by Kristy Marie
Saving
Micah
Kristy Marie
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One – Micah
Chapter Two – Zant
Chapter Three – Micah
Chapter Four – Zant
Chapter Five – Micah
Chapter Six – Zant
Chapter Seven – Micah
Chapter Eight – Zant
Chapter Nine – Micah
Chapter Ten – Zant
Chapter Eleven – Micah
Chapter Twelve – Zant
Chapter Thirteen – Micah
Chapter Fourteen – Zant
Chapter Fifteen – Zant
Chapter Sixteen – Micah
Chapter Seventeen – Micah
Chapter Eighteen – Zant
Chapter Nineteen – Micah
Chapter Twenty – Zant
Chapter Twenty-One – Micah
Chapter Twenty-Two – Zant
Chapter Twenty-Three – Micah
Chapter Twenty-Four – Zant
Chapter Twenty-Five – Micah
Epilogue
Note from the Author
Acknowledgements
SAVING MICAH
Copyright 2017 by Kristy Marie.
Cover Designer: Cassy Roop @ Pink Ink Designs
Photographer: Cassy Roop
Model: Nathan D. Weller
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
This is the work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to locations, events, or actual persons are entirely coincidental.
Dedication
Peggy Fairburn – you are gone but never forgotten. Thank you for passing your love for reading on to me. Without you, I would not be here. I miss you. I love you.
Unwritten
Natasha Bedingfield
I am unwritten, can’t read my mind, I’m undefined
I’m just beginning, the pen’s in my hand, ending unplanned
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten…
Prologue
Micah
“Mama, guess who wants to marry me.” I’m sitting at the bar, talking to my mama. My seven-year-old excitement goes unnoticed while she is busy fixing my daddy a cake.
She will never guess. She never guesses. I love talking to my mama. She is my best friend.
“Who, Micah? Who wants to marry you?” Mama says. She didn’t guess. She knew she would get it wrong.
“Zant.” I squeal in my high pitched, girly voice. She just looks at me in that way that she looks at me when she is about to give me a good talking to.
She then starts that good talk. “Micah, you and Zant can’t get married right now. You know that, right?” She doesn’t let me answer and continues on, “You are both too young to even be thinking about marriage. Y’all are friends and it will stay that way for a very long time if you both fight for it. Don’t worry about marriage right now.”
“Mama, I know that we are young. We are 7. Geez! I can’t leave you and daddy all alone.”
I jump down from the barstool and run outside to the backyard. I look to the fence that runs along my backyard and separates us from Zant’s backyard. I run over and look through the hole to see if he is outside like I am.
I see Mr. Roy, Zant’s dad, instead. His back is to me and he is just standing there. Right when I am about to pull away from the hole, he turns and I notice that he is zipping his pants. The last thing I see is an ugly smile on his face when I turn around and run inside to mama.
Zant
“Zant Michael! Come help me down from here right this second” Micah screams at me. She climbed a tree on a dare that she couldn’t do it and now she can’t get down.
What seven-year-old girl wants to climb a tree?
Micah Faith Carson, that’s who.
“Hold on, Micah, I’m coming. I told you not to climb this tree.”
“I wouldn’t have climbed it, you idiot, if you hadn’t dared me to” she says with all the sass that she can muster. I know that she is not scared of heights, but I also know that this tree can be a little scary to climb out of. I climb up to the first limb so I can reach her hand and I slowly tell her where to step to get her down. Right as she has her last step to go, she slips and we both fall to the ground. She is on top of me as I lay on my back on the ground. Thank goodness, it wasn’t a long fall. We didn’t hurt ourselves. Her parents would have been really mad at me.
“Ugh. Why do I ever listen to you” she says as she rolls off me.
I laugh and tell her “I don’t know. You know that I am always trying to get you to do stupid stuff. It’s fun and I like to see how far you will go.”
“Yeah, I will remember to never listen to you again when you dare me to do something stupid.” I just laugh some more at her and tell her what she wants to hear just so she won’t be mad at me anymore. “Okay. You do that.” I know that she will do whatever I dare her to do though. She is my best friend and we always want to make each other happy. Even when we are daring each other to do stupid stuff.
“Micah,” I say as we lie on our backs and look up at the tree.
“What, Zant?”
“Let’s be best friends forever, ok?”
“Forever, Zant.”
Chapter 1
Micah
I’m worse at what I do best
And for this gift, I feel blessed
Our little group has always been
And always will until the end
{‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ -Nirvana}
I wake up to a loud banging outside my window. What is that noise and what time is it? I roll to my right to get out of bed and all of a sudden, my feet are tangled in my sheets and I’m getting close to the floor really fast.
“Oomph.” Ugh. This is no way to start off my Spring Break. I lay on my back and look up to my white ceiling with my glow in the dark stars that my parents let me put up when I was 6. Time flies.
My Sophomore year of high school will be over in less than three months. Then I will have two years left in this little small town in South Mississippi. I think I am a bit above excited. As much as I love my hometown, I am ready to see the world open up for me. I know there is more out there and I can’t wait to discover it.
I get up from the floor and make my way to the kitchen. We live in a simple one story house. Three bedroom, two bath, brick home. My parents expected to have two children. After I was born, Mama had some issues that prevented her from ever carrying another baby to term. Mama has told me that it was heartbreaking at the time but, she is blessed to have me. My parents are my world. They don’t spoil me, I don’t think, but they sure do love me.
Mama is in the kitchen fixing breakfast and dancing along to ‘Hands to Heaven’ by Breathe. I never see her not cooking something or moving to some sort of music. She is the epitome of ‘dancing to your own beat’.
>
“Mama, what in the world is that noise outside this morning?” She glances back at me while she continues to scramble her eggs.
“I think it is Roy doing something over at their house. I’m sorry it woke you up sweetie.” My mama, Lucy Carson. She is the sweetest woman I know.
“Ugh. Doesn’t he know that kids are home right now. It’s Saturday for crying out loud. Doesn’t he sleep late or something? I’m sure Zant isn’t happy either.”
Zant Michael Taylor.
The boy next door.
My best friend.
My crush since, I don’t know… forever.
The Taylor’s have lived next door to us since Zant and I were 4. When we turned 6, Mrs. Suzie passed away from cancer. It was a horrible time and ever since Zant lost his mama, his dad has been a totally different man. He’s mean, he drinks a lot, and he hits Zant. Even though I’m not supposed to know all of that, I do. Zant is always trying to protect me.
Silly boy, he should know I can take care of myself.
I walk into the living room and see Daddy sitting on the couch with the paper. “What are you doing today, Daddy?”
“I don’t know Mi.”
I’ve been called ‘Mi’ since I was around 7. Zant gave it to me as a ‘friend name’ but everyone else seemed to catch on to it and it stuck.
“I need to go mow the yard and clean up a little outside. What are you going to do on your first official day of Spring Break?” He is looking at me over his paper with a smirk on his face.
“Kelly, Macy, and I are going to the mall around lunch to look for bathing suits. Is that ok?” Daddy never minds me going and doing things. I’m his princess and he lets me get away with things, but I still like to run things by him before I do them. I think they call it respect. All I know is that my mama would have my hide if I didn’t ask and just went. I’m scared of that woman’s wrath.
“Of course, it’s ok. Who is taking y’all?”
“Macy’s mama said she would drop us off and come back to pick us up when we get done. I think the guys are meeting us there too.” I tell Daddy about the boys coming because I know it settles his mind a little when the guys are with us and we aren’t out and about on our own. He’s overprotective and I’m the only child.
“That works for me. Zant, Levi, and Chance will watch out for you three.” He winks at me before he goes back to reading his paper. I head up to my room to get ready. The girls will be by to get me soon enough anyway.
Once I get out of the shower and put some skinny jeans and a t-shirt on, an hour had passed. I crawl onto my bed to read a chapter of this new book I downloaded on my Kindle last night. I have time. It only takes me about ten minutes to do my hair and makeup. That’s the beauty of not wearing a lot of makeup and wearing my hair in a ponytail most of the time.
I hear laughter a little while later and know that the girls are here. They are in the kitchen with Mama. She must be telling them what kind of swim suits they cannot buy or wear in public this summer. She gives this little speech about modesty every year. Like we don’t know her rules by heart.
When I get into the kitchen, the girls are stuffing their faces with muffins. “Are y’all ready to go?” I ask them. They both nod at me with their mouths full. I roll my eyes.
“Thanks, Mrs. Lucy.” The girls say in unison as we head out the door to get into the car with Macy’s mom.
We arrive at the mall a little bit later. That is the joy of living in a small town. Everything is close by. “Thanks for the ride, Mom.” Macy says to her mama. “Y’all call me when you’re ready for me to come back and pick you up. Stay with the guys and don’t talk to strangers.” Macy’s mama says. We all three giggle and get out of the car.
“When are the guys getting here anyway?” Kelly says to no one in particular.
“I’m not sure. I haven’t talked to any of them. They are supposed to meet us at the fountain in the middle of the mall. Let’s head that way first to see if they are there.” I tell them as we start to head that way.
“There you guys are.” I hear them before I see them. Levi, I know it’s him by his smell, grabs me from behind and I let out a little squeak. “Levi, stop. You scared the crap out of me. You know how I hate for you to do that.” I say even though I don’t know why because he never listens to me. I turn around in his arms and give him a hug. Levi is the best hugger that I know.
All six of us have been friends since Kindergarten. We know each other like we are brothers and sisters. Oddly enough, none of us have dated each other. The guys date older girls and us girls aren’t that into dating just yet. The down side to living in a small town, there aren’t many guys to choose from. Everyone around us, we’ve known since before we were even in school and have no desire to have as boyfriends. Yet.
Chance hits Levi on the back. “Don’t take all of the hugs man. It’s my turn. I haven’t seen Mi in days.” He gives me his sweet smile with his exaggeration. He saw me yesterday at school. I giggle at him.
“What are we, chop liver?” Kelly says with a laugh as she moves in to hug Levi and I move over to Chance.
“Never Kel. Never.” Levi says with a snort as he hugs her. We all make the rounds like we didn’t just see each other. We made these exact plans yesterday. I hug Zant last and like always, our hug last a little longer than all the rest. I grab on to the hair at the base of his neck. For some reason, that is my most favorite feel in the world.
“Ok you guys, what is the plan? We don’t particularly want to go look at swim suits with you girls for hours.” Levi says. He is the most outspoken of the guys in our group. Chance is the quietest of them all and Zant is somewhere in the middle. He talks to me more than he does anyone else. I think it is because we are the most comfortable with each other. We spend more time alone together than we do with any of the others.
I laugh at the look on Levi’s face. “You guys are not going with us to watch us try on suits anyway. Don’t even think that, big boy.” I say as I poke him in the chest. He laughs. “You guys go get what y’all need and we will go get started finding the perfect summer attire. We will all meet back here in what, an hour?” I ask as I look at the girls. Kelly is nodding. It never takes us long to shop. We look at Macy at the same time.
“What? Why are y’all looking at me? I won’t take longer than an hour. I think I already know what I’m getting.” Macy says with a stern look on her face. We giggle and start to head to the department store.
“One hour girls.” Zant says. “Don’t make us come looking for y’all. You know Levi will embarrass you if we have to find y’all.” He says this as he pushes Levi backwards toward the opposite end of the mall. We pick up the pace because he is right about that.
“Oh, I love that one Mace.” I tell Macy when she steps out in an orange one piece that is cut out on the sides. Orange is her color with her naturally dark skin and dark brown hair. I always have tan envy when I’m with her. My hair has gotten darker the older I get but it is nowhere near as beautiful and dark as Macy’s. And the color white is based on my skin color. I’m exaggerating, but I have to work for a tan every year. She just keeps a natural one all year long. Some things in life are totally unfair.
Macy fidgets with the suit a little to make it fit just right. She looks in the full-length mirror. “Yeah, I like this one the best. I picked it out of the magazine last week. It basically called my name.”
I turn to look at Kelly. She is walking out of the dressing room in a yellow one piece that has a skirt over it. It’s cute, but I don’t think the color is right for her. What do I do here? Say something or not?
“No. Kelly, that makes you look like big bird.” I gasp and look up to see Chance, and the look on his face would be comical if I weren’t so shocked that he spoke up. Against something, at that.
Kelly starts laughing. “Thanks Chance. I was wondering if these two were going to be honest and say something.” She eyeballs Macy and me.
Busted.
“What a
re you doing here? Where are the other two? Please tell me they are somewhere else. It hasn’t even been an hour.” I say this as I look over his shoulder and around the store. I don’t see them and let out a sigh of relief.
“They are at the game store. I wasn’t feeling it so I came to make sure y’all didn’t need any help from a guy.” He says as he winks at me. I know why he is really here, but my lips are glued shut.
I giggle and push Kelly back into the dressing room. “Here you go, big bird. This isn’t working for you.”
I pick out a pretty blue two piece that is more of a tank top and a bikini bottom. I always wanted a blue suit so that is what I am going with this year.
Kelly chose a black two piece that is a little like mine. It has more design to it and has shorts. It’s a much better choice over the big bird suit. After making our purchases, we follow Chance to the game store to meet up with the boys. He sent a text to Zant to make sure they were still there before we walked all that way.
“Did you girls get some hot stuff?” Levi, the ever ladies’ man, ask us when we walk up.
“Shut it, Levi.” Macy tells him while she looks at the ground.
I wonder what that is about. Usually she smarts off to him and brings full fire when she does. She almost looks shy right now. I look at Kelly and she isn’t even paying attention. She’s watching some guys in another group walk by. I keep looking at Macy so she will look up. She never does.
Huh. I will figure that out later.
“Ok, you guys, what next? Where are we headed?” I say to get everyone moving and we all just start walking. We make our way to the food court and grab ice cream. Several people from school are here as well. We speak when someone speaks. We have a small mall. It’s mostly just a few of your bigger name brand department stores with a few smaller stores in between. The mall is the hang out spot in town. With all the craziness that is going on in the world, inside and outside are unsafe places. We could encounter a ‘mall shooter’ any day, but we could also encounter a shooter out in a parking lot as well. It’s not like we haven’t had a drive by or several in my life time. I’m convinced no city in the United States is free of some form of terror at some point. Something happens everywhere at one point or another. No one is exempt. That’s just life. Evil walks amongst us and no matter where you go or where you hide, it can find you just as easily as God’s goodness can.
