finding Reese.: a SAFELIGHT novel vol.2 (SAFELIGHT Series) (39 page)

Shaking my head at my reflection, I get into the shower and try to make it fast. If I don’t make it to bed on time, that will be another fight, and the truth is, regardless if Mom steps in to help me, I don’t want to get hit with that belt again. My skin is still tender after the beating I got two nights ago for not taking out the trash. Turning off the faucet, I dry and dress myself in record time, and brush my teeth before I sprint from the bathroom towards my room.

I climb in bed and turn off the lamp on my nightstand. I listen to my parents’ retreating footsteps; their voices echoing down the narrow hallway. And when they rise, I place the headphones of my cassette player over my head. I rewind the worn tape, searching for my one of my favorite songs, Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters,” which I’ve played a lot as of late. As the introductory guitar chords play, my eyelids grow heavy, and if only for the briefest of moments, I find peace and drift to sleep.

Something is shaking me, and when I realize there’s sunlight filling the room, I rub my eyes, trying to wake up. It takes me a minute to find my bearings.

“Evan!” my mother cries, her eyes open wide and pleading.

“Mom?” I ask, in between yawns.

“Rose . . . Where is she?” Mom asks, her voice raised and panicked. “Evan! Answer me!” Mom cries, and that’s when I sit up in alarm.

“Rose!” I scream as I jump from the bed, my bare feet racing towards her room. I look everywhere for signs of my sister, but she is gone. I sit by the foot of her window, and bring my knees close to my chest. I cry hard when I realize what’s happened.
Rose left. She ran away without me. Now I have to deal with these two monsters all by myself.

I wipe the tears away with my knuckles, and when I look up, Dad looks down at me, clutching his black, leather belt with one hand, and the other scratching his beard.

“Get up from the floor, Evan,” Dad bellows, his anger spreading over me, making my skin crawl. “You are a man, but if you insist on crying like a girl, then I’ll give you a few good reasons to keep crying like one.”

Splat.

The first blow of the belt against my leg singes my skin. I want to scream and cry, but I say nothing and I most certainly don’t move an inch. Silent, fat tears drop from my eyes and roll down my cheeks.

Splat.

The second blow against the skin of my stomach makes me double over in pain, and as soon as I hit the ground, I lose count of all the blows that follow. I also try to tune out Mom’s wails as she gets a beating of her own for trying to stop Dad from hitting me.

I never imagined knowing the true meaning of hatred at only twelve, and I, Evan Pryce, truly deeply hate my parents. I hate Rose for abandoning me, and I hate Caleb and Seth, my older twin brothers for going off to college and leaving me here alone with our fucked up parents.

I hate the world.

I
hate
my life.

A poem by Marian Girling

Lost in the rhythm of the dance

Two lovers move

Hips swaying freely, hands clasped

She follows where her partner leads.

Feet move in synchronicity

Hands flick, grasp, and mime.

Eyes keep contact with each turn

Bodies both in time

Their moves are sinuous and lithe

Moving as one

Enthralled, enticed, engulfed

In the Rumba, the dance of
love
.

finding Reese.
took longer than expected to complete as there were many setbacks: life, illness, injury, and even moments of mourning. By the grace of God I pulled through, but I didn’t manage this accomplishment on my own.

To my fiancé, Jc, thank you for keeping me grounded and for micromanaging my butt to get the job done. Babe, thank you for those motivational videos and memes you supplied me with when things got unpleasant in my little bubble, and for reminding me each day why I do what I do. I love you, and couldn’t ask for someone better in the Producer’s chair or as a partner in life.

To my daughter Izzabella Grazia, I’m still trying to make good on my promise to give you a home and room of your own. I know watching Mommy typing away isn’t easy; one day you’ll understand all the sacrifices Mommy and Daddy have made to give you the life you deserve. Mommy is still trying. I love you with all that I have. Always.

To my readers, I am overjoyed and humbled you have embraced these characters and have given them a home inside your hearts. My most sincere gratitude goes to you. Thank you.

I want to extend my gratitude to Kimberly Ito, my editor at Sakura Editing, who gave me the quickest, harshest crash course lesson in grammar, syntax, tense, and sentence structure with chasing Reese. I vowed to blow you away with finding Reese., and I think I did. I can confidently say my writing style has grown, and it is all thanks to you. You are my secret weapon, Kimberly, and I will always count on you for the toughest, realest feedback. Thanks to you I am a better writer.

My thankfulness goes out to Marisa Shor, my cover designer at Cover Me, Darling, for yet another awesome book cover. Nailed it! You are not only an artiste, but an incredible loving person with the perfect personality to match! I love that one year later our e-mail messages haven’t changed, and get more creative and hysterical with each new project. Thank you.

I huge shout out goes out to Cori Pitts, Marian Girling, and Theresa Sederholt for proofreading this book. Thank you for your insightfulness and comments which had me laughing more than once.

A remarkable thank you goes out to Stacey Blake with Champagne Formats for stepping in to format the beautiful final product that is the eBook version of this novel. Thank you for fitting me in at the last minute even though you were booked solid for nine weeks.

To the amazing core of women at Wordsmyth Inc., captained by my PA Marian Girling, and supported fiercely by Ashley Heather, Cori Pitts, Sheena Graham, Felicia Rodríguez, Sunshine Lykos, Iris Taveras, Terri Turner, Lisa Skonecki Jaskie, LJ Knox, Sue Bashford, Pam Lilley, and Ginelle Blanch. Another outpouring of appreciation goes out to Shirley Wilkinson and Courtney Shockey for being mega SAFELIGHT fans. Thank you for accepting me into your hearts, and for braving all social media platforms to support my work, and for alpha, beta, and proofreading finding Reese., and for every mention, “like” and tweet. Your kindness and thoughtfulness brings me to my knees, and I most certainly couldn’t have released this book if not for you. Thank you for keeping me grounded, and for reeling me in when I go astray.

To Emily James and Linda Merkel, my Twitter and Author Signing Event allies, thank you for your unwavering support.

To my fellow Indie Authors and Writers on all platforms, especially Theresa Sederholt, Alannah Carbonneau, A.M. Wilson, Autumn Grey, and so many others, I could never repay you for your kindness, and I feel immensely blessed with your friendship. Thank you for being there for me, and for cheering me on.

To my esteemed friends in the blogging community, Sarah Kenslee Erinn (
Hooks & Books
), Chantel Sharp (
Smutty Book Friends
), Sunshine Lykos (
Saucy Books
), Michelle Simm (
One Click Aholics
), Lena Dublin (
Smut and Bonbons
), Dawn Vickers (
Reading The Sheets
), Danita Montes (
Nerdy Chic
), Jessica Cecconi (
JaM Book Blog
), Caryn Watson (
Watz Books & Teasers
), Louise Hunter (
Books all things Paranormal and Romance
), Marian Girling (
A Book Lover’s Emporium Book Blog
), Meaghan Royce (
Love Infinity Book Blog
), the Admins at
Writers Can’t Shine Without Readers, and Fictional Men’s Room for Book Ho’s,
among many,
many
others. Thank you for promoting and supporting my dreams unceasingly. I am humbled and honored.

To anyone who has ever thought about writing, but fears the process or feels like they’re not good enough . . . Please know you are capable of achieving anything you put your mind into, and there are people in this community who will support your journey. Just take the leap, have hope, and
never
give up. Never in a thousand years did I envision writing a book, let alone two, and the SAFELIGHT series is far from over: saving Reese. will be landing sometime before March 2016.

Love you all madly,

-i

P.S. Please feel free to join the SAFELIGHT series discussion group on Facebook.

Trifecta

IMY SANTIAGO

I love to read stories about loss, heartache and redemption, so it didn’t shock me that I would end up writing stories revolving around those central themes. I write with my heart, using my life experiences and emotions to dictate the tone and path in which my fictional characters embark in my long list of stories. I believe in the power of friendship and to always remain hopeful because life is always full of pleasant surprises. If you were to ask me if I consider myself an author, I would tell you no−I am not. I’m just a girl who loves a good story that makes you ponder life choices and the darkness that envelopes a broken heart. My stories are about loss, friendship, hope, and love. When I’m not writing, I’m enjoying a quiet life with my family on Long Island New York (yes, on−that’s how Long Islanders roll).