Chapter 3
Stephanie lay on her bed with her face in her pillow. Physically and emotionally she was completely drained. The nine year old didn't hear the door to her room open nor did she hear someone walk into the room.
"Stephanie." Her name was barely spoken above whisper. When she didn't respond, the person became nervous and touched her shoulder. Quickly, the nine year old rolled over to find a kind handsome face smiling at her.
"Sportacus." Stephanie made a weak smile. Slowly she sat up. The above average hero wrapped her up in a big hug that made her feel all tingly.
"Stephanie, I want to help you. I know what has happened doesn't seem fair and it doesn't seem right but if you talk about it, it helps." He said as they came apart. The nine year old gave him a look. Her red puffy eyes and pale skin made her seem like she was someone else. This wasn't the happy, spunky eight year old from last summer. This was a little girl who was in pain.
"It was my fault." She told him. Those words struck a chord, they were familiar.
"No, it's not your fault. Don't ever think that." Sportacus said. Stephanie looked away from the above average hero. Gently, he placed his fingers on her chin and pulled her face to look at him.
"Please tell me everything. I bet I'll understand more than you think." His smile made her want to tell him everything but something was holding her back. Something made her think that Sportacus wouldn't want to be her friend anymore.
The above average hero could see that she was debating saying anything and he had to get her to open up. He knew from personal experience that if Stephanie didn't open up, whatever had happened would eat at her and turn her away from everyone in LazyTown. Friendships would fall apart and any remaining family connections would suffer. Sportacus didn't want her to inadvertently hurt her uncle.
"We were driving to the grocery store. Mom and Dad were arguing as usual. They couldn't agree on something we were going to buy. I was upset and I just wanted them to stop. I was so sick of them yelling. So I started to shout at them. My Dad was driving and he turned around to tell me to be quiet." Stephanie stopped. A long silence followed as she tried to keep from crying. Sportacus wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
"The next thing I remember is waking up and seeing Uncle Milford. I was in the hospital. I asked him if I could see Mom and Dad and he said…" Tears started to come into her eyes. The above average hero took his hand and wiped some of the salty droplets away. Then he took his arms and scooped her up and moved her into his lap. Stephanie put her head against his shoulder and they sat together until she fell asleep.
WWWWWWWWWWWWWW
Robbie sat in his big fuzzy orange chair, thinking. He couldn't come up with any good ideas to get rid of Sportacus. This time should be easier. The little pink cheerleader was already a wreck and if Sportakook left, she would probably remain a shell of a human being.
The villain got up and paced back and forth. His right pointer finger poked his temple as if that would help him think.
"That's it!" Robbie shouted!
To Be Continued...