Authors: Amanda Morey
Tags: #romance, #friendship, #alcoholism, #abuse, #contemporary romance, #family relationships, #romance 1960s, #brother and sister relationships, #america 1960s, #1960s america
My Heart is Yours
* * * *
My Heart is Yours
Copyright © 2015 Amanda Leigh
Cover design © Arijana Karčić, Cover It!
Designs
Formatting by JT Formatting
ISBN:
Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright
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both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the
author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author
acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various
products, bands, and/or restaurants referenced in this work of
fiction, which have been used without permission. The
publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated
with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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***
T
his story is one that
has been living in my head for a long time. This story and all of
these characters have been in my head for eight years. These
characters have been a part of me for eight years. Letting go of
them is hard, but I knew that I wanted to get this story out into
the world. So it was time to let go. That is not to say that I’ve
closed off the possibility of ever writing about them again. Who
knows? Maybe one day I will. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Now, on to the title. It probably took me a good two
or three years to come up with what seemed like a fitting title for
this story. I needed something that encompassed the romance in this
story. I also needed it to potentially encompass the feeling that a
brother and sister or very close friends can have for one another.
It’s in a different form, of course, but it’s still there. However,
the most important component to me was encompassing the romance in
the story. I don’t remember exactly how or when this revelation
came to me but I do know that it was because of a Paramore song. I
was listening to the song
My Heart
by Paramore and one of
the lyrics in the chorus stood out to me. Thus, the title became
My Heart is Yours
.
I can’t thank you enough for picking up my book. It
truly means so much to me. I hope that you get something out of
this story and that maybe you find another character (or a few
more) to love. Thank you again and I hope that you enjoy
My
Heart is Yours
!
***
F
ive and a half year old
Samantha slept in her white threadbare sheets. Tonight the wind was
coming through particularly strong from the cracks in the wooden
boards on her window. Her small body shivered.
The door creaked open and her mother entered. Sam
had the same blonde hair as her mother. Her eyes were her own
though. Changing from blue, to grey, to blue-grey, to green or any
combination of these colors seemingly simultaneously. Sandra’s hand
approached her daughter’s shoulder and she shook her roughly awake.
The clock on the wall read three o’ clock in the morning. Sam
rubbed her eyes. “Come on!” Her mother said as she looked over her
shoulder. “Get out of bed, now!” She grabbed a hammer from the
toolbox they kept in Sam’s room, went to the boarded up window and
started tearing the boards to the floor. Wood splintered through
the air. “Go on.” She gestured to the window. “Get out. Go.”
Sam hesitated for half a second then climbed
through. She knew she couldn’t ask questions. She got into trouble
when she asked questions.
Sandra wiggled through the window; she cursed aloud
as the glass cut her shoulder.
“Don’t try to run away from me!” The hoarse shout
came from behind them. Sam’s father. Sam knew what it meant when he
was like this.
Sandra pushed Sam into the car, ran to the other
side and jumped in. “Mommy.” Sam said as they went speeding past
houses. “What’s wrong?”
“If you must know, your father’s more drunk than
usual. He has a gun and he says he’s gonna kill us. Satisfied?”
Sam’s eyes widened as she looked in the rearview mirror. There was
a car right on their tail. Sam stretched in the front seat to see
who it was; she recognized the face of her father. “Mommy!” She
yelled. Her mother ignored her. “The only reason I’m taking you
with me is cuz as a single parent with no job I might get some
money from the government.” “Mommy!” She yelled again. “Otherwise
I’d just let him kill you.” The car stopped, jolted forward and
stopped again. “Damn it. We’re out of gas.” Sam’s mom muttered.
Sirens wailed in the background.
Beside them, Sam heard the screech of tires. Blonde
hair hit Sam’s face as she turned her head toward the noise. In the
car beside them her father scooted across the front seats; his eyes
wild with rage. A flash of black came from behind him. Sandra
frantically tried to get the car started. Too late. An arm shot out
around her neck; holding her fast. Her husband held the shiny black
gun to her head and before Sam could scream from the sound, the
trigger boomed and her mother’s body slumped over on the steering
wheel. Deep red blood gushed out of her head forming a pool on the
floor.
Before Sam climbed out of the car window, her
father’s eyes met hers. There was nothing there. No sorrow, no
fear, no pain, no love. Nothing.
The source of the sirens came to their side. Two
police cars with their lights flashing and sirens wailing. Sam
clasped her little hand around the handle on the car door; the door
opened easily and she fell out onto the cold asphalt. Her eyes took
in a small bush about a yard away. She scurried to it and hid
within it’s hard branches, lush with dark green leaves.