The Pledge

by Laura Ward

  The worst part was that I missed my sister, and it was so fucking unfair that I had to live a life without her.

  ***

  “Time to get up, Alexis.” My mother’s order was quickly followed by a blinding brightness as she threw open the curtains in my bedroom.

  “Mom!” The sunlight pierced through my eyelids and I cringed, hiding my face under the blanket. “I’m sleeping,” I groaned.

  Her footsteps echoed across my floor and then my comforter was torn away. “You’ve spent the first few weeks of summer in bed. You’ve got to get out sometime.” Her voice softened and my closed eyes stung with unshed tears. “Your father and I want you to try and enjoy what’s left of your break.”

  I rolled over and wrapped my head in the pillow. Yeah right. Enjoy my summer. As if that was even possible. The only thing I enjoyed was losing myself in movies and books. That’s the only time I could stop thinking long enough to find peace.

  “Today is your first day of driving school. You don’t want to be late.” Her voice wavered just enough that I peeled the pillow away from my face to brave the light streaming in through my windows.

  My eyes narrowed sleepily as I stared at her. I tried to swallow but my throat felt like it was clamped shut. Driving school? Was this some kind of sick joke? “What?”

  “Come on. You’ve been looking forward to this.” She met my eyes with her patented calmness, but the way she clutched my comforter in her fist betrayed her. She held onto it like it was a lifeline to keep her from drowning.

  “Mom.” I shook my head. “That was before...I don’t...I don’t want to learn how to drive. Not after...”

  She sat down on the edge of my bed. Her hand lifted as if to comfort me and then she cleared her throat and her hand fell to the mattress. “We’re all devastated by what happened, Alexis, but you can’t keep avoiding life. Sam wouldn’t want that.”

  Avoiding life? I wasn’t avoiding life. I wanted life. Sam was life and more than anything, I wanted her back. She pushed boundaries and lived on the edge. She was passionate and brave. She was charismatic and adventurous. The limelight craved Sam. Without her, everything just felt...less. Pointless. Lifeless. Colorless.

  “I don’t want to.” I rolled over, facing the wall. If there was one thing I knew, it was that mom wouldn’t force me to go to driving school. No way. Not after...

  “Alexis Marie White!” The pillow was snatched away from me and my head crashed into the mattress. “Do not turn your back on me. I know you’re hurting and so am I, but I’m still your mother. I know what’s best for you.” I felt the mattress rise as my mom stood up. “So you’re going to get out of this bed. You’re going to get dressed. And you’re going to driving school.” The door clicked closed behind her.

  Damn. She took my pillow.

  ***

  I walked into the small, dark classroom of EZ Driving School and searched for an empty desk. I spotted one in the back row and went to claim it before I was forced to talk to someone. The desk had just enough room for a notebook and pen, and the top was covered in so much graffiti the wood was barely visible. I dropped into the seat and looked down at the scarred surface.

  Right in the middle, someone had written, “Speed is a tempestuous lover.” Next to that, the words “Jesus Rocks” were carved near fancy script that said, “No Regerts.” I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore the urge to fix the mistake. At least it wasn’t a tattoo. That would have been truly regrettable.

  My eyes roamed the rest of the artwork, which was mostly just a series of names and pointless phrases. I finally noticed that on the edge, someone had scribbled a crude drawing of a dick. Nice. At least it was anatomically correct. I shook my head and covered it with my notebook. Out of sight, out of mind.

  I took a deep breath and ventured a look around the classroom. Everything was dingy and the air reeked of stale cigarettes and mildew.

  If my mom thought this form of hell was better than my usual method of coping, she was sadly mistaken. I don’t know why she felt the need to drop me off at the curb of this god forsaken building. She left me with nothing but a happy wave and a wish to have a good time. Seriously? If she wanted me to heal and move on with my life, this was the last place I should be. I wasn’t capable of being normal or happy right now. Especially not if a car was involved.

  I crossed my legs under my desk and opened my notebook, my hand shaking as I tried to forget where I was and why it bothered me so much.

  “This seat taken?” A gravelly voice pulled me out of my dark thoughts and I looked up to see…trouble. There was no other way to describe him. He was dressed all in black. Black tight t-shirt, black jeans, black belt, and black boots. Even the leather-studded cuff on his wrist was black. He wore his light brown hair in a messy, spiked jumble on his head. I couldn’t tell if he worked to make it look that good or if he just rolled out of bed and left his house without looking in the mirror.

  He stared at me and I finally managed to say, “No.” I watched as he folded his lean, tall body into the seat next to me.

  “Name’s Liam.” He acknowledged me with a gruff nod of his head and I smiled politely in return.

  There were plenty of guys like Liam at my school. They were usually off sneaking a smoke, cutting class, or causing general mayhem. I didn’t associate with them.

  “Don’t have a name?” His head was tilted toward me and he stared with an intensity that made me feel as if he could read all of my deepest, darkest secrets. His green eyes flashed with mischief and I felt a twinge of guilt for not answering him.

  “Sorry. I’m Alexis,” I said quickly. Why did I feel like I was out of breath? “I wasn’t trying to be rude.”

  He nodded and bounced his leg restlessly underneath his seat. “Didn’t think you were.” His gaze travelled from my face and down my body in a quick scan. “You look a little old for this class.”

  “Yeah, I’m eighteen. Just getting around to it.” I watched my finger as it traced the metal spine of my notebook before I looked up at Liam again. “You look a little old yourself.”

  “I’m eighteen too. I already have my license, but I got myself into a little traffic situation.” He grinned and ran his hand through his hair, which only made it look more wild. “Asshat lawyer convinced the dipshit judge that repeating this lame class would put me on the straight and narrow.” He gave me an arrogant wink and sat back in his seat, stretching his legs in front of him. “Too bad for them I don’t do straight and narrow.”

  I blinked a few times, staring at his cavalier expression. Wow. He was trouble with a capital “T.” My mom would choke on her pearls if she knew I was talking to someone with a criminal record.

  Good thing I had no intention of telling her.

  “All right people. Quiet down now.” A balding man wearing a short-sleeved button-down shirt and a tie entered the room. Conversations died out as students settled into their seats. “Good morning, I’m Mr. Weinberg and I’ll be your driver’s education teacher. Let’s get started.”

  I turned in my seat to face forward, preparing to take notes. Beside me, Liam chuckled and when I looked at him, I noticed he was staring at me with a smirk on his face. His hands were resting lazily on his desk and he didn’t have anything with him to take notes. “You’re taking this seriously, aren’t you?” His eyes were practically laughing at me as ne nodded toward my pen and notebook.

  My mouth opened to argue with him, but there was no point. Guilty as charged...I took everything seriously. I turned toward the instructor again and took down a few notes as Mr. Weinberg spoke.

  “Hey, Lex?” The words were a husky whisper and against my will, I turned toward Liam again. I wanted to tell him that no one ever called me Lex, but then he licked his lips and I almost stopped breathing. I decided then and there he could call me whatever the hell he wanted to as long as it came from that mouth.

  “Yes?” I managed to say.

  “You ever driven a car before?”

  I swall
owed and shook my head.

  “If you want to learn to drive stick, I’m the guy for the job.” His gaze dropped to my desktop. When I saw where he was looking, I blushed ten thousand shades of red. Christ on a cracker. The dick drawing was peeking out from under my arm and he was staring at it.

  Liam started chuckling and I slid my notebook over to hide the drawing. He wasn’t just trouble, he was temptation personified.

  What really scared me was how much I liked it.

  I turned my eyes toward the front of the room, my lips pressed together as I held back a smile. I desperately tried to ignore the guy in black who strangely made things feel a little less dark.

  The rest of the class passed by as I took notes and avoided looking at Liam. We dismissed two hours later and I quickly grabbed my things, knowing my mom would be expecting me to come out on time. I walked out of the building, searching the parking lot for her car.

  “Need a ride?” Liam stood next to me, lighting up a cigarette and inhaling deeply.

  “No, thanks.” I hugged my notebook to my chest and peered sideways at him. Smoking usually disgusted me, but Liam looked so effortlessly cool when he lifted the cigarette to his mouth. All I could do was stare. I shook my head as I realized what he’d asked me. “Wait, you’re still allowed to drive?”

  He blew out smoke and flicked the end of the cigarette with his thumb. “I got my license suspended in June. So, technically no. But fuck that, I gotta drive. I’m only here so I can get my license back before school starts.”

  “Oh.” His parents let him drive without a license? What kind of parents would do that? Not mine. I cleared my throat. “Where are you going to school in the fall?”

  “Community College.” He ran his tongue along the front of his teeth like he was getting rid of the taste of the words in his mouth. “You?”

  “College Park.”

  “Ah, your last few weeks of freedom before you head off to the university. Sweet.” Liam grinned and then took another long drag from his cigarette.

  Mom’s minivan approached. “That’s my ride. See you tomorrow.” I smiled politely and gave him a small wave as I headed to the car.

  “I’ll save you a seat tomorrow, Lex,” Liam said as I walked away.

  My heart stuttered to hear him call me Lex. My family always called me Alexis. I was the good girl. I was predictable. I did what was expected of me. But Lex sounded like someone who knew how to have fun. Lex sounded like she tested boundaries. Lex sounded like someone Sam would have hung out with. I wouldn’t mind being a different person. I wouldn’t mind being Lex.

  When I got in my seat and buckled in, I chanced a look out the window to find Liam was staring at me with a wicked grin. My heart beat faster under his gaze and I had to look away.

  “Who were you talking to?” Mom pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward our local grocery store.

  “Uh...no one. Just a guy from class. He sat next to me.”

  She looked in the rearview mirror. “He looks like trouble.” She said the last word like it was a communicable disease.

  I smiled to myself. Liam didn’t just look like trouble, he was trouble. For once, that didn’t sound like such a bad thing, no matter how my mom said it. Liam was nothing like me, and I was drawn to his darkness and inappropriate charm. My life had been nothing but endless rules that I followed without question. Maybe my mom was right. Maybe I did need to try and enjoy my summer.

  Maybe a little trouble was exactly what I needed.

  AUTHOR LINKS

  Other Titles by Laura Ward:

  Not Yet

  Past Heaven

  Other Titles by Christine Manzari:

  Deviation (Sophisticates #1)

  Conviction (Sophisticates #2)

  Hooked

  Keep up to date with Laura Ward via:

  Website: www.laurawardauthor.com/

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/LauraWardAuthor

  Twitter: twitter.com/laurarosnerward

  Amazon: www.amazon.com/Laura-Ward/e/B00M8HIOSS

  Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/8328712.Laura_Ward

  Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/93O3T

  Email: laurawardauthor@yahoo.com

  Keep up to date with Christine Manzari via:

  Website: www.christinemanzari.com

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChristineManzari

  Twitter: twitter.com/Xenatine

  Amazon: www.amazon.com/Christine-Manzari/e/B00EIHIXBE

  Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/7218946.Christine_Manzari

  Email: christine@christinemanzari.com

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading The Pledge. If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review. Reviews are incredibly important to indie authors.

  Thank you!

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  We have to start off by thanking Bekky Levesque for introducing us. When she realized she had two friends who were writing manuscripts, she made the introduction and the rest is history. Thank you Bekky! Without you, THE PLEDGE would never have been born.

  Joe and Johnny (our real life book boyfriends), thank you for understanding when we choose to write instead of snuggling on the couch. You’ve had to listen to us talk about our characters as if they were real, and we are lucky to have your unwavering patience and support. We love you!

  To our children, thank you for sharing our love of books and reading. We hope one day you’re able to follow your dreams and spend every day of your lives doing the things you love.

  Thank you to our parents! You have dealt with our reading and writing obsessions since we were small children. You bought our books, pens, papers, and eventually computers. Your support and encouragement gave us the courage to follow our dreams.

  To our wonderful beta readers: Amanda Rounsaville, Amber Huber, Bekky Levesque, Dani Fisher, Gail Laughlin, Jen Brandenburg, Kelly Erdman, Laurie Marin, Lisa Graham, Pam Hoehler, Pat Rosner, Rich Sanidad, Tamara Debbaut, Tara Paraska, and Teri Chason—how can we possibly show our gratitude? Thank you for reading the first few drafts and giving us such valuable feedback.

  We had an incredible team supporting us along the way. Thank you to Ana Zaun for editing this book and always pushing us to improve our story line. Alexis Durbin, thank you for proofreading. Your attention to detail is awesome. Thanks to Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations for the gorgeous book cover and to our photographer, Vania Stoyanova, for bringing our vision for the cover to life. We would also like to thank our models Jordan Verroi and Fawn Coba. Tamara Debbaut is the creative genius behind our marketing artwork and we appreciate her help more than we can say. Finally, we would like to thank Wordsmith Publicity for planning our cover reveal and book tour.

  While we are at it, there are a few bloggers who have been instrumental in sharing our books. Thanks to Candy from Prisoners of Print, Erin from Southern Belle, Jennifer and Theresa from Sassy Divas, Tash from Book Lit Love, Kim from KimberlyFaye Reads, Betsy from Book Nerd Betsy, Liza from I Dare You to Read, and Ethan from One Guy’s Guide to Good Reads. A special thanks to Ethan for the laughs and tears as he has reviewed our books!

  Laura would like to give a special shout out to Tamara Debbaut for holding her hand through this indie writing experience for the last year. Tamara gives so much of her time supporting, sharing ideas, creating websites and newsletters, and helping with any and every technology question that has ever existed. Thank you for your talent and friendship!

  Christine, thank you for taking a chance on this writing partnership with me. Since we began, a day hasn’t gone by without our emails or texts! Your hard work, beautiful writing, and dedication to books are an inspiration to me. I can’t wait to try out the ropes course together!

  Laura, thanks for being the sweet to my sassy, the extrovert to my introvert, and the early bird to my night owl. Opposites attract and I’m so lucky to have gotten to share this journey of writing and self-publishing with you. I can’t tell you how much I love learning from
you and writing with you as we tackle the book world!

  Finally, to anyone reading this right now—you have made our dreams come true. We are writers thanks to you!

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  LAURA WARD & CHRISTINE MANZARI

  Laura Ward is the co-author of The Pledge, as well as the author of Past Heaven and Not Yet. She lives in Maryland with her loud and very loving three children and husband. Laura married her college sweetheart and is endlessly grateful for the support he has given her through all their years together, and especially toward her goal of writing books. When not picking up toy trucks, driving to lacrosse practice, or checking spelling homework, Laura is writing or reading romance novels.

  The first thing Christine Manzari does when she's getting ready to read a book is to crack the spine in at least five places. She wholeheartedly believes there is no place as comfy as the pages of a well-worn book. She's addicted to buying books, reading books, and writing books. Books, books, books. She also has a weakness for adventure, inappropriate humor, and coke (the caffeine-laden bubbly kind). Christine is from Forest Hill, Maryland where she lives with her husband, three kids, and her library of ugly spine books. Christine is the co-author of The Pledge, as well as the author of Deviation, Conviction, and Hooked.