Broken Rules(The Chronicles Of Amber Harris)

by Elle A. Rose

He brings my left hand to his lips, I am not only mesmerized by his eyes, but also by the astounding ring on my finger. Flames shoot up my fingers and hand and I close my eyes, letting his sweet breath cool the sensation that is slowly sizzling up my arm.

  “Amber, honey, I’ll be back in a few hours. I need to get a haircut and have the final fitting for my tux.”

  Dominick kisses my hand one more time before placing it gently back on the table from where I was working. Opening my eyes, I glance up and smile at him. “Hurry back, I’m going to miss you.” He grins as he heads out the door. Sighing, I stare at my hand and what I think is the most stunning ring in the world. This ring carries so much and it is truly an honor to be wearing it.

  After the reception and the excitement of us getting engaged calmed down, Dominick explained that the three stone setting was meant to represent the past, present and future. Along with that, he told me that one of the diamonds belonged to Lance’s mother, the other was Maddie’s and the last of the three was his mother’s.

  ‘To go along with the setting, I think the past is represented by my great grandmother’s diamond. Without it, you would have never been led to me. The present is what we have now, and I think if grandma was still alive, she would want us to think of it that way. The future is something we will share, something my parents were unable to complete.’

  He then explained how the whole family was in on it. Amazingly, Christopher had the biggest part of the whole production. The day we had the disagreement about the shirts and the boys ended up hanging out was the first time, Dominick spoke of his intentions. He knew that Christopher would be his biggest hurdle, but being true to his word, Christopher was happy with the lifelong partner I had chosen and was willing to help. While I was out doing covert missions to get Lisa’s family here for the wedding, the family spent time figuring out a good occasion and place for the proposal. Once again, it was Christopher’s idea for it to be during the reception. He figured where else would you find a more loving and possibly romantic setting then that. On one of the few trips that “just the guys” were allowed to go on, they found someone to set the ring. From what Dominick has told me, the wedding bands are finished as well. He is keeping them a secret from me until the wedding.

  Dominick was worried I would read his mind, but the family assured him that I would not. They tend to bank on me giving them their privacy and knew that the proposal would surprise me. I now understand why Lisa and Christopher are only honeymooning for six months. They most likely would have stayed away longer, but Dominick wants to get married during our spring break—which is in two days. I have spoken to Lisa a few times over the phone, and she feels bad she is not here to help me plan and finalize things. I have assured her I have had over two hundred years to plan what I want. As long as she is here on my wedding day, I could cope without her for now. Besides, I have had Olivia to help and Dominick has been very hands on too. I asked him why he did not want to wait until the end of this school year and his answer was rather interesting. I still do not know what to think of it to be truthful.

  ‘I’ve had some time to think about this and it may sound strange, but I’m uncertain where life is going to take us. After high school, we will probably have to move, and this will be my one and only time going through high school with you. This is probably sounding odd, but as I grow older, our stories to the outside world will become weirder and weirder. Soon, I won’t be able to tell others that we are married, dating, or even a couple. So while I have the chance, I want everyone to know that you are my wife. Also, it would be a wonderful start to spreading the news by hearing your married named called as we walk the stage for graduation.’

  His voice was rough while he shared this. He held my stare the whole time and I saw how much it really meant to him. I thought it was genuinely sweet, strange, but sweet. I had not considered it that way, yet, as always, he was pointing out the things that I missed. I agreed, and we picked the Saturday that marks the first full day of our spring break. The timing of the wedding happens to work out well for his friends too, since he wants to have them as his groomsmen. Given the number of groomsmen he chose kind of made it hard for me, since I do not have many acquaintances. So I settled on Lisa and my friend Sarah from back in Rochester. Over the years, she and I have kept in contact, but I have not seen her since we moved from New York. She has since also moved from New York and now resides in Nevada.

  After the wedding, Dominick and I will be going away for a week on a mini-honeymoon. We decided that we have all the time in the world to travel or do whatever we want therefore a week for now will be fine. Not to say Dominick and I need the time alone. In the last few months since becoming engaged, he and I have become closer. Besides marriage, he and I are a complete couple. Thinking of the intimacy we shared on Dominick’s birthday, brings a smile to my face. If I were still human, I would be blushing and my heartbeat would be thudding loudly. Yes, he and I will be married soon. I have waited this long, but that was the point; I have waited this long for it to be right, and the weekend we shared was just that. Right.

  For his birthday, I asked him what he wanted. His response was for us to go away for the weekend.

  “Just you and me, somewhere alone would be nice.”

  Not to say with Christopher and Lisa on their honeymoon and Isaac and Olivia giving us our space, that we did have alone time, still, I understood what he was asking for. At the time, I was not positive of how the whole weekend would play out, but I knew he and I needed time together, time where there were no other ears to hear us. I, on occasion, have blocked my family from our conversations spoken out loud, and he and I have a lot of “silent” conversations. Those, after a while, take a lot out of me, so not having to worry about what the others would hear sounded like a nice idea.

  Knowing what he was requesting, I asked one thing from him in return. I wanted to take the reins on where our little getaway would be held. It seemed as if he was going to tell me no, but at the last minute, he agreed. I did not want to overdo it, so I chose somewhere close. Before making the reservation, I showed Dominick the penthouse we would be staying at in Downtown Cleveland. He approved, and I booked the room and mapped out how to get to the Downtown Renaissance where we would be staying. After talking to the front desk clerk while reserving the room, I was please to find out that at the time of the booking, the hotel would be rather quiet.

  Once I packed a few things and reminded my apprehensive parents for the ninety-fifth time that everything was going to be fine—I made sure to be well fed before locking myself away for the weekend in a room with Dominick. I was unaware of how things were going to go, but knew if this was going to be the weekend, I was prepared. That included being less tempted by his blood—and saying our goodbyes, we headed out for our first weekend getaway. To say I was nervous is a complete understatement. I believe Dominick sensed it too and after assuring me more than a few times that this was only time for him and me to spend together, I still was unable to relax.

  “Try to think of this as our home away from home. Tonight while I’m asleep, you can do whatever you do during those hours. I didn’t ask to go away with you for any reason but to spend some alone time with you. Nothing has to happen.”

  Leaning over and giving me a tender kiss on the cheek, he slowly moved his mouth to my ear. “We’ll be married soon.” That was probably the simplest statement he had ever uttered, but with the warmth of his lips on my cheek and his sweet breath in my ear, something primitive stirred in me. I knew then, that sometime during that weekend I would no longer be able to hold back. So far, I seemed to be the one holding back, and Dominick was the one doing all of the teasing.

  Checking into the hotel, we left our bags at the concierge’s desk, who promised to take them up to our room while Dominick and I did some sightseeing. After picking up a few small gifts and stopping at a bar & grill for Dominick’s dinner, we headed back to the room. Walking into the suite, Dominick seemed to be overly im
pressed by the amenities. This was not my first time in a penthouse suite, therefore I was able to focus on watching the excitement play out on his face as he explored all of the switches and gadgets. Once he examined everything, we both stood at the window and watched the sunset. The city at night was beautiful. It was spectacular to behold the nightlife come to existence with Dominick’s large arms wrapped around me. His warm sweet breath brushed across my scalp and his steady heart beat thumped in his chest, calling me closer to him. I fed the night before so not to be tempted by his blood, but with our closeness it made my mouth ache ever so lightly.

  When the sun finally set, Dominick took a deep breath and began to release me. I do not know if it was the fact that I needed to feel his warm body next to mine or the fact that I did not think before acting, but I swiftly turned to face him. Startled by my sudden movement, he did not have a chance to release me. Instead his hands became clasped again and rested on my hips and lower back. Because of our height difference, he needed to lean forward slightly. Gazing into each other’s eyes he and I stood like that for a few minutes, me not breathing and his heart beating just a little faster. On a silent command our lips met. It was a simple kiss, since we were standing next to the window. Kissing me full-fledge, would not have left our evening in a very pleasant state. As our kiss broke, I started to move my hand up to his warm lips, just to rub my thumb across it. Before my hand reached his mouth, something changed in me and I grabbed his shirt and led him away from the window. I made a beeline across the room to the king size bed. Dominick’s muscles tighten as we neared the bed.

  “Amber, I told you, I don’t expect any of this. At least not yet. I, we can wait until we’re married. Really, I’m okay with it.”

  Giving him a playful smile, I tugged his arm lightly to come closer to me and the bed. “I know that. But you also told me to tell you when I was ready and…” taking a deep breath I honestly did not know if I was truly ready, save I figured it was worth a try. My only concern was hurting Dominick, although, he seems to be a pretty strong human, I could still easily break a bone. “I think I’m ready. Let’s just take it slow and go from there.” That was all the convincing he needed. Stepping closer, we both sat on the bed. Dominick moved first, taking his hand he lifted my face towards his. The warmth of his body and his sweet breath pulled me closer and made my mouth ache even more. As he kissed me, my world as always went blank. I wish I could explain how or what it was like for him to kiss me while sitting on the bed, yet I seem to always come up short for the correct word to explain it. When I opened my eyes from the kiss, I found myself lying in the middle of the bed. Dominick, thankfully, was not squished by any of my involuntary movements and was lying next to me. Resting his long body on his elbow, his other arm relaxed across my body, holding my hand.

  “Have I told you that you’re gorgeous?” I whispered.

  I watched his tongue wet his bottom lip just before he kissed my earlobe. My slow beating heart thudded in my ears as his mouth moved to my neck. I could feel the grip on my hand tighten before he began to trail it further down my arm. While the burn from my ear and neck spread, his hand slid further down my arm to my shirt. Dominick’s fingers skimmed the bottom of my shirt before finally pulling it up. By now he had gone from kissing my neck to softly nibbling on my bottom lip. My mouth ached from the close proximity of his blood, yet my body yearned to feel his hands all over me. It craved to have his lips set my whole body on fire. I knew I would have to control my calling for blood. The nagging thud of his heart ringing in my ears would have to be ignored too. He and I had agreed after he cut himself and I finally gave into drinking his blood that it would never happen again. I was able to restrain myself from hurting him, and I did not break any bones or kill him for that matter, nonetheless, in all honesty, I did not want to stop. I have inhaled his scent and listen to his heartbeat to the point that it is completely ingrained in my mind and it at times is all I think of. As I drank from that small break in his skin, it took everything in me not to sink my teeth in deeper. So knowing that I probably would not be able to stop if given the chance to again, I did my best to tune out his rapidly increasing heartbeat.

  Feeling my shirt come up more, I shifted my body so that he could pull it off with little resistance. My top eased from my body and he tossed it over his shoulder to the floor. The thud of my shirt hitting the floor sounded like a bomb going off. Dominick was about to light the next fuse. Shifting his body, he hovered over me. Our eyes met and all the worry I felt disappeared. I elevated my head to meet his, and our foreheads touched.

  “Are you sure?” Dominick’s voice was low and rough, and it made my inside do summersaults.

  Although my breath was still coming out slowly, his had increased. I could see the blood swirling around in his cheeks and I could hear his heart thrashing loudly against the inside of his chest. I brought my hand to rest on his still covered chest, and smiled as his heart leaped under the pressure of my fingers. “Yes” slipped from my lips like water flowing in a river.

  Without another word, Dominick pulled his eyes from mine and dropped his granite grays to my midsection. As if I was fragile, his huge warm hand started to drift across my skin. Every space his hand moved from he would kiss. The skin and muscles over my stomach tighten. I believe my fists curled into balls from the sensation that my body experienced. My mind was in a haze by the time he reached for the button of my pants…

  “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

  Isaac

  “Hey, guys, I’m heading out for a little. I have a few pre-wedding things to finish up. Do you need anything while I’m out?”

  He is a pleasant boy. I am sure he is aware of the fact that we just overheard him giving his goodbyes to Amber. “No, Dominick, I need nothing. But thank you for offering.” Nodding her head in agreement, Olivia is also on a wedding track mind. She has not looked up from Lisa’s computer in hours. With a wave of his hand, Dominick turns and heads out the door. I still think it is pretty nifty that Amber is able to block his mind from others. It only worries me now because I truly wonder how he feels about this marriage. He is so, so very young still. I hope Amber and he are making the correct decision. I would hate to see her hurt again if they do finally choose not to go forth with this.

  With only a few hours left until the wedding, Olivia still has a long checklist of things to do. Right now, finding the perfect shoe apparently seems to be number one on the list. She has been browsing the internet for hours. I’ve seen what has to be every pair of shoes ever made in a cobalt blue. She is trying to decide if she wants to wear a heel with or without an open toe. I do not understand. I gaze upon my loving mate to find a frown on her face. I don’t know why such things are so difficult.

  Ah, she has finally made up her mind. Oh…never mind she just remembered that she liked a different pair a few websites prior. Shaking my head ever so lightly not to draw attention to the fact that I am listening so hard to my dearest’s thoughts, I try to concentrate on my book. I would offer to help with any last minute things, save the ladies think they have it all under control. Moreover, Lisa and Christopher will be back tomorrow, thus, Lisa can assist with anything else. Glancing back at my book, I find where I left off.

  “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

  “Amber!”

  Watching Olivia shoot straight up, I am unable to do the same. The moment the screech of Amber’s cry reaches my ears, a sharp pain slashes through my skull. My vision is seeing double.

  “Isaac, what’s wrong?”

  I am incapable of answering her. I perceive Olivia is torn between staying with me, while I attempt to hold my hands over my head, or to go see what is wrong with Amber. Whatever the matter is with our daughter, it is sending aftershocks of pain and images to my mind. Bits and pieces of imagery are passing from her mind to mine. Amber is still screaming, yet fighting hard to gain control of her mind.

  An image of a red ball seems to keep repeating. Also there are lights flas
hing. It seems as if she is outside, which is not possible. Whilst I begin to grasp what Amber is viewing, everything goes dark. Light to dark, over and over again. Pulling my hand from the back of my head, I try to signal to Olivia to go check on her. Everything is hazy. I do not understand. Amber is in the dining room. Why do I continue to see the outdoors? Acknowledging my attempt at a gesture, Olivia moves swiftly to the aid of our daughter. As she enters the room, Olivia gasps. The pain is slowly fading. My vision is clearing and the outdoor images have stopped. I pull myself to a standing position and take hold of the chair, for my head is spinning. I do not think I have felt this way since that night in the backyard of the Grayson’s. Moving slower than I would like, I make my way towards the dining room. As I near, my senses make what Olivia gasped from. The scent of vampire blood, Amber’s blood is clogging the air in the house. Entering the room, I am alarmed at the amount of blood I find. Olivia is sitting on the floor next to Amber who is curled in the fetal position holding her head. She is crying silently and there is blood running from her nose, ears, and eyes. I presuppose a side effect of whatever has happened is what is ailing me as well. I near and hear Amber not only sobbing, but she is calling for Dominick.

  Her mind block is not fully up, thus I dive into her mind. I regret what I find. She is not calling out for Dominick, she is crying for him. The images I am glimpsing were not from Amber’s mind, but from his. Something has caused a tear in the mind block she has in place for him. Coming to sit on the floor next to her, I pull Amber into an upright position. “Amber, look at me!” I give her a good shake. Her ocher eyes attempt to focus on me from under her blood stained eyelashes. “What happened?” I yell, my voice reverberating around the room. “Tell me what you see.” There is an odd popping noise. It sounds like the noise made from popping popcorn. Olivia gapes at me, concern written on her face.

  “Isaac, do you hear that? What is that noise?”

  Amber begins to rock between Olivia and me as she mumbles, “I can’t. I can’t. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

  If I did not know any better, it seems as if every time we hear a popping noise, more blood leaves Amber’s body. “If I had to guess, I would have to think it is blood vessels bursting in her brain.” Olivia’s face grows paler. Moving her hands to her lips, a whimper comes from my mate’s chest. I recognize I should be worried about Amber’s state, save she is a vampire. She will heal. “Look at me, what happened to Dominick? I need you to concentrate.” My grip tightens on her arms, and Olivia starts to reach towards us. Shaking my head, her hand stops mid movement. I need to get a grasp on this and Olivia coddling her will not help. Before I am able to say another word, Amber’s mind begins to wander. I do not deem she has full control of her thoughts. Right now, she is in Christopher’s mind. He is gazing down at a naked Lisa, and… All right, her mind is shifting. I am once again viewing the same images, yet some are different from before. They are the same because they are still blanking in and out. The images are different because they are no longer coming from what appeared to be the inside of a car, behind the driver’s side steering wheel, with what I shall assume is an airbag. No, now, it appears that the flashing images are coming from a lying down position, as if I were to be positioned on my back outside. There is a noise in the distance except it sounds muffled. As the scene blanks out again, I bring my attention back to Amber. Olivia is trying to wipe the blood from her face. Amber has removed her hands from her head, and the pain is receding.

  My hand lifts her face and I witness all the agony and pain that is still coursing through her body. Amber looks all of her two hundred and twenty eight year old self. She has blood streaked down her cheeks and chin. Her wheat colored hair is matted with blood, poking out at weird angles and she is breathing very quickly. “Look at me, Amber. What happened? Can you tell if he is all right?”

  “Isaa…”

  Her voice breaks off in to a silent whisper. She is still having trouble focusing. “You need to do this for him, not me.” Taking a deep breath, she understands I am right. Her eyes wander and her mind bounces back into what I am presuming is Dominick’s mind. The connection is much stronger now. Not only can I see and hear mostly everything that is going on, but I also feel it. My body and Amber’s body shiver at the same time from the pain through the connection. It appears that there is now an emergency crew on the scene and Dominick’s body is being moved. The jostling movement as they lift him into the ambulance is excruciating. Amber shakes again when she hears him moan from pain as they shut the doors of the ambulance. We can hear the paramedics talking in the background. They are concerned that his heart may stop again. Again? They are unsure if he will make it into surgery. Looking at my mate, I see the anxiety of wondering what is going on sketched on her face. Amber is not up to par yet and she is unable to show her mother what we are viewing.

  The pictures from Dominick’s mind flash bright and everything goes black again. Amber stiffens at my side. My sight shifts from Olivia to Amber and I find her eyes are red. I do not think it is from the blood this time, I do believe it is from anger.

  Our daughter shoots to her feet, and Olivia and I join her.

  “I have to go. I must find him.” Her voice bounces off the walls in the dining room as she bolts for the door.

  While she moves, I realize nothing is going to stop her from being by his side. “Amber, wait.” I sense she does not want to halt, but she still stops moving. “What is your plan? You can’t just show up…”

  “I can and I will. I will not leave him there alone. If anything, I will bring him back here.”

  As she speaks, she starts to formulate a plan. I am at a loss for words for what she is planning on doing. She does not care what it takes to bring him home. “I understand.” I say in a low voice. “Let me come with you, you may need me. We will need to stick to the shadows, since the sun has not fully set yet.” I turn to glance at Olivia, I find she is still confused on what is going on. Grabbing her frail hand, she quickly squeezes mine in return.

  “I’m here for whatever you two need, my love.”

  Giving her a quick smile, we turn and move swiftly after Amber--who has left us in her shadow.

  Thankfully, it is not the middle of the day, thus we are slow but not too slow. As we make our way towards the hospital, I try to fill Olivia in on what happened.

  “Oh, dear. His heart stopped? Do you think another car hit him?”

  “No, from what I could see, it seems as if he swerved. I kept seeing a red ball in his mind. He seemed to be worried about hitting it or something else. I believe he hit something to make his airbag deployed, thus I was unable to see out of the front of the car.” Amber’s scent is very strong. Olivia has picked up on it too. We slow our pace as we spot Amber standing in the clearing. Coming to stand next to her, I perceive she has finalized her plan. She turns to face us and I notice she has attempted to wipe more of the blood from her face.

  “Guys, I need the both of you, but if you don’t think you can handle this, please tell me now.”

  Olivia brings her hand up to gently rub Amber’s arm.

  “We are here for you,” my mate says with a kind voice.

  Nodding, Amber draws her attention back to the hospital.

  “The ambulance just pulled up. I need to see what condition he is in before I move him. Once he is able to be transferred, Olivia I want you to take him back to the house. Isaac I’ll need you to go with me. After we move him, I don’t want anyone here to remember they ever saw him.”

  She does not want to do this. Amber does not want to play with others minds, save she has no choice. She is refusing to lose Dominick. She has finally made that decision. My daughter is finally ready to break all of her rules. Nodding in agreement, we follow her into the hospital.

  The emergency room is slow today. However, I am starting to second guess having Olivia in here with so much blood. She is trying hard not to be drawn by the appealing smell. I do not know is s
he is going to win the battle. We may have bigger problems than trying to get Dominick out of here. Reaching out, I grab her hand.

  “I’m trying. You will know the moment I can no longer fight it.”

  Olivia’s words are not assuring. My hand holds fast to hers as we follow Amber. We make a few turns and I, too, feel my mouth start to ache. There is blood and a lot of it. It is oozing through the air. Dominick’s scent is also lingering in the air. Coming to a stop in front of a pink, green and white striped curtain, we are all sure it is Dominick behind there. There are four fast paced heartbeats rushing around, all yelling at each other. And there is one more heartbeat that is fighting to pump blood throughout its body.

  Watching the movements come from behind the curtain, I perceive there is a lot of commotion. They are trying their hardest to keep Dominick alive. Shockingly, Amber pauses. She glances over her shoulder with what looks like a ‘here goes nothing expression’ and takes a deep breath. I would say that was not the smartest move on her behalf, yet she has a one track mind. The smell of blood, the smell of her lover’s blood is not going to stop her. She jerks the curtain back, and I let go of Olivia’s hand to step a little closer at the same time as Amber. Olivia has confirmed in her mind that she can handle this, except she has decided not to enter the room.

  I am taken aback by the sight of blood everywhere. There is so much red. It is covering the body that the team is working hard on; also the team that is trying to keep him alive is covered in it, along with the floor, the equipment, and even parts of the curtain. Somehow Dominick continues to go in and out of consciousness. Moaning, he tries to move and one of the nurses attempt to hold him down.

  “Stay still, son. We need to get you stable.”

  Watching Amber out the corner of my eye, she slides along side of the working doctors and nurses. As she enters the room, she gives a little command to ignore us standing here. Once she nears, Dominick picks up on her presence.

  “Amber?”

  It is hardly audible, but my family and I hear him.

  Coming to a stop at the head of the bed, Amber leans forward and places a tender hand on his cheek. His body jerks and everyone in the room stops and holds their breath. They have no idea that we are standing here.

  “Amber, I-I ssorry. I-I.”

  Coughing up blood, Dominick is unable to speak. Amber leans in closer to Dominick’s broken body, and attempts to soothe him.

  “Shh, sweetie. It wasn’t your fault.”

  She strokes his cheek and his body shakes as he tries to speak, “Tttthe eed baall, girl.”

  Her calmness is astounding. There is blood everywhere. The whole scene is playing again in his mind. Although the picture is fuzzy, I now believe that I was correct.

  After getting his hair cut, Dominick was on his way to the tux shop when a red ball came rolling out into the street. However, it was not the ball that made him veer off the road. No, it was the child chasing it. A little girl followed the ball into the street with her mother running behind her. When he saw the child, he turned the steering wheel too sharp to avoid hitting her, and as he did so, he careened into the path of another car. To counteract that move, he spun the wheel the other way which put the front of the car into an enormous tree. I do recall seeing the same little girl and her mother sitting in the waiting room.

  Bringing her lips to Dominick’s, Amber gives him a tender kiss. His heart rate is slowing. Two of the nurses have scurried out of the room, and the other two doctors have slowed their pace. The third nurse has moved into the corner near me and appears to be wiping tears from her eyes. The soft murmurs from the two doctors reach my ears.

  “I don’t know what else we can do. His body is a mess. I’m concerned if we move him to surgery, we may lose him. I’m surprised the kid has lasted this long. The paramedics said there was nothing left to the car.”

  “I know, Rich, but,” sighing, the other doctor turns and looks at Dominick. “Did they call his family yet? Do you know if he’s an organ donor?”

  A low warning growl slips from my lips. None of this fazes Amber. She is talking softly to the boy. Not taking her eyes off of Dominick, Amber gives the doctors and nurse another command to leave the room.

  While she waits for the doctors and the nurse to exit, she kisses Dominick’s bloody lips and face again.

  “Dominick, can you hear me?”

  He opens his eyes to small slits, and his mouth begins to move. His voice is weak and rough, “I-I’mhm sssor.”

  Taking a breather, he closes his eyes and his heart skips a beat. The heart monitor makes a long beep as the line goes straight then spikes back up again. Dominick no longer has the energy or strength to open his eyes as he says, “I-I hhove wwou Aam.”

  “Shhh, sweetie. Can you open your eyes to look at me?” Pausing, she notices he is slipping away. “Dominick, you hold on, do you hear me? I’m going to make the pain go away.”

  As she speaks, very vivid pictures begin to flash in our minds. The first is of Amber in a black dress kneeling down outside in the pouring rain. Across the street hiding in the foliage are three figures. The next image is someone embracing Amber, although the view seems to be looking up, there is a very clear vision of her face. The following snippet seems to be of younger versions of Madeline Grayson, the Ruggford boys and Ryan pitching a tent in the woods. The vision jumps again to the day Dominick moved into our house. And as the pictures seem to become more blurred another snapshot plays: the day he proposed to Amber. Amber and my minds click at the same instance. Dominick’s life is flashing before all of our eyes. Before I am able to move, his heart gives one last shuddered pump. His chest slowly rises and falls one last time.

  “Dominick! No!”

  The shrill of Amber’s voice causes a ringing in my ears. She has lost her concentration and everyone that is standing near the room has just realized my family’s presence. Not caring or noticing that all eyes are on Dominick and her, Amber strikes like a cobra. I believe she may be too late.

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to ask for a round of applause for my wonderful friends and family who have helped bring this book together.

  Marie Farruggia, many thanks for your hard work and advice, we’ve come a long way! Patty Jo, Jen and of course, Mom, kudos for seeing, understanding and helping to bring my vision to life. Cheryl, and Krystina, I thank you for your feedback, interest and support in my writing.

  Last, but not least, I would like to thank my best friend, tech support, illustrator, and husband, Rick, for keeping me sane. You seem to juggle all of the above effortlessly.

  About the Author

  Elle A. Rose is the author of Last Teardrop: The Chronicles of Amber Harris, and Hideaway Hill, available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

  Rose enjoys hanging out with friends and family, shopping, reading and kicking her feet up to watch TV. She attends a monthly writing workshop at her local Barnes and Noble and takes pleasure in the many writing exercises, and critiques sessions offered.

  Elle resides in Upstate New York with her husband, Rick and their cat, Leo Ledger. She is currently working on the third book of The Chronicle of Amber Harris and a new romance.

  Make sure to read her short story, Frozen, found in the Hapless Halloween Anthology available on Kindle.

  Check her out on Facebook: Elle A. Rose or follow her on Twitter: @Elle_A_Rose, for pending book dates and other news.