A Humble Heart (Hollywood Hearts 1)

“Since when?” Amy asked, sounding more suspicious than happy.

“Just leave it alone,” Edward said. He tried to ignore his mother and father’s smiles. “I’m going to change before you two break out in a happy dance.”

*******

“I’m stuffed, man. Your mom really knows how to put out a spread,” Seth said, flopping down on the couch next to Edward.

“Shh, we’re watching the game,” Edward's father said.

“Too bad,” Amy said, walking into the room. She grabbed the remote from him and changed the channel.

“What the hell are you doing, woman?” Seth demanded.

“I just got a call from Rick. ET is dedicating a segment of the show to Dana tonight.”

“What? She didn’t say anything to me,” Edward said, trying not to sound like a sullen child. She hadn’t called him all day. Then again he hadn’t called her either.

Amy situated herself next to Edward and slapped him upside his head. “That’s because she doesn’t know about it. Rick just found out. He doesn’t have a good feeling about this.”

“What do you mean?” Edward asked.

“I don’t know, he wouldn’t say,” Amy said.

“Shh, it’s on,” his father said.

“Welcome to Entertainment Tonight. Tonight we are taking a rare look at one of the world’s most popular author’s, Dana Mathews. In the next half hour we will look at this amazing woman’s life from childhood to now. Stay tuned for the shocking truth.”

Amy and Edward shared a look. “I don’t think she’s going to be happy about this.”

“Shit,” Edward muttered.

“Shh, it’s back on,” his mother said as she sat down on their father’s lap.

“Dana Mathews is the author of six immensely popular books. The most famous book of course is the story of Christian and Bailey, which has fans of all ages screaming her praises, is now being turned into a movie. But what do we really know about this dynamic author?”

“We found out this young woman came from a life of hardship. Her mother abandoned her immediately after she was born to be raised by her father, David O’Shea. Her father worked as a security guard. Dana went from being an adorable baby to a shy bookworm.” Several pictures of Dana as a little girl popped up on the screen.

“Wow, she was a little cutie pie,” his father said, making Edward smile.

“We found that she kept mostly to herself and her close group of friends during high school. Apparently she was a little heart breaker early on. We recently met up with one of her old high school boyfriends.” The show switched to a video clip.

“What do you remember mostly about Dana?” a woman asked a ruggedly handsome man.

“She was great, always fun, always sweet.” He chuckled. “Taught me how to kiss.” He winked at the camera. “We were young and she was too serious to settle down.” All humor disappeared from his face. “Broke my heart the day she left for college. Hell of a girl.”

The show switched back to Emily, the show’s host. “We discovered that she was a brilliant student with potential. We weren't able to discover why she left college. What we did find out will surprise everyone, so please stay tuned.”

“Damn.”

“No kidding. Looks like Romeo is still pining away for her,” Seth said.

Edward elbowed him in the ribs. “Shut up.”

Seth put his hands up to show he was kidding. “Sorry, man.”

“Does Dana know about this?” Edward asked.

“Rick said he called her. She didn’t answer. So I guess no she doesn’t,” Amy answered.

“Damn it,” Edward said. She wasn’t going to like the spotlight pointed at her. This was going to drag her and the kids into the limelight and destroy all of her privacy.

“We’re back. We were fortunate to obtain exclusive footage of Dana from an incident that is already world famous. During college she paid her way by working as an Emergency Medical Technician in the southeastern Massachusetts area. She made quite a name for herself as an advocate for patient’s rights.”

“This footage is of an incident that attracted worldwide attention. The name of the young EMT who was involved was kept well hidden, until now. For those who don’t remember the incident, it occurred on the Bourne Bridge. A husband and father of three decided to take his family hostage to avoid an impending arrest. What started as a simple traffic stop turned quickly into a blood bath where the man killed his wife and attacked his children in front of police. This footage is very graphic and we implore you to get the children out of the room.”

“Oh no,” his father gasped.

“What?” Edward asked anxiously.

“If this is what I think it is then we’re about to get the hell scared out of us. I didn’t know that was her.”

“What?” Edward anxiously.

“Shh.”

The show switched to a grainy video. A man stood behind a car, shooting at police. He held a small boy in his arms as a shield. “Put the kid down!” a man ordered.

Another child, a five year old boy, suddenly ran away from the car, crossing the barrier between police and the madman. The boy was shot by his father and dropped to the ground. “Oh Christ,” Edward mumbled.

“Dana, get back here!” a man screamed.

Edward gasped as he saw a young woman rush to the little boy. She threw herself between the boy and the madman. “Get out of there!”

“I’ll kill you ‘beep’!” the madman yelled. He took several shots at Dana, hitting the ground around her.

“No!” she screamed. Edward eased to the edge of his seat and watched as she tore her shirt off, revealing a tight white tee shirt. She balled up her blue shirt and pressed it against the little boy’s stomach. He could hear the little boy’s cries and pleas.

“It’s okay, buddy, I’ve got you,” she said. Dana leaned over, covering the little boy with her body.

“Bring him back here, ‘beep’!” the madman yelled.

She didn’t answer him. She grabbed the little boy in her arms and ran towards the police. The man fired hitting her in the leg. Blood splattered on the cement. Edward dropped his head into his hands. feeling dizzy. “Christ.” He looked up in time to see Dana drag herself back to her feet and run the rest of the way with the little boy in her arms. He watched as she refused help, focusing everything she had on the little boy.