Never Say Never

Never Say Never

Sonja Myburgh

Never Say Never

Published by Sonja Myburgh at Createspace.

Copyright 2013 Sonja Myburgh

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author.

References that are made to well-known brands and places are done without the consent of the specific company or place, and is not in any way endorsed by them for advertising purposes.

This publication
may contain references of real people and actual events, but is still a work of fiction and should not be considered or used in any way, except for entertainment purposes. All characters in this publication are fictitious, except the aforementioned, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Thank you for respecting the author and the work that has been put into this publication.

Dedicated to all the strong women out there that never gave up, never faltered, regardless the circumstances, and to the men in their lives that held their hands and their hearts, every step of the way, loving them just the way they are, baggage and all.

Never Say Never

Chapter 1 - Mommy’s Spiderman

She stared through the glass at the little baby boy lying in his cot in the maternity ward and felt her stomach do somersaults. She frowned and wrapped her arms around her waist. The feeling of complete love and concern took her completely by surprise, yet she knew it was the most natural thing in the world. She took a few deep breaths and smiled slightly.

“There you are.”

She looked over her shoulder and saw her father standing behind her. “Hey daddy.”

“Are you alright?” He asked.

“No, uhm, I don’t know.” She frowned and looked at him. “My head is a bit of a mess right now, and I don’t think it’s from the epidural.”

“Baby, whatever you decide to do, you know I am behind you all the way.” He smiled at her. “You know that right?”

“I do. Thanks Daddy.” She gave him a weak, yet grateful smile and looked at the baby boy through the glass. “Was I that tiny?”

“Oh yes. For the first few weeks I was afraid to hold you. I thought I might drop you on the floor.” He nodded with a sad smile.

“Daddy…” She whispered and he looked at her. “He’s a part of me.”

“Yes, he is.” Her father nodded.

“I’m his mother, Daddy. I am supposed to protect him.” She looked back at him and tilted her head. “He needs me, and I think I need him as well.”

“Come here.” Her father pulled her close and held her for a few seconds.

“I love you, Daddy.” She whispered to him.

“I love you, my baby.” He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I know you’ll do the right thing. You always do.”

“Thanks.” She pulled away and looked at him. “I thought of a name for him.”

“Tell me.” Her father smiled and they stood in front of the glass.

“I was thinking of Aidan.” She said.

“He doesn’t really look like an Aidan.” Her father said with a frown. “He looks more like an Owain.

“You know…” She smiled slightly. “I think you may be right about Owain.”

“Have they told you where you are going yet?” Her father asked, his tone sad and serious.

“Dunedin in Florida. It’s small and safe apparently.” She frowned. “I’ve never even heard of it, which is a good thing I’m guessing.”

Her father pulled her close again and sighed. “I am going to miss you, the both of you.”

"Owain, we're late!" She called out.

"I'm not ready yet!" She heard him answer in his room.

"Well, I’m leaving in two minutes!" Hayley said. “Whether you’re ready or not!”

“You won’t leave without me!” His voice came from the bedroom.

Hayley opened her mouth to retort, but she knew that he was right; she would never leave without him. She frowned to herself and shook her head. “There’s always a first time, Owain!”

To Hayley Pearce, the best thing about Dunedin wasn’t because it was a beautiful coastal town. It was one of the reasons why she loved living here, but the best thing about this town in Western Florida was that it was far away from where she had grown up. Moving to Dunedin was the best decision she had ever made in her life, and living in this beautiful coastal town for the last six years had definitely been a choice well made. After attaining her teaching degree six years ago, she started teaching fourth grade history and English at Curtis Fundamental Elementary School. She adored children; she always had, so it was the perfect career choice for her.

She gathered her papers together and looked at her watch. It was almost half past seven and she frowned as she knew that she was going to miss the first bell. 

“Owain, hurry up!”

She heard Owain sigh and she rummaged through her handbag, looking for her keys. She growled angrily to herself and shook her head, spotting her keys on the coffee table. She grabbed her jacket, as well as Owain's red backpack and headed for the door. She looked irately at her watch and sighed to herself. She hated being late.

This morning, Owain, her five year old son, was dawdling around, not sure what he wanted to do with himself. Usually he was pretty organized, but for the last two days, his behavior was odd. Not worrying, but just odd. He was more distracted than usual, and his teacher, Miss Oliver said he had not been paying attention in class for the last couple of days.

"I'm finished!" Owain announced and interrupted her thoughts.

"Finally, we are so...." Hayley turned around and looked at him in horror.

Owain was dressed in last year's Spiderman Halloween costume, which was still about two sizes too big for him. Owain was shorter and smaller than most of the children in his kindergarten class, but what he lacked in size, he definitely made up in personality. Hayley had her hands full with him, but she loved him to death.

Hayley smiled lightly and briefly, and looked at him again. He paired up his Spiderman costume with his blue snow boots, even though it was boiling hot outside and his straight, dark hair was protruding from under his Spiderman mask. Hayley shook her head slightly, too shocked to say anything to him, but also could not help smiling at her adorable child.

"How do I look?" Owain was grinning at her, looking very proud of himself.

"I like it." Hayley composed herself, cleared her throat and gave him a smile. "I think Miss Oliver is going to like it as well."

Owain gave her a broad smile, grabbed his lunch-box from the counter and followed her outside to her black Cadillac.

"Owain, you're going to get real hot with those boots on." Hayley said as she buckled him into his seat.

"Spiderman never gets hot." Owain stated.

"Is that so?" Hayley frowned. "Not even when Doctor Octavius shot him with a flame thrower?"

"Doctor Octavius doesn't have a flame thrower." Owain rolled his eyes at her and she laughed.

"Seems that I should watch more cartoons." Hayley raised an eyebrow and kissed the top of Owain's head.

"That's what I've been saying all along, Mom." Owain sat back in his seat and frowned at her.

"You remind me next time, okay." Hayley grinned and closed the door.

Hayley walked around the car and got into the drivers' seat. She started the car and drove to Owain's school.

"Mom?" Owain suddenly said as she stopped in her parking space at school.

"Yes, baby." She looked at him.

"Remember tomorrow is Cupcake Thursday." Owain said.

"How could I ever forget about Cupcake Thursday?" Hayley nodded.

"And Mom?" Owain said. "I'm not a baby."

"You're my baby, and that's not going to change any-time soon." Hayley smiled at him and opened her door.

Lucas Donovan threw his medic jacket onto the couch and rubbed his eyes. He looked over at the clock on the wall as he entered his bedroom and yawned. It was half past seven and his eyes were tired. Night-shift was not easy, but luckily he had no-one that could disturb him while he slept the whole day. He unbuttoned his dark blue shirt as he walked into the bathroom and threw it in the laundry bin. He ran his hands tiredly through his dark hair and walked towards his bed. He took off his boots and his pants and sat down on the bed. Outside, he heard a car race past his house and he frowned. He rubbed hi
s eyes again and fell into bed.

Ever since his older brother, Ric, died six years ago, things had not been the same for him, and the rest of his family. His seemingly unbreakable father went into a deep depression and drowned his sorrows with bourbon. Lucas and Ric were very close, as they were only a couple of years apart. Ric was the irresponsible one, always looking for trouble and had a temper that was fatal when provoked. His dad used to say he had pit-bull blood running through his veins. Lucas on the other hand was the smooth talker, as he was usually the one that had to talk his and Ric's way out of trouble. Ric was in trouble often
and he always relied on Lucas to sort things out. Lucas succeeded every time, except the last time. Ric was mixed up with the wrong crowd, the dangerous kind. One night Ric, bullied by one of his so-called friends, Jack, had decided to rob a local gas station. There was an under-cover cop in the store at the time and Ric was killed that night. Lucas only found out about this the following day, when Jack phoned him to bail him out of jail. Lucas was furious and told Jack to sort out his own shit.

Lucas had decided then and there, he was leaving all that nonsense behind and left, without ever looking back. He had moved around a lot in those years, but finally decided to settle in Dunedin, Florida, to get away from the North East crowd. Even though his line of work can be done from anywhere in the world, he settled here, as it had the lowest crime rate in Florida, and he could easily fly under the radar in this small town.

At thirty one, he wanted some peace and quiet, and for people to leave him alone. He closed his eyes and a brief image of the car crash that he had to attend to in the early hours of the morning flashed through his mind, the sound of the ambulance still rang in his mind and the feint smell of blood still lingered in his nostrils. It was the worst accident scene he had encountered in Dunedin thus far, but as a medic, he was used to a lot of things.

Lucas rolled over onto this side and looked at the photograph of him and his brother on the table next to his bed.

"I miss you, bro." His jaw clenched and he threw the blanket over his head, trying not only to hide from the sunlight peeking through the shades, but from the world as well.

Hayley looked up from her desk and glanced over at her class. They were in the middle of a written exam and there was complete silence in the classroom. She was grading her fourth grade history papers from the previous period, while her fourth grade English class were writing their essays. Hayley sat back in her chair and looked Joey Gonzales’ exam paper in front of her. Even though Joey was a bright student with a lot of potential, he lacked self-control and it was showing in his answers. She frowned to herself and looked absent-mindedly out the window. It was a beautiful, warm day and she silently wished that she could be on a beach somewhere, just relaxing. She remembered her dad taking her to Miami when she was in middle school, she could hear the familiar tune of the Merry-Go-Round music playing in the background as they drove passed the carnival. She remembered the bright colors of the balloons floating in bunches and the laughter of children around her. She remembered her high school carnival, and the carnival Daniel took her to just before they got engaged. His face flashed through her mind, his light hair and his blue eyes. The way his eye crinkled in the corners when he laughed. She blinked quickly and all the memories were gone. She ran her hand through her long blonde hair and sighed.

"Is it that bad, Miss Pearce?" A chuckle emerged from the back of the class.

She looked up and saw a very amused Mark Tucker looking at her, fanning himself with his paper.

"Are you done, Mark?" Hayley asked.

"No, Miss Pearce." Mark's face dropped and he continued with his writing.

"Miss Pearce." A blonde girl had her hand in the air and looked at Hayley.

"Yes Jenny." Hayley looked at her.

"I'm done." Jenny nodded.

"Congratulations, Miss Goody-goody." Trevor, a dark haired boy sitting next to her, rolled his eyes.

Jenny turned to him and pulled a face. "At
least I know I will pass."

"Miss Pearce!" Trevor exclaimed and Hayley stood up.

"That's enough! I don't want to hear another word! Is that clear?" Hayley glared at them.

Jenny and Trevor nodded at her and looked back at their papers.

"Sorry Miss Pearce." Jenny whispered.

Hayley looked at the clock on the wall and folded her arms.
"Right kids, ten more minutes."

"You look tired."

Hayley looked up from her lunch and stared at Grace Oliver, Owain's kindergarten teacher and her best friend. She was a petite redhead with bright green eyes and a friendly smile. Her hair was always tied into a ponytail at school and her straight fringe almost touched her eyebrows. She was the same age as Hayley, which was twenty seven, and they had become friends straight away. Grace was a funny, friendly and bubbly person and was a good friend to Hayley. They went shopping together, had dinner together regularly, sometimes with Owain and sometimes without him. Owain’s babysitter, Melody, or Lody as Owain often referred to her, was Grace’s cousin, and loved Owain to bits.

"Is it that bad?" Hayley sighed and frowned.

"Not bad, just obvious." Grace smiled at her. "I need to talk to you about Owain."

"Sure." Hayley nodded and motioned to Grace to sit down.

"First of all, I love his outfit today. It's totally cool! He said he dressed himself." Grace said after she sat down. "I just don't know about the boots."

"Yes, he was on his own mission this morning. He didn't want me helping him at all." Hayley nodded. "What did he do?"

"He's been different these last two days." Grace frowned and studied her expression.

"Different how?" Hayley asked, but she already knew the answer to that question.