In the Absence of You (31 page)

“I’m sorry—I’m sorry—I’m sorry.”
Zoe’s pitch slinks low and repentant from next to me in the cab. It took her long enough.

“You’re mean. I should have stayed at home,” I say, but her hand goes out and pets my cheek, fingers feminine-smooth, silky soft and different from Jude’s.

“What good would it do though, sweetie? You need to live a little.” She means well, and I love her. She needs to stop talking.

“
You
fucking live.” My outburst is unintentional and leaves Zoe momentarily speechless. The taxi driver turns up the radio, some country song melding with the smell of
Wunderbaum
. Who decided car fresheners were worthy of an invention anyway? I feel sick.

“I am living.” Zoe’s voice lowers through the words. “We’re going to a concert. We’ll have drinks. Dance, Nadia. Remember dancing?”

“I don’t want to dance.”

“Bull. Once we’re there, the crowd will be fantastic. Everyone will be on their feet, probably rushing the front of the stage and mosh-pitting.”

“Oh no,” I mutter as her short, black nails go to her mouth for a quick nibble of happy-jittery energy.

I stare out the window. Let my eyes first fix then give up on each palm tree passing us. Zoe is the life of the party, a quirky, charming blast to be around in this mood. Just—
you
have to be in the mood too. I hope she calms down.

I should go home.

“Emil…” Zoe hums. “He’s so freaking hot. Kisses like a pro too.”

“Emil who?” I ask because it will make her talk about something besides mosh pits.

Her jaw drops in exaggerated surprise. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the lead singer of Clown Irruption? He squirms up there on stage, all smarmy and slinking around his microphone. All sweaty, and then—”

“Ew,” I say.

“Oh come on, ‘sweaty’ is like sex. Or, like, sex
is
sweaty.”

I groan. “I’m not comfortable talking about this, Zoe.”

“Which you need to get over and I’m helping. Did you see when he was singing that one song, the super-sad, really beautiful song, how he massaged his bulge on the mic stand? I swear he’s got a full-on joystick. Maybe I’ll volunteer to help him with it.” She yells the last part, because the driver has notched the radio up to concert level, despite the tune being slower than a psalm.

Zoe bounces closer to me. Leans her chin on my shoulder so she’s sure I can hear her when she says, “You notice that? The driver”—she wheeze-shouts now—“is a fellow prude of yours!”

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I loved writing
In The Absence of You. Aishe’s voice, Emil’s story, it all flowed out so easily. It was a blast to hang out with Nadia, Troll, Bo and the rest of the band from Walking Heartbreak again.

Thank you so much to my husband, Michael. This story would have come out quite differently if it weren’t for his almost two decades in the music industry, touring for a living. I love you, baby.

I knew this would be my most shocking book to date, which was reflected in some of the feedback from my author besties. Lynn Vroman, Cheryl McIntyre, D Nichole King, Angela McPherson, and Laura Thalassa: your input, kind comments, and suggestions will never be taken for granted. I appreciate you so much. Without your gushing, your preparing me for the readers’ anguish over such an unpredictable, real story—the final version of this novel would not have become what it is.

To my beta readers, Renee McMillan and April Martin: thank you for always being there for my books and me, even when you’re a little bit worried as you dive in.

To my blogger friends, you story-hungry bees who collect and spread the word about cover reveals, new releases, and sales to the readers: you know your role—yet do you
understand
how much you mean? I am so grateful for your support.

To my readers: thank you so much for coming back for more of my wild books. I write for you. You, you, you. Tell other readers about my book babies and leave a review if you’re so inclined; it makes us authors very happy.

Until the next book!

Between studies, teaching, and advising,
Sunniva has spent most of her adult life in a college environment. Her novels are new adult fiction geared toward smart, passionate readers with a love for eclectic language and engaging brain
and
heart while reading.

Born in the Land of the Midnight Sun, the author spent her early twenties making the world her playground. Southern Europe: Spain, Italy, Greece—Argentina: Buenos Aires, in particular. The United States finally kept her interest, and after half a decade in California, she now lounges in the beautiful city of Savannah.

Sometimes, Sunniva writes with a paranormal twist, but mostly, it is new adult fiction in its original form: young adult fiction at a more mature level. Books in this style so far are: Pandora Wild Child, Leon’s Way, Adrenaline Crush, Walking Heartbreak, Dodging Trains, and now In The Absence of You. The short story, Karma’s Mistake, is accessible for free only by signing up for her newsletter.

This author is the happiest when her characters let their emotions run off with them, shaping her stories in ways she never foresaw. Like in real life, her goal is to keep the reader on their toes until the end of each story.

Writing this, in Mid-June of 2016,
several projects are in the making: I’m currently writing Victor and Helena’s story, another fighter novel based on characters you’ve met in Dodging Trains. There is so much more to their lives than their compulsive hook-ups at Stripes.

I look back at the promises I’ve made in my “Future Projects” sections before. Many of them don’t come to fruition, as strongly as I might feel about them in that moment. In hindsight, I cringe, reading them more as a creative log of which stories kept my brain whirling at the time.

Today, I can say two things for sure: Troy’s story will come very soon. Maybe before Elias’. And then I have another fighter who’s screaming at me. If he keeps being this loud, my only option will be to write him. ;-)

For you, the reader
, the easiest way to keep on top of my projects is to sign up for my newsletter. It’s a once-or-twice a month update on my latest crazies as well as special offers from myself and author friends.