Bring Me Back by Keith Kareem Williams (Preview)

Bring Me Back


By Keith Kareem Williams



PART 1 - It Echoes… the Dream…That is…



“Shoot him!” were the words that boomed from the deep male voice that still echoed in his ears but it was her beautiful face that haunted his sleep. The look in those pretty green eyes as they filled with tears, right before she pulled the trigger had become a permanent fixture of his nightly nightmare. His blood ran feverishly hot and caused him to sweat profusely in his sleep. The look in those pretty green eyes as they filled with tears, right before she pulled the trigger had become a permanent fixture on his nightly nightmare. His blood ran feverishly hot and caused him to sweat profusely in his sleep. His body shook uncontrollably as he remembered how the slugs felt as they tore through his flesh. Over and over he re-lived the same scene in his dreams. Each time he felt like he died, again and again. He choked on the deep darkness of troubled sleep until a feminine hand on his shoulder brought him back to the safety of the bright lights of his room.

“Wake up. You’re dreaming again,” she said. Her voice sounded like it was coming from far away although she stood right above him in his hospital bed. Rome Wade opened his eyes to Magda Riley’s warm, pleasant smile.

Magda was his favorite nurse. Her touch calmed him and her voice was like the sunrise after a night of terrors. She worked the night-shift so he knew that it couldn’t be morning yet. He turned his head and a quick glance out of the window confirmed that it was still night. The darkness imposed its will heavily on the few lights that still illuminated the windows of the buildings in the big city. Because of his recurring dream, the wee hours of the nights had taken on the persona of a deadly living thing to him that heralded terrors he couldn’t seem to escape. He turned away from the window and found comfort in the sadness of Magda’s eyes as she looked down at him with genuine worry and concern. There was also a veil of grief that covered her face. This was because whenever she looked at him, she remembered her own son that had been gunned down violently in the streets, years before. She had never truly recovered from the death of her only child. Rome’s eyes reminded her of her son’s so much that she had taken it upon herself to give him extra, tender, loving care above all others on her floor. The other nurses teased her for babying him but she didn’t mind. For her, it was a chance to do something that she hadn’t been able to do for her own child. It was therapy for her. Every night Rome would toss violently in his sleep. Every night Magda would bring him back from the place where his recent past tormented him. Her soothing voice and her touch anchored him to the real world and kept him from drifting away to be claimed by his own dark thoughts.

“Thanks for waking me,” Rome told her, putting his hand on her hand. She delicately wiped the sweat from his brow with a clean cloth.

“Same dream?” Magda asked.

“Always,” sighed Rome.

“She really did a number on you didn’t she?” Magda asked. Many times, he’d described to her exactly what he dreamt of every night.

“Yeah, I guess she really did. You know, I used to get turned on every time I even thought about Gia. Now, the only time I can even remember her face is in this damn dream,” he said.

“You told me that it was her that shot you. I don’t know why you don’t just tell the police,” Magda said, shaking her head.

“I can’t,” he answered.

“And from what you tell me, she shot you on another man’s command? What loyalty do you owe this girl? She shot you so he could leave your body to rot in an alley in the streets,” she reminded him.

“I’m not dead yet though,” he answered.

“No, but you could have been. You almost were. Why are you still protecting people who tried to kill you?” Magda asked.

“Because I have to,” he answered.

“Why? Why do you have to?” Magda demanded to know. It was the first time he had seen her anywhere near angry. His stubbornness had been the main cause but unbeknownst to him, there were many other mixed emotions tied into her shift in temperament as well. She was also slightly jealous of this “girl” that he would often ramble on and on about.

“Because I plan to handle this myself, in my own way,” he said, hoping that her mood would lighten. It didn’t.

“So they can finish what they started? Or, maybe you succeed and end up spending the rest of your life in prison for murder?” she continued to scold him in her own quiet manner. She still hadn’t raised her voice but he could feel the fury in her tone.

“I’m sorry to make you worry about me so much. I know you really mean it. You’ve done enough. I’m grateful for how you take care of me. I see the way you look at me,” he told her. Magda blushed and couldn’t look at him. She wondered if he sensed the times when she looked at him with more than just motherly eyes? The sudden wave of embarrassment that came crashing down on her almost made her leave the room. Instead, she composed herself, stayed by his side and tried her best to make him as comfortable as possible.

Meanwhile, Rome was comforted and soothed by her bedside manner. His own mother had died when he was very young. After that, his father had remarried three times with much younger women who all treated him like wicked stepmothers. He hated how his childhood had turned into a cheesy, cliché mockery of a fairy-tale. Now, as he lay in a hospital bed recovering from gunshot wounds, Magda reminded him of how his mother used to treat him for the short time he had her in his life. He felt like a pervert because there were times when he became aroused as Magda cared for him even though he believed he shouldn’t have been. She was a much older woman and came very close to being old enough to have a son his age. He wondered if he had developed some sick type of Oedipus complex. As much as he had tried to keep his intentions innocent, the way her nurse’s uniform hugged her body, top and bottom, excited him. The bright white of the material made her seem pure and angelic. He tried his best to control the random sexual thoughts that entered his mind when he looked at her. It felt like the worst kind of sin to even think about corrupting this woman who had showed him nothing but kindness.

“Do you want me to stay? I can read to you until you fall asleep again if you’d like?” she asked.

“Yes, I’d like that. Your voice keeps the nightmares away,” he answered. Magda smiled, sat down in the chair next to his hospital bed and began to read softly to him until he drifted off to sleep again.



PART 2 - Clean


Magda could have let the next shift of nurses take care of Rome’s sponge-bath but she preferred to do it herself. It relaxed her and reminded her of the times she had done the same for her husband when his kidneys had failed him, leaving him almost helpless when his condition became grave. It felt better in many ways to care for this young man for many reasons. In the past, she had nursed her husband to ease his suffering as he died. This time, her efforts brought a young man who probably should have died from his injuries closer to being well again. It was very different from the time when, no matter how hard she tried to hold on, she had felt her husband slip closer and closer to that final darkness that we are all guaranteed to see eventually. It was beautiful to watch someone bloom instead of wither and it was magical to use her hands for healing instead of struggling to hold on.

Rome kept his eyes off of Magda as she bathed him. He tried his best to keep his thoughts clean and innocent the entire time. Still, it had been such a long time since he’d been so close to a woman that he couldn’t help but get excited. He imagined that it was her soft hands and not the sponge on his bare flesh. He looked at her but quickly turned away. The sight of her breasts squeezed against the front of her uniform as she bent over him was too much. He shut his eyes and made up his mind not to look at her again until she was finished. Gia still haunted his dreams but he found himself more and more attracted to Magda despite the fact that she was the total opposite of the woman he had loved.

Magda was a pretty woman even though she was also much older than Gia. It made Rome wonder just how good-looking she had been before time had taken its toll on her. He imagined that she must have truly been something to behold. Even with the age lines on her face, she was still amazing. Also, her spirit burned brighter than anyone he had ever known. He figured that was the explanation for his strange attraction to her. He had a lust for her light. He had fallen in love with the deep sadness that had always seemed to surround Gia. He understood it and he had been able to relate to it. Before she had riddled him with bullets, he believed he had found a kindred soul. He wondered if he only liked Magda because her pleasant optimism was refreshing in comparison to what he had been obsessed with before. His foolish, undying hunger for Gia had not diminished but the seeds of his desire for Magda had been planted. He wondered what those seeds might blossom into. He didn’t see how following his instincts and seducing Magda would end up growing into anything good.

While Rome tried to tame his own passions and make sense of his emotions, Magda wrestled with her own feelings. She noticed his gaze when it landed on her breasts and she saw how quickly he uncomfortably looked away. She was flattered rather than embarrassed and made no effort to close the two top buttons that she was certain left her uniform way too open. She liked his eyes on the soft flesh of her cleavage. It had been a long time since a young man had looked at her the way Rome had started to. It had been far too long since she’d felt like a young woman. She’d grown far too accustomed to having old men gawk and grope at her. It had been far too long since she’d been this close to a man she was attracted to. She openly admitted to herself for the first time that she was hungry for him. She studied the bullet wounds on his body as she bathed him. The scars told the story of his near-death experience. It was nothing short of a miracle that he had survived. It was nothing short of a miracle that he had survived. Magda put the sponge down and used her fingers to touch the where places where Gia had blown holes in him. He had healed nicely. As she ran her wet fingers down his stomach, her eyes became fixed between his legs as she realized that he was once again well in other areas. The longer she kept her hands on him was the larger his erection grew. She could feel herself become damp in her most feminine place as she watched it throb as it swelled. Rome’s eyes were still closed but she wondered if he could sense how she stared at it hungrily. It was like watching a tree grow unnaturally fast, right in front of her eyes. It had been too long since she’d tasted a man or felt one deep inside her. Her body ached for that feeling again and before she could stop herself, she reached out and grabbed him by the shaft. It had been too long since she’d done something bold and impulsive.

Rome gasped as he felt Magda grip him firmly. He touch could not have been mistaken for being innocent or inadvertent. She wrapped her delicate fingers around him with purpose. He opened his eyes wide, almost believing he had fallen asleep. Their eyes met for an awkward moment and he expected her to let go. She did not. Instead, she began to stroke it slowly as she looked into his face, yearning for his approval to do more. He raised his hand slowly, nervously. He wanted to hold her head and guide her lips to his tip. The look in her eyes said that that was exactly what she was longing for him to do. The danger of being discovered caused her heart to pound in her chest. Her chest heaved as she looked over her shoulder to make sure that the room door was still closed. Rome put his fingers in her thick, black hair but then he hesitated. He pulled his hand away and turned away from her. Magda was disappointed and embarrassed. She let go of him and felt like a silly, horny, old woman.

After reading Part 1........would you like to read more?