Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 75193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Now, seeing that sticker, something raw started to roll through my belly.
I hit my knees beside the overturned car before the Incident Commander could even tell me where to go.
The men that were already surrounding the car looked at me when I landed, but turned back to their business as soon as they realized they weren’t coming to harm.
My heart sank when I heard the paramedic’s first words.
“…man is dead. The woman isn’t, though. Has a large gash across her forehead. My guess she’s eight or nine months pregnant, too.”
“Eight,” I corrected him roughly. “She’s eight.”
The paramedic looked at me over his shoulder and nodded. “You know her?”
I nodded tightly.
“She’s my sister.”
***
“Did you go to Corey’s funeral?” my sister whispered softly.
She was holding her daughter, Emily, for the first time since she’d woken up this morning.
Emily was four days old and looked exactly like Apple. She had his exact color eyes–pale blue. The same color hair as him. She even had his skin tone.
If I hadn’t ever considered that the two of them were together officially before, I would’ve known they were hiding something now.
You couldn’t hide genes like the ones Emily had.
“No,” I said, running one thick, work roughened finger, down the side of Emily’s face. “I was here with you.”
I didn’t bother to mention that Apple was here as well.
He’d been the first one at the hospital when he’d heard what happened.
Something happened to a man when he realized that the love of his life was nearly killed before he’d ever even claimed her as his own.
I knew what it was like to lose the love of my life. I replayed the night in my dreams every time I closed my eyes.
And I was happy that Apple was finally coming around.
Losing the love of your life was something you never got over, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
Not even my worst enemies.
Prologue II
I’m in a good place right now. Not emotionally. I’m just at a liquor store.
-T-shirt
Freya
“Freya,” my brother, Corey, said. “You need to quit. If you don’t like it there, leave. There is no other recourse here. They’re giving you a hard time and underestimating your value. You’re young, have nothing tying you down, and you’re mad. That’s not a healthy environment for you. So leave.”
I looked down at my fingers, knowing he was right.
I sighed, rubbing my face with both hands.
“I love you, Corey. Thank you for listening to me whine,” I mumbled softly, staring at my brother on my phone.
We were FaceTiming. I could see his face as I was talking to him so I knew he could see mine as well. And I was not a very happy camper right now.
We talked to each other often.
In fact, I would count Corey as my very best friend. The one I told everything to.
It’d been him and me since we were young, and now that we were adults, we leaned on each other even more.
“Do you want to meet for breakfast at nine tomorrow?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Sure,” I said. “I’m off tomorrow and Thursday.”
“Okay,” he nodded. “Meet you at our regular place then. I’ve got to get to work.”
A man’s voice shouted and Corey looked over his shoulder.
“Gotta go to work. I love you, Sis!” he called, then he was gone, and I was left staring at the blank screen where he used to be.
Man, I was depressed.
Maybe I should go to the doctor.
Work sucked, sure, but nothing else was really wrong enough to warrant this kind of reaction out of me.
I bit my lip and worried my fingers as I thought, then decided to wait until tomorrow after breakfast to do anything else.
Tomorrow would be soon enough.
***
Two hours later
Corey: Can’t do breakfast tomorrow. A friend needs me to take his sister to Dallas for a doctor’s appointment.
I was bummed, yes, but I understood. Which was why my next message to him was what it was.
Freya: Be careful. Text me when you get there so I know you’re safe.
I never thought that I wouldn’t be hearing from him ever again.
In fact, it had never once crossed my mind that I wouldn’t.
***
The next day
I opened the door to my home and smiled at the officer that was on my doorstep.
“Hi, Luke!” I chirped to him. “What’s going on?”
Luke didn’t smile.
In fact, he didn’t even grin.
My smile faded off my face, and dread filled my heart.
“What?” I whispered. “What is it?”
He put his hand on my shoulder. Then he opened his mouth.
Words slipped out, but I couldn’t get past the three soul wrenching words he said.
“Your brother’s dead,” Luke informed me.
Chapter 1
If I’m in a parking space about to back out, and you honk at me, you better believe I’ll sit there until I die.
-Fact of Life
Ridley
Two months later
“Goddammit,” I said to no one in particular. “I will take her to another goddamned hospital if you don’t fucking do your GODDAMN JOB!” I finished on a roar, and not one single person in the entire ER was looking at me with anything but fear.