Hero

 November 2027

Sharla Ottomas is 48; Dee Ottomas is 34; Rose Green is 37; Cory Green is 51; Melissa Green is 18; Shane is 2

Soundtrack: “Hero” by David Crosby and Phil Collins



“You finally got here,” said Sharla, trying to pretend that Dee  hadn’t startled her. “I thought you’d changed your mind or something.” She hadn’t even realised her sister was there until she pulled out the chair.



“I had to wait for Roman to get home before I could leave the kids,” Dee replied, looking down at the papers on the cafe table. “You didn’t look too bored waiting… what were you looking at, anyway?”



“Mum gave me some old photos… there’s a lot of Melissa as a baby, and I thought she might like them.”


“That’s not a bad – wait, you visited Mum and Dad?”

“Yes. You’re surprised?”



“Well, you never used to visit them…”



“Well, they’re not living out in the back of beyond anymore, and since I’m down here while Shane’s with Melissa…” Sharla shrugged.

Dee shuffled through the photos. “Hey. look at you on this one – you’re so young! So is Cory… you know, you guys look really happy here… “



“Well, we were, back when we first met… ”



“ - until he started drinking, and – “

“He was kind of always drinking… but when he was in a good place, when things were going well…” Sharla looked down at the photos with a little sigh. “He was my hero, the one who’d sweep me away from that tiny little town and all the things I hated… he could be a really amazing person.”

She shrugged again. “From what I’ve heard, he probably still is…”



“Hey, don’t get any ideas! He’s married again… and the last time you got involved with a married person – “



“Don’t be ridiculous! I’m not going down that road again… and even if I was interested, I’m already seeing someone.”



“Who is he? Is he anyone I know??”

“Dee – “



“Is he rich?

“Dee!”

“Well, you did say you were looking to improve your situation…”



“I’m not taking about this anymore… do you want to get coffee or not? Because I need to get back to the city early… I’ve got plans tonight.”

----

Sharla could hear the telephone ringing in the kitchen as Rose opened the door.

“I’ve got to get that,” she said, gesturing to the sound. “Cory’s not home yet. Shane’s in the playpen in the living room.” She disappeared back into the kitchen.

Sharla started towards the living room to collect her son, then stopped in surprise.

“… Melissa.”

“I… I bought these photos for you,” Sharla said, regaining her composure. “They’re of you as a baby. My parents had them, and I thought you might like them.”

“Um, thanks.” Melissa took the pictures.

“I… there’s some of your things from your old room… you know, the social worker didn’t take everything for you… and I’ve still got these things at my apartment. You could come and see if you still want them… or you could just get Cory or someone to collect them for you, if you prefer that.”

“You kept my stuff?”

“Yes. What did you think I’d do with them?”

“I don’t know… I thought probably you’d throw them in the trash or something…”

“They’re not mine to get rid of. And anyway I… Melissa, I’m s- “

“You should take him now!” Melissa said, abruptly pressing Shane into Sharla’s arms. “He’s really tired and… and I think you should take him home now.”

She turned and ran up the stairs.

“What just happened?” Rose asked, looking up the stairs after Melissa.

“I don’t know!” said Sharla. “Did you forget to tell her I was coming back after I called?”

“Of course not!” said Rose. “I told her and she went up to her room, like she always does.”

“Well, then she must have come back down!”

“I don’t know what’s going on,” said Rose, “but if you do anything to hurt Melissa… “

“So fierce!” said Sharla. “And here I was thinking you were such a fragile little flower…”

“I might have been, once… but not any more.”

“Yes, well, being married to someone like Cory will do that,” said Sharla…

“… just don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. You’ll only end up regretting it”

---

So, yeah, TS3 Sharla still has a crush on Cory…

I was already planning this update when I heard the song on the car radio, and it just seemed to fit. I don’t know how clear I made it, but I’ve never imagined Sharla as the villain of this story, at least not in the same sense that, say, Joshua is.

It goes without saying that she did a terrible thing in not believing Melissa, but Joshua would have primed her, probably for years, to see Melissa as a liar and a troublemaker. That’s what abusers do. And along with all the ramifications of what she did, it would have been all the harder for someone like Sharla, who likes to think of herself as strong and in control, when she realised how blatantly she’d been manipulated.

If I were writing the story of Sharla and Cory’s marriage, she definitely wouldn’t be the villain of that story, and he wouldn’t be the kind of person he is now, either. But then he has his own sympathetic back story to explain his actions. And I guess when you think about it, even in the most black-and-white of comic book stories, the origin stories of the hero and the villain often aren’t that different.