Security

SECURITY

         Penny Carter turned her face away as Jamie Voight tried to kiss her for the third time. Asking him over after school, knowing her mother wouldn't be home for hours, hadn't been such a great idea after all, she thought.

         Jamie frowned. "What's the deal, Penny...do you want me or not?"

         She looked into Jamie's dark eyes. His tanned, handsome face wore an exasperated expression. He was seventeen and she was fifteen. He was a star pitcher for the Cougars and one of the most popular boys in school. Penny was invisible in a crowd. She rarely spoke and was even more rarely spoken to. But Jamie was interested in her--she could tell by the way he watched her when she walked down the hall.

         And, with him for a boyfriend, she would become popular merely by association. "Can't we slow down, Jamie...get to know each other first..."

         He scooted closer to her on the new blue sofa. "Hey, I know all I need to know. You're the cutest redhead in school and I can't keep my eyes off of your sweet little bod. C'mere," he said, slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. His lips met hers.

         The kissing was okay, Penny thought, kissing him back. Suddenly, however, Jamie's thick, wet tongue forced her lips apart and flopped around in her mouth like a fish dropped on dry land. Ugh! She pressed her palms against Jamie's muscular chest, but he held her tightly. His left hand inched up from her waist--higher--higher, until his fingers were just below her breast. Penny twisted away violently, breaking his hold on her.

         She jumped quickly to her feet and backed away, breathing hard.

         "Whas’sup with you, Penny?" Jamie asked angrily. "I thought you'd be mature for your age after what you've been through...your old man and all..."

         Penny's lower lip trembled as she remembered.

         Less than a year had passed since her father lost his life in an automobile accident. The furniture van's brakes had failed and it ran a stop sign. Her father was broad-sided in the intersection, his car mashed flat like a stomped on aluminum can. They told her he hadn't felt a thing.

         "Sometimes I feel more mature because of the changes my mother and I have had to make. Other times I feel like a little kid...lost and alone," she explained, swallowing hard to keep back her tears.

         Jamie spread his arms across the back of the couch and propped his sneakered feet on the low coffee table in front of him. "Well, I didn't come over here to baby-sit, so show me your mature side."

         Penny realized she had bitten off more than she could chew. "Please leave, Jamie. I-I'm not ready for what you want."

         He smiled a thin-lipped, nasty smile and patted the seat beside him. "I'm not leavin' until I get what I came for."

         Her mind raced, seeking a solution to her predicament. She decided to play along--to stall for time. Her mother would be home in an hour. "Can't play hard to get with you, huh?" Penny said, putting her hands on her hips, smoothing her skirt. "Listen, let me get us something to drink and some snacks, then we can start over. Okay?"

         "Sure, sweetcakes. But hurry back."

         Penny forced herself to walk slowly to the kitchen. Once out of Jamie's sight she collapsed against the refrigerator. Her heart pounded against her chest.

         "You need any help?" Jamie called from the living room, startling her.

         "No! No. I'll only be a minute." She hurriedly flung open the pantry and grabbed a bag of potato chips and half a box of powdered donuts. She held these to her side with her elbow while she got two sodas from the refrigerator.

         She heard a sound from the other room and thought Jamie was coming for her. She looked for a place to run. No use. The kitchen did not have a door to the outside and no hiding place big enough for her.

         She froze.

         Listened.

         More noises, but no footsteps heading in her direction.

         Finally, she took a deep breath and went back to the living room.

         Jamie wasn't there.

         "Jamie?" she called. When she got no reply she set the snacks on the coffee table and searched the whole house. No Jamie. She opened the front door and peered out, thinking perhaps he had gone to his car for something. The white Chevy with blazing red racing-stripes and over-sized tires stood at the curb, but Jamie was nowhere in sight.

         Relieved, but confused, Penny locked the door and returned to the living room. She straightened the sofa cushions, which were in disarray, plopped down on the comfortable couch and opened the box of donuts. She ate two before becoming so sleepy she couldn't keep her eyes open. She kicked off her shoes and curled up on the couch, resting her face on her palm.

         So comfortable. So peaceful. Sleep crept over her like a morning fog covers the ground.

         The dream was fun and reassuring. Her father was in it, telling her he would always watch over her--always be there to protect his little girl--no matter what the danger. Penny curled more tightly into a fetal ball and slept deeply.

         And as she slept, inside the recently purchased sofa, bought on impulse by her mother, the essence of Penny's father lived on. Melded with the material and cloth at the time of his collision with the furniture van, his spirit would always be there for his daughter. Always be her security.

         Below the cushions, deep within the hollow where the hide-a-bed apparatus lay, the digestion of Jamie Voight went about with only the softest of gurgles.

The End

DMM