when I rubbed his ears, and, of course, the most adorable weakness I’ve ever seen in a guy. Tickling. Especially his feet. I loved “torturing” him using that weakness. And he always seemed to love repaying me for it. I also noticed his eyes. Those deep brown eyes that always held love and compassion for me. I could loose myself in those eyes…

The doorbell rang. I jumped a little bit, looking back at the clock. Neon wasn’t supposed to be there for another fifteen minutes or so. I chuckled slightly, half at my reaction, and half at his arrival tendencies. “He did always like to be early…” I laughed. I straightened my shirt quickly before walking to the door, smiling as I opened the door. “Well, you’re here earl-” I stopped, noticing that Neon was not the one I was opening the door for. It wasn’t my adorable coyote boy standing there. I looked back into a white t-shirt that hid an overly muscled chest and oversized biceps. I looked up at the tall fox, recognizing his sleazy smile and greasy black hair anywhere. The worst were his eyes… those blue eyes that pierced straight into your soul… “Marco!?” I asked, looking up at the hulking figure in front of me.

“Yeah, baby. I’m back!” he said, his slimy voice sending a chill down my spine.

Marco Marconi. My ex-boyfriend. The man who once said he loved me. And showed that love by beating me, cheating on me, and dropping out of school to run off with some slutty stripper. I hated him.

I didn’t always hate him… in fact, I used to love him. We met in junior high… he sat behind me in English. He was cute… kind… sensitive… just like Neon. He used to pass me these cute little notes in class, and then started talking during lunch, and soon afterwards… I fell in love with him. We started going out our eighth grade year, and it was nice. He loved me, and I loved him as well. We were happy. …Then high school started. He joined the wrestling team, and loved it. I supported him whole-heartedly. Things were fine… until our junior year… but then, Marco started to change. He became angrier, more… paranoid and macho. He wasn’t the same boy I used to love. I wanted to break up with him, but whenever I tried… he’d… he’d beat me… I found out that he had been cheating on me… several times. I had to stop it… I walked in on him in the boy’s locker room, only a few months before we graduated. I saw him… injecting himself. He had been using steroids. Half the wrestling team did… He dropped out about a week later after he was tossed off the wrestling team. I hadn’t seen him since. That was three years ago…

I sneered up at his face. “What are you doing here?” I asked, disgust infecting my voice. He stared down at me.

“What? A guy can’t check up on his…” he started, as he tried to run his hand through my hair, “… girl?” I pushed his hand back in disgust. He just smiled evilly down at me, as he forced his way into my apartment. There wasn’t anything I could do to stop him. He advanced on me slowly, as I staggered back, leaning against my couch for support. I tried to think of something to say, something to stop him from coming any closer. However, like an idiot, I said the first thing that came to mind.

“I’m with someone else now, Marco. Someone who, I know, loves me for who I am!” As soon as I said that, his expression changed. His eyes narrowed as his sleazy smile turned into an angry frown.

“So… my girl has been sleeping around behind my back, eh?” he said, moving closer to me, rage building behind each step he took. I looked up at him… the gentleness that his face once held now had been replaced by corruption and evil. He raised his hand, preparing to strike me. “You whore!” he said, bringing his hand down.

I braced myself for the pain, and waited. And I waited… and I waited… but the pain never came. Why? Where was the pain I expected? I looked up, seeing Marco’s hand being held back by another hand. I looked over to see who had stopped him. I could only stutter slightly, seeing who had saved me… “N-N-Neon!?”

Neon was there, dressed up for our preplanned date. He knew what I liked him to wear… casual, but still nice. A simple white button-up shirt, a nice clean pair of blue jeans… he certainly had his own style. I have to admit… it was cute. His long brown hair fell to an end between his shoulder blades… just how I liked it.

He stared into Marco, those brown eyes of his filled with compassion from behind his glasses.

“Don’t you touch her, Marco!” he stated, calmly.

“Neon Light?” Marco asked in disbelief, looking back down at me, then back up to Neon. “You chose this scrawny little shit over me?” He began to chuckle, before growing into a full laugh. It sent chills up my spine. “You really are just a stupid, good-for-nothing who-” he began. But before he could finish, I saw Neon’s fist fly, connecting directly with the side of Marco’s face. He staggered back a few feet, placing his palm on the side of his face.

“How dare you? How dare you call Kerrin that? And how dare you try and lay a hand on her?” he said, anger inflicting his usually calm voice. It was like nothing I’d ever seen in him before. He knew Marco could just as easily beat him to a pulp, and he still stood up for me. In that moment, I loved him even more.

Marco said nothing. The silence was worse then anything he could have said at that point. It was a silence filled with aggression and anger. He stared into Neon, his blue eyes filled with so much rage, they could pierce through solid steel. He slowly advanced on Neon, pounding his fist with every step. Neon stood, staring straight back at him. Firm… unmoving…

“You want to hit me? Then hit me… I can take a punch… So c’mon… hit me!” he said. “Hit me!” he stated, louder then before. Marco smirked at this bold declaration. He contemplated the offer for a second, and answered Neon with a fist. I looked on in horror as I saw Marco’s fist impact his face. His glasses flew off, skittering to a halt somewhere on the floor. He staggered back a few steps. His nose and lip had both already began to bleed. He looked back up at Marco, his eyes squinting as he looked back up, just trying to see his attacker. “There… you’ve hit me… you must be proud… Now leave!”

Marco smirked back at him. “I’ve got to hand it to you, shrimpy. You weren’t kidding about taking a punch…” he stated. He quickly punched Neon in the stomach. He coughed, breathed slightly to regain his breath, pain obvious behind every breath. “Heh, fine… I’ll leave… but I’ll be back…” he said. He turned, spitting on the floor, before walking out the door. I looked over to Neon. He was coughing, a small amount of blood trailing out of his mouth. I reached out to help him up, but he stood before I could make it.

“Neon… c’mon… we don’t have to go ou-” I started to say. He shook his head lightly.

“No, Kerrin… let’s not let this ruin our night…” he said, smiling back at me. A shiner started to form around his eye, and his nose and lip were still bleeding. I sighed. He was either too stubborn, or too loving to admit defeat. Either way, I’d never win… he was intent on taking me out that night. I smiled weakly back to him.

“Ok… but at least let’s clean you up first…” I said, grabbing a wet washcloth from the kitchen. I dabbed his nose, wiping the blood up. I moved to the open cut on his lip. He didn’t even flinch when I touched it. He really wasn’t kidding about taking a punch. I tossed the bloodstained rag into the sink, and picked up his glasses, cleaning them lightly on my shirt, before placing them back over his eyes. I kissed him lovingly. “Neon… this is twice you’ve saved me… thank you…” I said, burying my head into his chest. He held me, stroking my back gently.

“It’s what any good boyfriend would do, Ker… you’re welcome…” he whispered into my ear. I looked up into his eyes, tears forming in my eyes. I ran my hand through his hair, still staring into those beautiful brown eyes.

“Oh, Neon… what did I ever do to deserve someone like you?” I found myself saying. He kissed me lightly.

“I don’t know… but whatever it was, I’m just as grateful…” he said, smiling warmly down at me. We stood there for a few minutes, his arms wrapped around me lovingly. He kissed me again, taking my hand. “C’mon. Let’s get something to eat…” he said, smiling warmly down at me. I nodded in agreement as we walked out.

We were about to go down the stairs, when we heard a voice yell from down the hall.

“Sleep with my girl, will you!?” the voice said, growing nearer with every second. We turned around, to see Marco, charging down the hall at us. Neon shoved me out of the way just as Marco came up, tackling him. They both fell down the stairs… hard. I looked down in horror at the two crumpled heaps that were once Marco and Neon at the bottom of the stairs. “NEON!!!” I screamed, hoping that he’d awaken, and move… he didn’t… I ran down the stairs, pulling him out from underneath Marco, who had been knocked out as well. I… I can’t remember much after that…

It was much later… hours later… I was in the waiting room of the local emergency room, pacing nervously in the same spot that I’d been in all night, tears falling down my cheeks. I stopped for a second, only to look up at the clock. My gaze returned back down to the floor, resuming my pacing regiment. The doctor walked in, looking at a chart. “Kerrin Shorefellow?” he asked, “Came in with a Neon Light?”

“That’s me, doctor!” is said, rushing over to him, almost frantic. “Is Neon okay? Please tell me he’s okay. Please…” I pleaded to the doctor, tears flowing even faster down my face. He sighed, looking back at me

“He’s alive, yes…” he said. I gave out a large sigh sob of relief, wrapping my arms around the doctor. “Thank you… oh God, thank you…” I cried into his shoulder. He pulled me back slightly.

“Miss… he’s very badly injured… his legs are broken, along with several ribs. He also has a very mild concussion…” he said solemnly, “He’ll have to go through a few months of physical therapy…” I nodded, tears still falling slightly.

“What about… Marco?” I asked, wanting to know what that bastard had suffered. He shook his head.

“He… he died, miss…” the doctor said, looking down at the floor.

“Of what?” I asked, slightly in shock.

“Cardiac arrest. He had a reaction to the medication. We did a drug screen. Steroids. He’s been using for years, it would appear…” he said. I nodded, tears falling slightly from my eyes. Marco… he wasn’t a good man, but he still didn’t deserve to die like that… I shook the thought out of my head, returning to my Neon…

“… Doctor… could… could I see Neon… please?” He nodded, as he led the way back to his room. He was lying there, in the bed, and EKG machine beeping with his pulse. He was sleeping, looking just as peaceful and adorable as ever. I nodded to the doctor as he left… I pulled a chair up next to him, and sat, watching his chest raise and fall with every breath he took. I felt tears fall down my cheeks. If he hadn’t have been there… and if he hadn’t have pushed me out of the way… He risked his life to save me…

I cried, burying my face into the sheets on the bed. I felt so bad… like I had caused all of this. I tried to lift my head, but couldn’t. I couldn’t stand the site of seeing my Neon in such a state. The tears flowed out of me like a river. I felt horrible. This was all my fault… I did this to him. He had nearly died because of me. All I could do was repeat the same phrase over and over… “Neon… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I…” I began, but something stopped me. I felt something… warm and comforting rest on my head. A hand! I felt the hand rub my fur from the back of my head to my ears… comfortingly… soothingly. I looked up, and there he was, awake. He frowned at me, his brown eyes glistening with tears from behind his glasses.

“Ker… don’t cry… please… don’t cry…” he said, his voice weak from pain.

I couldn’t understand it. He still loved me… and didn’t want me to worry about him… I cried again, tears of joy streaming down my face. I climbed into the bed, lying down next to him. I kissed him, wrapping my arms gently around his bruised and broken body.

“Neon… I’m sorry… I… I love you…” I said. He kissed my forehead, and rubbed my back gently.

“ I know Ker… I love you too…” he said… It was the same thing I had told him that first night with him… He held me closely, my head burying into his chest. He loved me enough to risk his life for me… I loved him so much… He smiled, again kissing my forehead, as I slowly fell asleep in his arms…

*Author’s Note:

Most people who know me well know that I’m not a very serious person. In fact, this is one of the few dramatic series that I write. However, what I write about is true to how I feel. I may be single, but I would do anything to protect someone I love, and even most people I don’t. True love is something that I believe is something worth risking everything for. Don’t pass it up.

~Jake