Here in My Heart: A Novella (Echoes of the Heart) Read Online Free PDF

asked Lisa.
    Before she could answer, he went to work.
    He gave Lisa no time to think. He didn’t approach her cautiously, murmuring encouragement, as he had the other kids. He didn’t wait for her to get balanced, one foot in front of the other, hands up to protect herself, the way Dru and Sally had taught the kids to prepare.
    Brad towered over the much smaller girl, asking in a creepy, gravelly voice if he could take her picture.
    Lisa timidly said, “No,” but she held her ground. Her audience murmured as Brad took a step closer, saying louder, meaner, that he wanted Lisa to look at a cool new game on his phone.
    “No!” Lisa shouted this time.
    She assumed her radKIDS stance, her body balanced and braced, her right arm back and ready to strike, her left pointing, palm out, at Brad, defining her personal space.
    “I said no!” she repeated.
    That was when Brad grabbed her. And Lisa, just as Dru had known she could, became a master at demonstrating every kick and punch and move in the radKIDS book. Brad pulled her to his chest. Still facing him, she kept fighting and finally managed to force space between them. She turned away. Before she could run, he grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. An elbow punch and groin kick from Lisa’s heel earned her another chance at freedom. All while she shouted “No!” loud enough to cause YMCA members not attending the class to poke their heads into the gymnasium to check whether things were okay.
    Freed from Brad’s realistic demonstration of just how quickly an adult could overpower a kid, Lisa ran into Dru’s arms, still shouting, earning herself a hug, a high-five from Sally, and when Lisa turned back toward Brad, a rush of kids and parents cheering and clapping, telling her how great she’d been.
    The parents looked rattled still, stunned by the endless moments that had passed before a seemingly defenseless girl had turned into a fighting frenzy who hadn’t given up until she was free. But now they knew their kids could protect themselves, if they kept practicing their skills. Thanks to Lisa and Brad, tonight’s graduation exhibition had ended on a very real, very powerful high.
    “That was so cool!” Simon said, while Dru helped Lisa out of her pads. “You totally kicked his butt.”
    “I wasn’t scared at all,” Lisa boasted, her and Simon’s fight forgotten. She shrugged when Dru laughed at her fib. “Okay, I was a little scared at first, but you were right, Dru. I can get myself free, even when I’m scared.” She looked around at the other students. “We can fight back. We have to, no matter what happens, until we get away.”
    The entire gym cheered and clapped, parents and kids, Dru the loudest. Lisa beamed. Sally rushed over from where she’d been helping Brad out of his gear.
    “My mom’s here with the pizza and cake!” she said to Dru. “Should I start everyone eating?”
    “Oh . . .” Dru’s attention was riveted to the other side of the gym, where Brad’s ridiculously fit, sweaty body was emerging from his sparring getup. She pressed a hand to her heart. “Sure . . . Lisa, would you help Sally? There are cookies from the Dream Whip in the box on the table, and plates and napkins and cups. You two are in charge of refreshments. I’ll . . . I’ll grab ice from the Y staff. They’re donating cans of soda, too. They should be around here somewhere.”
    Dru fled.
    It was either that or walking over to Brad and hugging him for the awesome thing he’d just done. The dangerous urge scrambled after her, until she wanted to scream. She left the gym and the parents and kids behind. Many of them were already heading over to Brad, congratulating and thanking him, getting to know him, admiring all the admirable things about him that Dru hadn’t let herself get close enough to see for years.
    Since he’d left her in the hallway earlier, he’d been exactly what she and her students had needed him to be. Together, she and Brad