Authors: Danielle Allen
When he played the last chord,
I opened my mouth to speak but words didn’t come out immediately. “That was—” Startled, I was cut off by the elevator dinging to announce its arrival. I gasped as I backed halfway into my loft. Emanuel and I were both quiet as a man and a police officer stepped off. The man in front quickly checked us out before moving past us, down the hall.
Once they walked by, Emanuel started again, “Please say something Sahara.” Emanuel took a small step
toward me. His face was full of emotion and although he didn’t reach out for me, his grey eyes penetrated me, begging me to respond to his romantic gesture. Like always, Emanuel managed to seduce me with the intensity of his eyes.
The knocking on the door down the hall snatched my at
tention away from Emanuel.
Why are they knocking on 9E?
I mused in bewilderment. Bewilderment quickly turned to fear as I assessed the situation.
In a shaky voice, I called to the
two men, “Excuse me. Are you looking for the man who lives there?”
“Do you kno
w him? Is anyone home?” The officer questioned as both men turned toward us.
“Yes, I know him. What is this about?” My voice came out a bit shriller than I intended and my brea
th came out in quick bursts. I tried but failed to hold it together, grabbing my door handle, I braced myself.
“Do you know if anyone else lives here besides him?”
the tall man inquired. His voice was softer than the officer’s as if he recognized that I could be of use to them.
I noisily sucked air in through my nose.
Looking between the officer and the taller man, I said, “No. No one lives there but him. I’m his girlfriend. And he usually stays here with me. He should be home in a few minutes. He texted me when he got out of a meeting and said he was about to leave work. But he owns a restaurant and lounge so stuff always comes up at the last minute. He should be home soon though. He’s probably on his way now. Why are you looking for him? What’s wrong? What’s going on?” I rambled with my voice trembling.
“Fade
Into You” played from inside the loft as an uncomfortable silence settled on the group. The two men moved closer to us slowly and for a full thirty seconds, the haunting melody of the song hung in the air. I blinked back tears when I felt Emanuel put his arm around me. The combination of Emanuel hand stroking the bare skin of my shoulders and the uneasiness I felt around the two men who were steadily approaching was overwhelming.
When the two men were closer, I asked again in a more confident voice, “What’s going on?”
The taller man positioned himself in front of me and pulled out a badge before he said, “There’s been an accident.”
Street Lights—Kanye West
Dreaming With A Broken Heart—John Mayer
The Panties—Mos Def
Secret—Maroon 5
My Immortal—Evanescence
Lovesong
—Adele
All I—Jill Scott
Breathe—Raheem Devaughn
Whenever Wherever Whatever—Maxwell
Never Felt This Way—Brian McKnight
I Love, You Love—John Legend
Uninvited—Alanis Morissette
Landslide—Fleetwood Mac
Getting Late—Floetry
Wild Horses—Alicia Keys ft. Adam Levine
I Won’t Give Up—Jason Mraz
Fade Into You—Clare Bowen & Sam Palladio
The writing process is arduous and de
mands a lot of time, so I just want to say THANK YOU!
To the love of my life, my husband: Thank you for putting up with the late nights, the re-writes, and the editing process. Thank you for reading, re-reading, and critiquing my work. And thank you for loving my work despite the fact that contemporary romantic fiction isn’t your genre of choice. You have singlehandedly upended my life in the most extraordinary way. Being in love with you has been an all-encompassing, mind-blowing, inspiring experience. Truly, your love is the stuff that romance novels are made of. You make me better because you are the most amazing man I’ve ever known and I am so blessed to have you in my l
ife. Thank you for everything.
To my family: I love you and I thank you for always shrouding me with love. Your support has been the cornerstone of
my creative expressions. From a very young age, you’ve always told me that I could do any and everything I put my mind to. You’ve always nurtured and supported my creativity, my imagination and my vision. For that, I’m forever grateful. Thank you for everything.
To my small group of
Emilys: I love you and I thank you for the sisterhood we’ve created, established, and maintained through the years. My life wouldn’t be the same without you making your distinct mark in it. Thank you for showing me the definition of true friendship. Some people go their whole lives without experiencing friendship in its most pure form. I was blessed with a group of lifelong friends who are all individually unique, making our group collectively phenomenal. Thank you for everything.
To everyone who took the time to read Back to Life, thank you. What started out as a 30 by 30 project turned into one of the most exciting and creative experiences
of my life thus far. I pushed myself to do something different and completely out of the realm of my "day job." I'm happy with the story that developed over the 7 week process and I appreciate all of the love and support I've received from readers about the story and the characters. To all of you, thank you for taking a chance with an unknown novelist. I hope that you enjoyed the ride.
XOXO