Chapter 7: Hot Off The Press

Hooray for people prying into your business. I love it so much.

The cameras flashed brightly in my eyes. The room was filled with an exciting buzz. News reporters from around the globe stood in this large conference room. I was the main focus of this day. I sat in the center of the table. Both of my new parents were on other side of me. They both sat happily behind the long table. The rest of my siblings were spread out along the news bench next to me. Woods also sat up in the large panel like setting.

Finally he stood up and spoke, “the family will be answering questions now.”

Every hand in the room went up. My mother was the first to point. She gave the attention in the room over to a reporter in the front row. He held a hand held mike and pointed it towards us after asking his question. “Ashley, how relieve are you to have your son back?”

My mother leaned back in her chair and let out a dramatic sigh. “I’ve never been more relieved for anything. I never gave up hope though. Somewhere in my heart I knew he was still alive.”

Stanford leaned forward next to me and spoke into his mike. “I can testify to that. She’s been very adamant on his survival since the day he was taken.” Together they shared a loving glance. Ashley’s hand touched the top of mine. Reflexes quickly pulled it away. A few cameras flashed catching the incident. My chin dropped in embarrassment. A few days ago I was thinking about what to eat for lunch. This was just too unreal.

Another reporter was called on. “Logan, is there anything you remember about Fischer’s disappearance?”

Logan looked up from the table in front of him. His green eyes snapped down the table to me. His lips pressed against the microphone as he spoke over the rustle of feet. “I remember it all. I was seven years old.” He grabbed the bottom of the mike stand and pulled it closer. “I guess what I remember the most was just being confused. I didn’t understand why anyone took him or when he’d be back. It wasn’t until a few years later when I realized he wasn’t coming back.” The mike stand screeched along the table as he pushed it away. He was feeling as awkward as I was.

Many more questions were asked. I began to realize that no one wanted to talk to me. Not a single question was asked my way. Uncomfortably I folded my legs and leaned back in the chair. My parents were doing most of the talking. They kept all the attention on them.

Finally there was movement in the back of the room. I saw the two large double doors open and someone run in. As they pushed their way through the back of the crowd I recognized the face. So did the cops around me. Woods stood up and yelled from behind the table, “Men get him.”

I followed his action and stood up. “No!” I screamed. It wasn’t hard for me to jump the table. Police came from outside into the room. The family behind me also stood up as I leapt down off the plat form and ran straight into Tagg’s arms.

The muscles in both of our bodies clenched tightly. The sobs couldn’t be stopped at this point. Tears hadn’t fallen from my eyes since the incident. Tagg embraced me as hard as he could. His warm breath breathed on the edge of my ear. I felt wood’s hands on my back. I flinched and kicked my leg out behind me. The hand disappeared and I returned to my hug.

I heard the smile in Tagg’s voice when he spoke, “I leave for a few months and you get yourself kidnapped.”

A strange pained laugh left my mouth between the sobs. Both of his thumbs rubbed the back of my arms. Slowly his arms unraveled from around me. I pulled away to look up to his familiar face. The regular smile spread across it. The same glimmer of light was in the center of his bright green eyes. They looked down on me with great sympathy.

His face was an attractive one. Pale flawless skin covered every inch of it. A soft pink hinted in his cheek bones and lips. Blonde hair with streaks of brown sat long on top of his head. The side of the bangs curled underneath his chin. A dark green beanie was strategically put on the back of his head. Dark black pants with a hunter green sweatshirt covered his body. He looked as if he was a musician coming from England.

His hand cupped the side of my face. The pale thumb wiped away the tears falling from my face. “I’m here now, it’s okay.”

I had completely forgotten about the news cameras all around us. Each lens caught this personal moment between us. Tagg caught my gaze shift and pulled me again into his chest. The air in my lungs seemed to rush back the second I saw his face. Breathing was again new to me and was quite painful with the sobs.

Woods touched my back again. “Thatch, we have to continue the press conference.”

Tagg started to pull away. “No,” I yelled and grabbed onto his thin sweatshirt. Tagg’s hand went to my biceps and started to push me away. “No!” I yelled again loudly. He started to push me back up to the table.

“Thatch, I’ll be right here. You need to let go.” Our feet shuffled underneath us. Woods grabbed my arm and started to pull the other way. My arms stretched out as I still held onto Tagg. His hands grabbed mine and started peeling my fingers off one by one. Both of our eyes met each other and he stopped. Again his arms wrapped around my shoulder and pulled me tight into him. I listened as his lungs took a deep breath. “Let’s get this over with, T.”

As if I wouldn’t be able to let go Tagg pushed me away and ripped out of my grasp. Woods grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back towards the table. Defeated, I turned and walked back to my spot. When order was restored we all sat down and continued.

Tagg took a spot in the front row. My eyes stayed close to him the whole time. Many more questions were asked until finally one came to me. The question was something I knew was bound to come up. The man in the back of the room looked down at his yellow pad after he was chosen. The room went silent as we waited for his question. “After asking people from your past we have found out your sexual orientation.” He paused and if it was possible the room became even more silent. I felt the skin around my eyes pull tight as I realized where this was going.

Before the man could finish my mother spoke up. “We all realize that through his kidnapping there may have been some inappropriate behavior being done to him.”

My father leaned into the mike again. “We can assure you we’re ready to take any action to help him.”

My neck snapped to Taggart when he yelled, “What the hell is that supposed to mean. Are you saying that you think he’s some diseased animal just because he’s gay?” I could see the anger in his eyes already. “That disgusting, and you call yourself parents. I can swear to you that nothing was happening in that house to make someone turn gay.”

The reporter in the back cleared his throat. “We’ve also heard that you are homosexual also.” The reporter brought his head back up and looked at Tagg.

My mouth was gaping open. Tagg turned back around and caught my gaze. Without a word he stood up and spoke straight to me, “I won’t let you go through that again. We’re done here.” I agreed with that. The chair beneath me slid out and I stood up from the table.

The family behind me watched as I walked to Tagg. He took my hand in his and led me out of the conference room.

Author's Note

This is the last for a little while. I wrote a lot though.. but i'm in middle of Editing Silver Lining 2.

Reviews

[Melissa Martinez]

this is the first book of yours that i have read.. & i love it.. i think you do a great job in getting every little detail in- which means a lot in a story, great job. i really enjoyed reading it.

[Zombeh]

I like the whole scene of the press conference. it's like I could even feel all the reporters closing in on me. I like how you further described Tagg. Great job, I hope to read more soon! And this would be a great book to enter into my book contest for the group [just suggesting ;P]