Free Dreaming of Forever by Jennifer Muller

Chapter 1
     
    Ashley's blue eyes darted across the computer screen as she typed her latest piece on the Chicago Bears. They were her favorite football team so the words weren't difficult to find. She loved her job at the newspaper but sometimes it wasn't challenging enough for her. That's why she decided to write a biography about Zach Ellis and the injury that ruined his career with the Bears.
     
    Ashley had Zach's side of the story about his career ending surgery and the events that led up to it but she desperately wanted to hear from his surgeon Sara D'Angelo which was proving to be quite difficult. Ashley kept pushing back the deadline, thankful that her publisher felt the same way about getting some quotes from Ms. D'Angelo.
     
    “Hey, who wants to go to the home opener on Sunday?” Ashley's best friend Jason came into her office from across the hall, without even knocking.
     
    “I would love to go to the Bears game but I can't. I have a lot of work to do this weekend.” She looked up from her computer and gave him a small smile.
     
    “What are you working on now?” he asked her.
     
    Jason had ocean blue eyes and dirty blonde hair that he liked to keep short. She saw that he was due for a haircut any day now since he had gelled his hair and spiked it that morning.
     
    “Working hard on the Zach Ellis story and getting this biography done. I still can't get a hold of the surgeon that worked on him. Other than that everything is going good.”
     
    “So I can't convince you to take a break and come with me to the game?” he asked her, giving her a sad look.
     
    “You know I would if I could Jason but I can't. I need to wrap up this book and I have to find Sara D'Angelo to do that,” she stated, saving the piece she was working on and leaning back in her computer chair.
     
    “Every journalist who has tried to get an interview with her has come up empty. She's refused every single one of them Ashley. What makes you think you're different from them?” he asked, smirking at her.
     
    “I don't know. I will figure it out when I cross that bridge. I have to find her first. I am sorry that I can't go with you on Sunday,” she apologized to him, giving a slight yawn as she stretched.
     
    “I'm sure you will. Getting her to talk is another thing. So I guess I'll have to ask John across the hall if he wants to go with me instead. I can't image going by myself. There's not much fun in that.” Jason gave her a sad smile and turned to walk out of the office.
     
    As he put his hand on the office door he saw the articles that Ashley had taped to her wall from Zach's short career.
     
    “You still have that article of when he first started? I would kill for a quarterback like that now. He should have been the next Brett Favre,” Jason stated, reading a little bit of the first paragraph of the article as he opened the office door.
     
    “I know. I can't wait to get his story out there,” she said, sitting back up and looking at her computer screen.
     
    Once again for what felt like the millionth time she Googled Sara D'Angelo to see what it would bring up. On the 5 th page of the Google search results, when she was about to give up, there was a number. It wasn't for Sara's home but for the hospital that she had worked at in San Diego before she lost her job.
     
    No one really knew the details of the case because it was a closed court hearing when Zach Ellis sued her and she lost her job. Zach didn't even mention it in any of the interviews that she'd done with him. He said that it wasn't for the public's entertainment what happened behind those courtroom doors. He did want to tell his story but he wouldn't discuss what happened in the courtroom.
     
    When Ashley asked Zach about Sara D'Angelo in general, he called her 'irresponsible and used the words 'lack of judgment' when asked about the surgery on his shoulder, that ended his career. Ashley had tried three times to ask him what exactly went on in the