Revive (The Revival Series Book 1)

Revive

The Revival Series

Book 1

By

Claire Thake

Dedication

This book is dedicated firstly to my 3 beautiful children, my wonderful and supportive husband Del and my amazing parents! Thank you so much for everything, without you this wouldn’t have been possible.

Copyright @2015 Claire Thake,

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Prologue

              “Happy Birthday baby” Carrie screeched as she jumped up and down on the bed. Ian winced, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and looked up at her smiling.

              “How on earth have you got this much energy, at this time in the morning?” He asked before leaning forward, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her down to his level. Carrie shrieked but fell easily into his embrace, straddling his lap and enjoying the feel of his strong, protective arms around her.

“Do you want your birthday present?” She asked, a cheeky smile lighting up her pale features.

              “Depends what it is? Can you wrap yourself up with a bow?” he teased running his hands up and down her back.

“You can have me whenever you want so I wouldn’t really call that a present” she giggled, pushing his arms away and jumping off the bed. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a rectangular shaped parcel, wrapped in shiny pink paper with a large blue bow on the top, before joining him back on the large queen size bed, which sat in the middle of their very spacious bedroom.

              “This is a very good present, but not the only one you will be getting today, the rest I’m saving for later so you will have to wait for them” She said, a grin beaming across her face. Ian looked up into his wife’s eyes and pulled his lips into a pout. Giggling she gave him a gentle slap on the arm and pushed the box into his hands.

              Ian observed the excitement on her face as he slowly unwrapped the bow and began to carefully peel apart the wrapping revealing a black cardboard box, his brows knitted together wondering what could be inside and looking up at Carrie he could see her biting her bottom lip, a habit she had when she was nervous.

              “Don’t look so nervous beautiful, anything from you I will treasure, you know that” Carrie rolled her eyes and started bouncing around on the bed.

              “Just shut up and open it please” She demanded a nervous glint in her eyes. Opening the box Ian’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped, he didn’t do anything but stare at the contents of the box. Blinking he turned to Carrie

“Please tell me this is real and not a joke?”

              “It’s real” she whispered smiling

“This is the best present you could have ever given me” placing the box on the bedside table he leant over and embraced his wife, before cupping her face in his hands and planting the softest of kisses on her nose “I love you so much Carrie Summers” he whispered.

*****

              “Have I ever told you how amazing you are?” Ian whispered into Carrie’s ear. Carrie winced and pulled her head away, the smell of alcohol on his breath was so strong she was sure if she stayed too close for too long that she would be able to get drunk without having to consume a sip.

              “Several times lover boy, are you enjoying tonight?” Tonight was Ian’s party, a celebration of reaching 30 long years on this earth and all he had expected was a quiet dinner with his beautiful wife, but she had made other plans.

              Carrie hadn’t wanted Ian to let his birthday go by without celebrating properly so a couple of months before she had hired out the local social club, booked a DJ and a caterer and took the day of the party off work, spending hours putting up banners, balloons and embarrassing old baby photos of Ian, dotted all around the room. She had also had a huge 3 tier cake made in a superheroes theme as Ian was a big kid at heart and loved all the superhero movies. She had put on a proper big bash, no expense spared for him to have an amazing night, and from the grin on his face she could see she had done a good job.

              Sweeping her up into a kiss, Ian ran his fingers through her hair, her long brunette locks were one of his favourite parts of her and he loved running his fingers through them. Pulling away he put his forehead to hers and closed his eyes, feeling so lucky to have found the woman of his dreams and that she had agreed to be his forever.

“I know it’s your birthday but stop hogging her and mingle, you have her all to yourself at home, let me see my best friend for a while” Leah shouted pushing Carrie and Ian apart. Carrie giggled and blew Ian a kiss before taking her best friends lead to have a girly catch up whilst Ian mingled with their other friends.

              The party finally wrapped up in the early hours of the morning and after saying goodbyes to all of the guests they jumped into Carrie’s car. Carrie hated driving at this time of night but it was cheaper than getting a cab and at least if all the alcohol Ian had consumed decided to make a reappearance she could avoid a high cleaning bill from the driver.

              They didn’t live far from the party and Carrie drove carefully at the speed limit. The last thing she wanted was to get pulled over tonight, with her husband smelling like he had consumed half the local brewery by himself. It only took Ian 5 minutes in the car to doze off. Carrie smiled to herself when she noticed. He was always like a child in the car and unless he was driving would always be asleep.

              They were only a few roads away from home when it happened; the moment that changed their lives forever. As Carrie was driving through a junction, singing along to the radio, a black car jumped the red lights from a side road and hit Carries car.

The force was so strong that their car ended up on the other side of the road in the line of traffic coming in the opposite direction and facing the wrong way. Carrie had no time to react; it all seemed to happen so fast. The sound of crunching metal and the smell of petrol embedding itself forever in Carrie’s memory.

              Sitting in the crumpled mess of her car, Carrie tried to breathe, turning to look at Ian and seeing him slumped over, a trickle of blood running from his head. she tried to call him but all she could hear was screaming and sirens before everything went black…and she passed out.

Chapter 1

              Today was not going how Carrie had planned it! Firstly her train had been late, which in turn had made her late to work, which then made her late for an important meeting, and the whole day had put her into a very bad mood.  Sitting in her office at 8pm at night, wasn’t a rare occurrence for Carrie. She lived for her job and spent more time in this building than she did anywhere else. Working in the advertising industry had its up and downs, but Carrie loved every minute of it.

              Taking a sip of her coffee, she felt the warm liquid run down her throat and sooth her. She didn’t know what she would do without her regular shots of caffeine to invigorate her and get her through the day.

Clicking through the project she had opened on her desktop computer, analysing every last detail to make sure it was perfect.  Her computer beeped and signalled that she had a new email. Sighing Carrie clicked to open her email manager, thinking she better check it before she left for the night just in case it was important but expecting to see the normal junk mail that filled her inbox daily.

              A familiar feeling of dread came over her when she saw the sender’s name. The same name she had seen several times the past few weeks. Putting down her coffee she quickly opened the message and pushed the delete button before she could read a word of it.

Why would he just not leave her alone? She had made it clear the direction she wished her life to go in now and that it was a far cry from her former life. Part of her wondered the reasoning behind the constant messages but part of her knew she didn’t want to, for fear of being sucked back into that life, her old life.

              Saving her project and shutting down the computer, she grabbed her briefcase and coat and downed the rest of her coffee, before leaving and locking her office, making her way through the now very empty building, hearing her high heels clicking and echoing through the empty halls.

To some it may seem eerie to be here all alone with just the hum from the computer stations, but Carrie loved it and felt a sense of calm which was part of the reason she enjoyed staying late on a regular basis.

Taking the elevator down to the reception area of the building, she looked at her reflection in the mirrored wall. What stared back at her felt like a fraud, a different person to whom she truly was; a new face on a broken image. However hard she tried to be different, she was like a piece of broken china that had been glued back together….you could still see the cracks.

Her new blonde highlighted hair was different but her eyes were the same chocolate brown they had always been for her 32 years, and she still had the same small gap between her front teeth she had had since she was a child.

              Exiting the elevator she waved a quick goodbye to Errol the security man on duty, who didn’t even bat an eye lid to the fact that she was here again so late and using her security card to exit the main doors. Security was so used to her late nights they didn’t bother to knock at her office anymore to check if she was ok. If they did knock it was to offer coffee or ask if she would like to join them for a bite to eat if they ordered food in.

The chilly November air hit her straight away and she pulled her coat tighter around herself and buttoned it up, before shoving her hands into her pockets and starting the walk back to her apartment building. She always chose to walk in the evenings and only took the train in the mornings to save time although she was sure some mornings it would be faster to walk than to join the hustle and bustle of the daily London rush hour.

              Arriving at her apartment building she gasped as she took in the manly frame sitting on the front steps staring at her. A matching pair of brown eyes identical to her own stared up at her questioningly. Carrie wasn’t sure how long they stood staring at each other but it felt like a lifetime.

Memories of a life she had tried to block out for the last two years came crashing back to her and she hated it, and even contemplated turning and running away as fast as she could, but knowing that would never do any good, especially in the 3 inch heels she was wearing. At most she might find herself in the A&E department of the hospital with a broken ankle or worse.

              “Why are you avoiding me Carrie?” Carrie’s twin brother Jason slowly stood and brushed off the dirt from the pavement that had attached to his dark blue jeans, before taking a few steps towards her. It had been over 2 years since she had seen him, but he still looked the same. His brown hair in need of a cut and looking as if it hadn’t been brushed in at least a week, although the style suited him.

              “You know how things are Jay, please don’t make this any harder than it is for me already” Feeling the tears beginning to form at the corner of her eyes she took in a deep breath trying to calm herself.

Jason stared at her slender frame. She had changed a lot since he had last seen her. She had lost a lot of weight which she didn’t need to lose as she was never over weight to begin with, and her normal long brown hair was now a very bright blonde.

Physically she looked a world away from the girl he knew 2 years prior and he wondered to himself whether this transformation was doing her any good or whether she was trying to hide from things. Her eyes would always give her identity away to him, however much she tried to change.

              “Carrie for god’s sake, you can’t keep running away like this, we’re your family, we want to help you, we love you” Closing the distance between them in a few strides Jason went to embrace his timid and shallow looking sister, but she jumped back and away from his reach.

              “Jason, I’m sorry I’ve had a very busy day and I’m very tired, please just leave me your number and I will be in touch, I promise” She tried to walk past him but he moved in her way. Sniggering to himself Jason shook his head.

“Do you really expect me to believe that? I’m not a client you can just palm off Carrie, I’m your brother! We need to talk, I have been trying to contact you for weeks, and you gave me no choice but to come and find you”

              Carrie felt sick and was physically shaking; however this was the last place she wanted to have a showdown with her brother. Against everything she felt she rummaged in her bag and found the keys to her apartment and walked up the few stairs before opening it and turning back to Jason “I guess you had better come in then” she said in a quiet voice, turning and making her way inside without checking to see if he had followed, as there was no doubt in her mind whether he had.

              Once inside the apartment Carrie hung her coat on the rack beside the door, and kicked off her shoes, before making her way down the hall and into the kitchen. Opening a high cupboard door she took out a glass tumbler, placing it on the counter and bending down she retrieved a half drank bottle of whiskey from the bottom cupboard.

“You want one?” She questioned without turning to look at him, but knowing that Jason was hovering in the doorway.

              “That’s a bit strong for you isn’t it sis? I remember you as a white wine and lemonade kind of girl” Knocking back the glass of whiskey and slamming the tumbler into the counter loud enough to make them both jump, she turned and looked Jason directly in the eyes

“I’m not the same person I was Jay. People change, and when you just turn up on my doorstep, the stress does require something a little stronger” Pouring herself another glass, she motioned the bottle at him and he shook his head, declining the offer. Carrie shrugged and picked up the glass, pushing past him out of the kitchen and into the living room, walking over to the large bay window and staring out into the London night sky.

              “So spit it out then Jay, why are you here? The sooner we get this done the sooner we can go back to our lives, as I’m assuming you want to be here are much as I do, from the look on your face”

              “Come and sit down sis” he said gesturing to the brown leather sofa that adorned one of the cream walls before taking a seat himself in the matching armchair.

“I’m ok standing thanks, seeing as this is my home and I would rather not be getting comfortable as this won’t be turning into a happy social visit” Knocking back the remaining whiskey in the glass she stared at the empty container, wondering how many of those she would need to get through this meeting.

              Sighing, Jason leaned back against the chair, before noticing a photo frame lying flat on the little wooden table next to him. Putting his hand out and picking it up, he stood it back on its stand, taking in the beautiful photo of his sister and her husband Ian on a sandy beach in the Maldives, taken only a few moments after they had said their wedding vows. So in love, you could see the sparkle in both of their eyes, on the happiest day of their lives.

Jason felt the emotion rush through his body and swallowed hard, trying to keep his feelings in check. Still not knowing exactly how to deal with her and how to tell her why he was here. How would he feel if he lost the love of his life? How would he take the news he had to tell her if he had shut himself away from his whole family? Part of him wanted to just leave and spare her the guilt, heartache and pain that would become a crushing blow to her already shattered life.

Turning his attention back to Carrie he took in a deep breath trying to figure out how to tell her. He had gone through so many scenarios in his head on the train journey down to her but none seemed to be right now he was here.

“I don’t know how to tell you this so I’m just going to come out and say it” He could feel his palms beginning to sweat and wondered what his sister’s reaction would be. Before he could change his mind he closed his eyes and just said it…

“Mum’s sick Carrie” the words came tumbling out of his mouth so fast and mumbled he wasn’t sure if she would hear him properly.

Spinning to look at her brother, she had a confused expression on her face.

“Erm and you can’t take her to see a doctor? I’m sorry Jason but I don’t know what you expect me to do abo….”

“She’s dying Carrie” he shouted cutting her off “she’s got cancer”.

              Carrie moved her hand up to her throat, she felt as if she couldn’t breathe. The whole world around her seemed to stop and start spinning all at once. She had not seen her mum in 2 years and the guilt of abandoning her family hit her harder than a ton of bricks. However bad she felt though, she refused to let on to Jason. If she let her façade down, she may break down completely.

              Turning away from the window she stormed back out of the room and back to the kitchen and poured another large glass of whiskey. As she was filling her glass, Jason appeared behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.

              “Please stop running sis. Running will not bring Ian back and you’re only going to hurt yourself more, as well as hurt this family worse than it is already” Wiping a stray tear away from her face she turned to look her brother in the eyes.

“So what’s the course of treatment for mum?”

              Jason raised his hand to his face and squeezed the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes trying to stop from breaking down.

“She’s already been through it all Caz, there’s nothing more they can do” Nodding her head Carrie took a long sip of the whiskey and felt the burn as it slid down her throat.

              “I’m guessing you need me to come back home for a day or two and help with things? But I’m sorry I’m not sure I can right now, but if you need money, if that’s why you are here…” she said, a numb feeling settling over her, her face not showing an ounce of emotion.

              “God damn it Carrie, I’m not here for your god damned money, I’m here for mum’s sake”

Carrie moved her eyes to settle her gaze on the now half filled glass, avoiding Jason’s glare. Being her twin he couldn’t explain it, but felt he could feel she was hiding what she truly felt.

              “Mum wants us all back together, she wants everyone to go away for 2 weeks to Devon, so she can spend time with us all” Jason looked up at her trying to gauge her reaction from her still face.

“When?” she asked, still not once removing her eyes from her glass.

“Next week, it’s already all sorted. She’s booked a large converted barn” Jason replied. Slamming the glass on the counter Carrie, took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her blonde hair.

“I can’t Jay, I have work, I can’t just up and abandon my life, it’s just not enough notice, I’m sorry”

Jason could not believe she was actually saying no. Although he had considered this outcome on the way here, especially after she had avoided his calls and emails, he hadn’t really thought she would honestly say no.

“Please Carrie, do this for mum, it’s all she wants, just to see the whole family together again. Carrie if you don’t want to do this for yourself or the family please just think about mum, she hasn’t seen you for over 2 years, and it’s eating away at her. Not only that but I felt as if I lost a limb when you shut me out! I know you have been through a lot Carrie but you have to stop this charade, you’re not this person you’re pretending to be! Do you really think Ian would want you to be like this? ” 

Picking up the glass Carrie spun around, with anger in her eyes, pointing in Jason’s face with the glass shaking in her hand, she could feel the grief and anger swallowing her along with the effect the alcohol was having.