Hard Rain - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Alan..are you okay?  You’re having another one of those dreams, aren’t you?”

My eyes were fuzzy, and I woke with a crushing headache.  My first vision was that of the blurry blonde hovering over me.  Obviously when you wake in that kind of scenario, your mind snaps into a defensive stance, but I truly had no idea where I was or what I had been doing, so any words would have lacked meaning.

“You fell asleep on the couch again.  I put the kids to bed about an hour ago, but I don’t want you sleeping out here.”

It took a moment to realize where I was and what had happened, but as I sat up, the vivid details of my dream started pouring back into my mind like a waterfall.

In an awkward moment, I stared at her face and couldn’t even recall her name.  My mind raced and I began to panic as I couldn’t even recall the names of my own children.


She grabbed a notepad from the table and sat next to me.

“Tell me everything.  Remember the doctor said it would help.”

I could barely focus my eyes as I told my story.  I had recollections of what had happened at that bar, so vivid that it almost seemed real, but I was afraid to tell the entire story.  Afraid to describe a dream to a woman who was apparently my wife, but whose name I still couldn’t even remember.


Chapter 3a

“Danny?  ...Danny!?”  My vision slowly cleared once again at the sight of the bar ceiling circling my peripherals.

“He’s okay,” Lauren announced to the crowd as she helped me stand up from the floor.

“No more for you, jackass.  You scared the shit out of me.”

I looked around at the faces snickering back at me, but I wasn’t sure what to think.  Obviously I really did make a jackass of myself.

"I’m sorry," I whispered.  “I’m not sure what happened.”

It was the truth - I really didn’t know what happened, and I didn’t know how to respond properly.  I was afraid to speak her name, afraid I might screw it up.  I took a few minutes to regain my composure and dignity as the patrons of the bar made their jokes.  I wanted to run out the front door.

“As the lady mentioned, I think you’ve had enough for the night,” declared the bartender.  There was a hint of empathy in his eye.

A slap on my shoulder broke my focus.  “Are you feeling better?”. 

I turned slowly only to find my own face staring back at me.

I closed my eyes, shook my head and snapped out of the strange trance.  Glancing around the room, nobody else seemed disturbed except me.



Chapter 3b

I must have woken from a dream, or so I thought, but as my mind wandered, I wasn’t sure which part was which.

Heavy breathing in my ear startled me a bit and a shiver suddenly ran up my spine as I realized that I didn’t know who I was lying beside.  Her arm was extended across my chest, breasts pressed against my torso.  The morning sun was breaking through the shades, exemplifying the texture of the skin on her shoulder and beads of brunette hair brushing across my face.

I paused for a moment and closed my eyes thinking I would wake up, but as that failed, I realized that I was having lapses in my memory.  I didn’t even know this woman next to me.  My stomach became instantly ill and my mind raced as I tried my best to be still and avoid her waking up.

Sometimes life is a puzzle, and if it requires re-assembly, it just becomes a frustrating mess.  And sometimes you lose the box to the puzzle and forget what it’s supposed to look like when it’s complete.

Other times, you just end up rambling in your own mind with thoughts you deem to be profound.

Even thirty minutes of looking at her and going through the alphabet to rack my brain for her name resulted in nothing.  Perhaps I was still dreaming, but she was half-naked.  The raw emotion over a woman I couldn’t even properly identify and and the scent of her skin made my mind race. I wanted to feel her from the inside as well as I could feel her from the outside.

I snuck up closer and wrapped my hand around the back of her neck.  Her hair had the faint scent of strawberries and cinnamon...I couldn’t quite tell.

My left hand was busy, and even though it felt awkward, I used my right hand to slide down her hips.

I gripped her inner thigh and forced her legs apart.

“Danny stop it,” she demanded, but I refused.

Pressing her legs outward, I climbed my way on top of her until I penetrated.



Chapter 3c

A slap in the face aroused me.

“Alan?  Alan.  Stop it!”

I woke from a deep slumber to see the vision of a different woman pinned underneath me.

I was dumbfounded.

“Get the hell off me!” she demanded.

I released her wrists and laid down on the bed.

“Why did you call me Alan?”

“Because that’s your name, you idiot.  What the fuck was that, anyway?” she asked.  “Do you fantasize about some kind of rape scenario?”

“I don’t know who you think you are,” I stated, “but my name is Danny.”

“Shh, quiet hun.” she stated.  Her mood suddenly changed.  It’s difficult to describe the thoughts that raced through my mind, but it felt as if my head was ready to blister from the inside.

She entertained a strange look in her eyes.  The next few moments were blurry, but my nose felt compressed as she smashed a cloth over my face, pressing it to a point where I could barely breathe.