by Sonya Jesus
She was my friend and I knew to do right by both of them, I needed to put in a new partner request. No one but Cap knew; we wanted to wait until the request went through and until I told Elle before sharing the news. Then the shooting happened, and everything got postponed.
Now Elle and I are full-disclosure and getting married again. We haven’t set the date yet, but we’re thinking of doing it on Tyler’s due date—the eleventh of any month—so we can always remember the journey we’ve taken.
Today, we’re at Tyler’s gravesite. It’s the first time we’ve been here.
“Marker 692,” she says, glancing up at me. “The map says it’s here.”
The window is down, so the cool afternoon breeze circulates through the car. The smell of fresh-cut grass wafts in with the wind. “This is the infant section?”
“Yeah, by that angel statue over there.” She points at the stone woman with long hair and prayer hands, set at the top of the small hill, wings spread out over the grass. A narrow stream circles the bottom with weeping willows extending over the water. A small wooden bridge leads over to the section.
She unfastens her seat belt and rolls the window up. Her hand reaches for me, lacing her fingers through mine. I love that she reaches for me again.
“Did you bring your last sticky note?” I ask.
“It’s in my pocket. I can’t believe we were able to go through all of them.”
I shut the engine off and exit the car, circling the front to open the door for her. She steps out, and I curl my hand around her waist, leading her toward the small bridge. The grass near the angel comes into view, and small cement nameplates are lined up in rows and columns on the almost flat hill. My throat tightens, squeezing the words lodged in my throat. Facing my son, or whatever is left him, is enough to bring a man to his knees.
“I didn’t think I’d ever step foot in here, but it’s so peaceful.” She swivels her head toward me, that serenity she speaks of so easily eminent in her relaxed posture. “But it still hurts to be here.”
“I think it’s going to hurt for a long time, babe.”
Together, we cross the sturdy bridge. “The wooden planks have a saying on them.”
We stop in the center to read the words. She does because I’m not strong enough to put a voice to them. “Think of them with a beating heart because they will always live inside you.”
“I told myself I wasn’t going to cry,” she says with a sniffle.
The ball in my throat keeps me from speaking.
We reach the name “Tyler Xavier Dalton.” Her small fingers brush against the hard cement. She takes the last sticky note with the ‘one’ written on it and sticks it to the headstone. “You will always be the one thing I remember most.”
Sonya’s Villains
Romance with a Lethal Twist
A little bit bad is a good thing!
Stay tuned for the next instalment of Dr. Nolan Mills.
HAWK, The KNIGHT Killer
@Westbrook University, Knights Series
“Deliciously devious stalker. Manipulative master-mind.”
Book 1: Don’t Dare Love
Book 2: Don’t Dare Fall
Book 3: Don’t Dare Touch
Book 4: Don’t Dare Live
New Adult Romantic Thriller, Complete Bestselling Series.
BREAKER, The Monster Tamer
@Beneventi Mafia
“The epitome of a psychological thriller. A villain with the capacity to make you feel.”
Book 1: Brutal & Raw
Book 2: Blood & Bone (coming 2021)
Adult, Psychological Thriller interwoven with a hint of Mafia Romance
Beneventi Mafia Associates
All Stand Alone.
Thirty-One Kisses
Meet Kelsie, The Female Hitman.
Six Deadly Steps
Meet Isabella, The Mafia Doll.
Identity Unknown, The Grimm Keeper.
“A weirdo, obsessed with Fairytales.”
First appearance: Imperfect Princess
Sonya Jesus’s emotional, contemporary romance about an imperfect girl and her scars will chill you in this modern version of "The Snow Queen."
Second appearance: SHOOK
Sonya Jesus's twisted new adult, Cinderella retelling brings to life a fairytale killer obsessed with a True Crime Blogger and her Internet famous crush in this celebrity thriller romance.
About the Author
Sonya’s a nerd—a cool nerd—who loves science, books, make-up and unicorns. She even has unicorn slippers and unicorn plushes adorn her office. It’s not an obsession (or so she says), it’s simply an ode to her imaginative side. Storytelling has been her passion since her youth, but her family believes it's more than that.
Though she's fun-loving, complex-minded, and heart-driven, her philosophy on life is quite simple: Shit happens. Keep going.
When asked to elaborate, she said, "Believing in yourself is probably one of the hardest things to do, but look in the mirror. You're still standing. That's strength. Don't underestimate yourself."
Sonya also believes in fairytales and in the beautiful things a mind can conjure. She’s a firm believer in empowering the crazy fictional ideas, putting them down on paper, and letting them flourish into a story.
