TEARS OF RAGE

Chapter 25

Within the essence of adolescence lies an innocence so pure, that it inspires most people to reflect upon their own days of youthful abandonment.

People tend to recollect those times lost to adulthood

when they happen to see it in the frolicking of children.

It compels them to remember when they could allow their spirit to run free, without worry, fear, or consequence.

This was a time when most children began to establish an outlook on what type of person that they wanted to be.

As Swaylo and Charmaine stood hugged up along the wall of the Kelly Lake elementary school gymnasium, watching Dorian dance with a girl from his class, they shared a fond moment of remembrance.

It was like taking a trip through time...

When life had the unbalanced feel of not having his dad alive, to help him grow into manhood, Charmaine was there to support him. She was his best friend before she became his lover...

The inclusion of intimacy had only taken their relationship to a heightened level.

"Do you remember that time when your aunt Wanda caught us kissing, after that Ridgecrest football game?"

Charmaine began to laugh as she thought back on that night. She was flattered that he still remembered it...

"Yeah," she replied with a smile of fondness.

"That was our first kiss" she added, stroking a hand across his chest.

They shared so many memories along their journey to adulthood, that no one could duplicate the depth and weight of their relationship.

Charmaine had been there when life had lost its meaning.

After the death of his dad, Swaylo had withdrawn into a shell of anger, resentment, and isolation.

Charmaine and her mother had smothered him with love, a comfortable place to escape from the madness of grief, and had given him a reason to continue living.

Three years after his dad had died, Charmaine had become his umbrella against the downpour of emotions that once threatened to saturate his spirit.

During their days of school, experimenting with the feel and intimacy of being in an adult relationship, without the shackles of sexual involvement, Charmaine had begun dating a kid name, Eric Wallace.

Freshman year in high school presents a lot of complicated encounters with the opposite sex.

Guys tried to fit in with the most popular group at school. Girls tried to build their confidence with flirtatious games played by older women.

But certain relationships went beyond trivial attempts to prove that their affections were genuine.

Riding home with her aunt Wanda, Charmaine had gotten into a heated argument with her boyfriend.

Eric Wallace, the oldest son of Wanda Wilcher's boyfriend, had lost his temper, and slapped Charmaine, to prove that he would not tolerate any backtalk or rebellion.

By the time Swaylo saw the bruise on her face, it was clear that Eric had made a crucial mistake.

Eric was two years older than Charmaine, an outsider from another neighborhood, who spent every other weekend at Wanda Wilcher's apartment, with his dad.

When he stormed into the apartment, and Charmaine stepped out with her face still red from crying, Swaylo was hanging out in the lot beside their building.