When I Lie in Bed at Night PT 8

Part eight

She had a lot to think about. However, after a week and after she had read that he had been released because they found out he was innocent, she had to go. Her mother never cried so hard. She stood at the bus station shaking and begging Alana not to go. Alana's brother and sister stood by, looking like they could care less. They were happy to see her go and Alana only believed that her mother was upset because she was no longer the number one parent. “He's never going to be a better parent than me. You remember that!” she told her when Alana walked onto the bus. Alana wasn't sure if that were true or not but she was on her way to finding out.

      She was a forgiving person. She had no problem with letting him tell his side of the story. Guilty or innocent, something he did put him in jail and gave him the tittle of cop killer for a reason. She wanted to know why. What happened with the cop and did Antonio know she existed? She would know who her dad was soon and all of her questions would be answered, hopefully. 
     She could get there and he turn her away. Maybe even yell at her and tell her he didn't want to see her again. Alana wasn't even sure how to deal with something like that, or more importantly the fact that he was a biker who may or may not be violent and dangerous. If that happened then she would wipe away her tears and go back home. She made it that long without him, she could go even longer.

      Or maybe she wouldn't go home. She could just keep traveling until she found a new home, a place that was perfect for her. She would grow up even more, meet a man, they'd fall in love, have babies, and for once in her life she would have a happy, safe family and most importantly, be okay without her dad. Maybe she wouldn't even have to think about him. She could just pretend that he didn't exist. He was just a dream and nothing more.

      The thought of forgetting her dad brought tears to her eyes. How could someone just forget another human being? Whether he was in her life or not, she was on this earth because of him. Alana couldn't forget that, no matter how hard she tried. For now she was just going to play it by ear. She would travel to Las Vegas, meet her father and hope for the best. If she got there and he laughed in her face and told her to get lost than she would be okay with that, heart broken but okay. It was nothing she couldn't handle.

  (To Be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

When I Lie in Bed at Night PT 7

Part seven

The high pitched laughter of a three year old boy jolted Alana from her sleep. Alana wasn't used to sleeping around strangers. In fact she was scared and paranoid. She kept her back pack tucked safely beneath her feet. She even placed her feet in a way that she would know if someone were tampering with it. She didn't even know what she'd do if she woke up and found someone stealing from her. So, to avoid a confrontation with a thief, Alana did her best to stay awake. However, that was hard. The hum of the bus as it glided down the highway eased her to sleep. No matter how hard she tried to fight it off, her eye lids would become heavy, her breathing would become relaxed, and she would drift off into her thoughts.

     This was all new to her, so, she would have a lot to dream about. This was the first time that she had ever been on a bus. In the small town she grew up in, there were no buses. Everything was so close that all you had to do to get to where you needed to go was walk. She had gone out of town before but it was to another small town in Georgia and she and her family drove down in the church van. She had never even been outside of the state before. So as she rode down the highway, everything amazed her.
     The cities had giant buildings and bright lights. They were nearly blinding at night for someone who was only used to seeing the moon in the sky. Speaking of the moon, it wasn't even visible, neither were the stars. All that Alana could see was building after building after building. There were too many to count but they were beautiful. They were so beautiful that Alana nearly used up all the memory space on her phone taking pictures of everything she was seeing. Every time she would take a new photo, she would think about who to send it to. Maybe her dad would like them?

     Once the bus would leave the city and drive into the darkness of the night, leaving its dazzling lights behind, Alana would think about him. She couldn't even see the country side at night. It was just a dark space. It was almost scary not knowing what was out there.
     She felt the same about her father. Online she had read about his crime. All she had to do was type in his name and right at the top of the list was an article about the murder. It happened twenty-two years ago. It must have been a few months before she was born.
     Her mother was no help. Once she knew his name, Alana would asked her mother questions about him, but for once, her mother wouldn't say a word. All she said was that, “He was a mistake, not you.”
     After reading about his crime, Alana couldn't help but wonder if that was true. He had killed a cop. That alone made her hesitant to go see him. What if he was dangerous? What if he just didn't want to see her? Maybe he didn't want a daughter? Even though those thoughts terrified her, it was better for her to just find out the truth, rather than spend the rest of her life wondering.



(To Be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

I Write Books Too?!

The Cutting Club

Like Wildfire

Gamers vs The Dead

Kindle Reading App 

So, if you don't already know, I also write books! In fact, I wrote my first full length book when I was about twelve years old. Since then I haven't been able to stop. The above links will take you directly to my eBooks, available on Amazon.com. I also put a link in for a FREE Kindle Reading App that you can download onto your device! This app will make it possible for you to read my eBooks and millions of other eBooks directly from your Smartphone, Android, Tablet, PC, iPad, iPhone, or even your Mac! Your support means the world to me. I can't even begin to tell you all how awesome it is to know that you read my books and short stories. Thank you, a million times, THANK YOU! I love you all and remember, to always keep reading!

When I Lie in Bed at Night PT6

Part Six

“Everybody shut up!” Jude screamed over the packed bar.
     The dark bar went silent, except for the jukebox set to classic rock playing in the background. Dear Mr. Fantasy by Traffic played softly and created a sense sadness and celebration. A haze of cigar, cigarette and marijuana smoke hovered in the air.

     “I want to make a toast,” Jude said in a drunken slur. “To my friend, Antonio!” The bar erupted into cheers, whistles and the sounds of beer bottles clicking together. 
     “It's good to have you home, brother!” a big hairy biker yelled out over the cheering. 
     It was good to be home but Antonio was getting tired of the constant celebrating. He had been back for over a week now and still, every night at the bar, Antonio was given a welcome back party. Those parties were loud, and filled with a bunch of tattooed, drunken, men and women who would fight about anything and everything. Their fights weren't always bad or violent. There were only a few occasions where a chair was thrown or a knife was put to someone's throat. Usually, the fight or argument would die down before anything went wrong.

     Still, even with the fights and the smells of alcohol and a heavy stench of smoke, Antonio was happy to be back. He just hoped that it was permanent. The case against him had been dropped because of a problem with the credentials of the evidence manager. His lawyer explained it to him but Antonio didn't understand all that lawyer talk. All he did understand were the words, “You're free to go.” That was enough for him. The entire release had been a surprise to him, especially considering the fact that his sentence was for life. He never thought that he'd see outside those prison gates after he had been sentenced. Now his biggest problem was the fact that he was out. 
     Since returning home, he and Jude had been pulled over by the cops numerous times. The cops had the wrong impression of him and his crew. All they saw was a dirty biker that took out one of their own. They didn't know the truth. They didn't know that Antonio and his crew had absolutely no problem with cops or any other law enforcement. In fact, before he was arrested he was actually friends with a few cops and they weren't dirty or crooked like the under cover cop that killed his sister. They were family men. They were the type of cops that gave meaning to the tittle, Peace Officer.

     Even so, he and the other bar patrons would have to walk on egg shells and they did not dare do anything outside of the bar that would attract the attention of the cops that were still out to get them. They were being watched. Antonio could feel it. Jude and the others were naive. They would constantly tell him to calm down and that he was just being paranoid. 
     “You just got out. Of course your going to be a little nervous. Just have a drink and ease those nerves.” Jude had told him.

     Antonio did drink in the little dimly lit bar. Pool games would go on to the right of him and games of domino's would be to the left at the tables. Avoiding the games and the women asking him for a dance, Antonio would sit every night at the bar, looking up at their wall of fallen brothers and sisters and he would drink. The pictures of his uncle and sister stared down at him like one of those pictures of Jesus. Their eyes would follow him everywhere he went. The rest of the picture's were lined up around the top of the wall and nearly made a full circle around the entire room. It just needed a few more pictures and they would have to make a second row.

     He wasn't sure if it was the beer, fear, or his intuitions but Antonio could feel that something was coming. It was like seeing dark clouds in the distance just before a bad storm. He could see the storm coming and could feel the rumble of thunder as it got closer. At this point all he could do was prepare and take cover.

(To Be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

When I Lie in Bed at Night PT 5

Part five

“Hey!” Jude yelled out over the crowded bar in Las Vegas.
     The bar belonged to Antonio's uncle and had different locations in Texas, Arizona, California, and New Mexico. His uncle, God rest his soul, had passed away a year after Antonio went to prison. Some had said that he died from a broken heart after seeing his nephew sent to prison, but Antonio knew that wasn't true. His uncle had always had a bad heart. The reason he stopped running with his gang was because he couldn't keep up. In fact the reason why he started his bar was because he wanted to still be apart of things. He would stand behind his bar and watch all of the fights and set ups as if they were a TV show. He would even stand back and throw bottles, chairs, pool balls and pool sticks. To him, he was still an active member of the gang. He was just as involved as everyone else, especially when it came to the gangs business affairs. Someone smart, who knew how to talk to the cops, had to run it and it was him and he did.
     Antonio couldn't count how many times his uncle had sprung one of them from jail. He was a crooked, but good man. His only fault was that he cared too much. Antonio always felt that his intense love for Antonio and Antonio's sister is what led him to be so violent. After Antonio's sister was murdered, he lost his mind, just like Antonio. He stepped out from behind the safety of his bar and joined Antonio and other members of their gang as they hunted down her killer. Antonio remembered telling his uncle to just let him handle it on his own, but he wouldn't hear one word of it. As the days drew on, his uncle became more and more tired, until eventually Antonio had to take over.

     Antonio did his best to not only avenge his sisters death, but to also make his uncle proud. However, what he really did was make a bad situation worst. Antonio was a fire and the cop was the gasoline. When they collided there was an explosion of fear and anger. To this day his heart still raced when he thought about that fateful night. It was a night that was bound to happen and Antonio wasn't ashamed to say he enjoyed every minute of it. Even after spending twenty years in prison, locked in a cold cell and having to watch his back every second of everyday, it was still worth it and Antonio would gladly do it again.Anything for his sister.

(To Be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

When I Lie in Bed at Night PT 4

   Part Four

    “What did you say?” her mother, Beatrix, asked with a thick southern accent as she stepped into the living room.
     She stood with her hands on her hips frowning. “I have her frown.” Alana thought sadly. To Alana her mother was pretty, but recently Alana had only been able to see her bad features. Twenty two years was a long time to build up resentment. After that long, her resentment was turning to hate and that hate was driving her farther and farther away. It was a hate felt for being put in a figurative box for so long. It was a box where, she herself, was the one hated and nothing in her life was true unless her mother told her it was. Alana was tired of being told what to believe.

     “Twenty two years is too long.” she boldly told her mother.

     “What are you talking about?” Beatrix asked, looking confused.

     “Who is my dad?” asked Alana. 
     Her mother froze every time the question came up. Alana knew she was hiding something, but what? It couldn't just be that he didn't want kids. If that were the case, Alana would accept it and move on with her life, even if her father weren't there. Her mother knew this.

     “Don't start this again.” she said and tried to walk away.

     “If you don't tell me, I'll just figure it out on my own.” Alana threatened.

     “And how are you going to do that?” Beatrix asked, challenging her daughter. 
     Alana put on the biggest, most believable smile she could and told her mother her plans.

     “Well, I was thinking about taking out an ad in the newspaper.” she said still grinning.
     Her mother's frown grew even more intense and fear spread across her face. She knew Alana was mean enough to do it.
     ”You know what that article is going to say?” Alana continued. “It's going to say in big, bold letters, 'Who fucked my mother in April during the early 90's?' " she told her mother.
     Beatrix' eyes nearly popped out of her head and Alana grinned even harder. 
     "Your beautiful, smiling face is going to be right above it.” said Alana. "Oh and don't worry. I'll pay the extra to have it printed in color." 
     The mouth of Alana's sister hung open in shock. Her mother looked as if she were going to explode.If she could have torn across the room and snapped Alana's neck she would have.

     “You wouldn't. You're not crazy!” she said nearly crying with anger and fear.

     “I would gladly do it!” Alana threatened. 
     "You ungrateful little bi..." Beatrix started.
     "Don't poke the bear mom." Alana warned.  “Just give me a name and I won't do it.” she bargained.
      Her mother exhaled heavily as if trying to blow out the anger that was heavy in her chest. Alana knew pushing her over the edge would get her to confess. She would rather just tell then be humiliated in their small town in Georgia. It was only home to about two thousand people. Two thousand people that would laugh, point and gossip every chance they got. They would sit on the porches of their trailer and double-wide homes and come up with every story they could think of. They had ran people out of town before, they could do it again.

     “His name is Antonio Grant.” Beatrix confessed.

(To Be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

When I Lie in Bed at Night PT 3

Part Three

Alana sat on the couch biting her nails. She stared at a picture of her younger siblings, her mother and herself. “Why am I the only one?” she wondered, staring intensely at the picture. That question had plagued Alana her entire life. Her siblings all looked so much alike. They looked just like her mother but she didn't. It was no secret. She knew that she had a different father, but why was she the only one? Her siblings knew who their dad was. Why was she the fatherless child? Every family function or gathering, she would be the one to be stared at and whispered about. Her siblings would tease her and say that they weren't really related, or that she was only their”half sister,” never whole. 

     Growing up in her home was hard, not as hard as it was for some kids but still there were times when she just couldn't take being the unwanted one. There were so many times that she wanted to run away and she did. However, her mother or the cops would haul her back home and once again she would be in her prison. The guards were her siblings and the warden was her mother. 

     “This isn't forever.” Alana would tell herself. One day she would be out of Georgia and be happy. She even thought of looking up her dad. Maybe he wasn't as bad as everyone had told her. From what she heard, he was a criminal that didn't want kids and had no problem with not being in her life. “You're not worth being around.” her brother once cruelly told her. Twenty years is too long to not know if that was true.

      The front door of their manufactured home creaked loudly as her mother walked in complaining, as usual, about the people on her job and how busy the supper market was. Alana rolled her eyes. She loved her mother, but sometimes the sound of her voice was like a sharp blade stabbing into her ears. She remembered sometimes praying to God that she would either go deaf or her mother would lose her voice.

     “You know it wouldn't kill you to get off your butt and help me with the groceries. You sister is helping!” Alana's mother shouted as she walked towards the kitchen. 

     Alana's little sister, the sixteen year old brat, took advantage of every time her mother's back was turned and would flip off her older sister. Alana always had her own middle finger ready first.

    “Half sister.” Alana said under her breath. 

    It was funny to her that she could only put down her siblings when they didn't hear her, however, they would sometimes scream at the top of their lungs about how much of an outsider she was. The most she could do to their face's was give them dirty looks.

 (To Be Continued)

 

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

When I Lie in Bed at Night PT 2

Part Two

He could only compare it to holding your breath under water and then finally heading up to the surface. Your heart rate speeds up. Your chest feels like it might explode as you get closer and closer to surface. You're both anxious and excited. Once your head pops out of the water and you take that first breath in again, it's like being reborn. That's how Antonio felt as he was being discharged. Freedom was right in front of him and sun light broke through the prison doors like God's unwavering hand was reaching in to guide him out. 

     “Alright! You are free to go.” the officer said behind the counter. As Antonio grabbed the bag of his belongings the officer reached forward and grabbed Antonio's wrist. Squeezing tight, he grinned at Antonio with crocked, coffee stained teeth.     

     “If you come back, I'll make sure you never leave again.” he told Antonio. 

    Antonio fought the urge to knock every brown and yellow tooth out of the officer's mouth and simply nodded. The officer released his grip and pushed a button to open the doors.

     “Hey, Antonio!” Jude called out from his 1969 Dodge Challenger. “You like it in there or what? Speed up!” he yelled. 

     Antonio smiled from ear to ear. His friend from since he was sixteen had changed so much. Jude was once the stud of the gang. He always had girls fighting over him. However, his salt and pepper hair, wrinkled skin, and beer gut had probably changed that now. Clearly time had captured his youth.

      The twenty foot high fence, topped with barbwire that kept Antonio trapped for all those years, finally slid open. 

     “Free at last!” Jude said, approaching his friend with a big hug. “Dang man, I didn't think you'd ever get out.” Jude told him.

     “Let's go before they change their minds.” Antonio said, stepping away from the hug.

     “Yeah. They don't look too happy to see you going.” Jude said as he and Antonio got into his Challenger.

      The motor rumbled and shook the car. Rocks and dust were kicked up as Jude pealed away from the prison. Antonio sat back in the passenger seat and stared through the side view mirror. The prison got smaller and smaller as he realized more and more that he was free. What was in front of him was barely even noticed. All he could see was the prison disappearing as the car sped up. For a second Antonio thought that the jail might grow legs and chase after him.

      “Look ahead, brother!” Jude said trying to yell over the car's loud engine.

      For once Antonio sat back and relaxed and once he did he was amazed. He was amazed by little things, things that would seem so stupid to other people, like television sets. When Antonio first went to prison, television sets looked like big, black boxes and they were heavy. He remembered when it would take about four or more people to get a big screen TV into a house. Now, as they drove past a store on their way back to Las Vegas, he saw a small woman lifting a 50in TV into her SUV. What surprised him even more was the fact that the TV and box it was in, was about as wide as a two by four. Jude had told him that those were called “Flat Screen TV's.” All of the new technologies nearly brought him to tears. It was a new world for him. Antonio had a lot to learn but at least he was learning it outside of the prison.  

(To be Continued) 

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

When I Lie in Bed at Night

Part One

When I Lie in Bed at Night

The sound of an alarm and the old rusted metal bars groaning as they slid open meant freedom. That sound was the most beautiful sound Antonio had ever heard. He heard it before when other prisoners would be released but it sounded so much better when it was just for him. “Hey, Tony! Tell my old lady to come see me!” one of the prisoners yelled. Antonio smiled and gave the prisoner a gesture to assure him he'd pass the message on.

      “Almost out.” he thought as he walked down the corridor. The florescent lighting bounced off of the white floors. The smell of the tightly packed bodies drenched in sweat from exercise and fear mixed with the smell of food from the cafeteria, was enough to make him never want to eat again. However, there he didn't have the choice to just go without eating. If he refused they would lock him in solitary confinement and put him on suicide watch. They didn't want him to die. Especially not after the crime he committed. No. Death was too easy for Antonio Grant. They wanted him to live for the rest of his life and suffer every minute of it. That was the main reason why they sent him to the worst of the worst prison in California. During his twenty years he had been stabbed and beat into the infirmary. Even though he went through a lot, he gave as much as he got. He couldn't afford to be a pushed around there, not if he wanted to survive.

      “It's all justified.” the Warden had once told him after he was attacked. If they knew the truth, they'd think differently. The under cover cop that put him in prison in the first place was worse than most of the men Antonio ran with in his uncle's biker gang. The cop wasn't just pretending to be bad, he actually was. If Antonio didn't do what he did...it doesn't matter anymore. Although the real truth wasn't out, he was. Antonio was going home, back to his family and back to his bar. That was all that mattered.

      Two correctional officers guided him on his way to the front of the prison. He was led through a crowd of cheers and threats. Over the years he had made friends as quickly as he made enemies. For every enemy he made, Antonio would find new recruits for his gang, even though he didn't want to be a member of it anymore. When he was young he thought it was fun, but after spending half of his life locked up, it all seemed so dumb. The fights, drugs, and robberies weren't worth it. In prison he used his reputation to stayed alive, but once he stepped out of that prison he was done, hopefully.

     Antonio stared at the men in the cell block as they stuck their hands through the cold bars and either waved, threw peace signs or flipped him off. It was understandable to be met with hatred on the day he was to be released. He had cussed out and flipped off many men who threw their freedom in his and the other prisoners faces. Now it was his turn to be screamed and cussed at. Right or wrong it felt good to be belittled on his way out. “On my way out.” he thought with a grin. 
 (To be Continued)

Copyright © 2012 by April Thompson

All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Author.

Update!

Hi!

I hope you all enjoyed to my first short story published on my blog! The next story will be published this coming Friday and it's called When I Lie in Bed at Night. Like Dirty Keys, this story is also fiction and will be published in parts. When I Lie in Bed at Night should be running for the next few weeks. This one is a little longer than Dirty Keys. Both of these short stories are drama, so I'm 100 percent sure that the story after this one will be a comedy. Life is serious enough as it is. Sometimes we just need a good laugh, so keep an eye out for that one.

In other news, I wanted to explain why I failed to upload my post on the scheduled days I had chosen. There really is no excuse for me to have missed those days and I do apologize for that. Running a blog is new to me and, honestly, sometimes I forget I have it. On top of that, I've been dealing with some health and personal issues. Some time in July I developed an inner ear infection that completely threw me off, I mean it literally threw me off balance. I kept almost falling and a few times I felt as if I were going to faint. I'm having trouble seeing at times and I'm having these severe light headed spells. Worst of all, it keeps coming back. Right now I feel great and it's been that way for the past few days. If it should come back again, I'll be back up at my docs office. I also started my school classes back this week, and I actually like it. I'm taking American History and Health Informatics. Yes, I am a nerd.

If you guys have any question you'd like to ask, please feel free to do so. Easiest way to reach me is right here on my blog! You can also find me on Twitter. The links are below! Thanks so much for checking out my blog! I love you and remember to always keep reading. Peace...

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