A Hard Place to Breathe
Page 21
He kissed my cheek. “I love that you want to do that, babe. We can stop by the flower shop tomorrow after we go to the station.”
I stopped fussing over Bryn, who took offense.
“Are you going to get an order?”
“Are you?”
“If you do, then yes. We want each other to be safe, and it seems like the most logical thing to do. Let’s face it, Ezra. Fate worked its magic and brought us together despite the circumstances. We’re stuck with each other, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We should cherish that and protect ourselves that way we never have to lose anyone else. Not people who truly matter.”
His lips tipped up and his eyes softened. “I love you, Ashley. So much.”
He leaned his forehead against mine.
“I love you too,” I said, brushing my palm against his scruffy cheek. “I never thought I’d ever say that, but it feels good. It feels…right.”
He kissed me. “That’s because it’s meant to be.”
Bryn meowed loudly to let us know she was still there waiting for us to bathe her in affection.
We both laughed.
I said, “And we love you too, Bryn.”
She meowed again and jumped off the counter abruptly. I looked at Ezra and watched as our cat twitched her tail and looked at us like she was waiting for us to follow her.
I shrugged and followed into our bedroom.
Bryn batted at a piece of paper that was resting face down in the middle of the floor. The edges that were still visible looked worn and bent. I bent down and picked it up.
My eyes widened.
It was a picture of my sister and me laughing at the last fair we went to. She still had pie filling smeared across her face from the eating contest she won, but her smile was bright as she held up her trophy to show me. We were so happy then.
I lost this picture a long time ago.
I looked at my cat. “How…?”
She twitched her tail at me and meowed, rubbing against my leg. I picked her up and looked in her hazel eyes, and I swear I saw my sister looking back at me.
And that’s when I knew that Bryn was happy for me, and she always would be.
Author’s Note
I wrote Ashley’s story in about three weeks, during winter break of my junior year. It is by far the quickest I have ever written the first draft of any book, and I didn’t expect this story to be as emotional as it was. In fact, Ashley and Ezra completely took over as soon as I started writing. I had no intention of this being a sad book, much less an emotional one. But nonetheless, I teared up in a lot of different spots as I was writing.
I caught the feels.
One thing I love about writing is that you can make a story as personal or impersonal as you want. You can choose to make a connection with a character, or become somebody you’ve never been before. The latter is what I did for Ashley’s story. There are bits and pieces of Ashley’s life that I added in from my own, such as her having a chocolate lab named Buddy growing up, or her parent’s careers, but the biggest part of what makes her who she is I couldn’t personally connect to. The only real similarity between us is our sarcasm.
One thing that I found addicting when writing Ashley’s story is how she took over. I had plans for this book to go a completely different direction as I mentioned above, but she decided that my plans weren’t going to cut it. That’s something that I love about being an author, because that pull that our characters have toward their stories is nearly impossible to ignore. If I had it my way, Ashley would have been an only child whose biggest struggle was trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. (Something we also have in common.) However, Ashley knew that there had to be a larger picture that made her character act the way she did, and I respect the hell out of this story for every struggle and hardship that the characters went through to get to the place they needed to be.
Ezra was just supposed to be a love interest that made Ashley realize her aspirations, but as soon as the idea popped into my head to have him connected in the demons that haunted Ashley, it all tied together. I think creating two people who share such similar situations can either make or break the story, because they’re either going to love each other or hate each other. In the end though Sarah, another character who I had no intention of writing about, got it right. Ashley and Ezra need each other because they are the only two people who are going to understand just how the past can damage the future. They were always meant to get through what they went through together, even if there’s going to be bumps in the road. And there will be plenty of those, because that’s just reality.
If I had to relate to one character in this book, it is hands down Tara. In fact, I practically am Tara. I have always been obnoxiously organized because I need to feel like I’m in control of my future. I’m the type of girl who has to-do lists for her to-do lists. (Sometimes I even write “wake up” on my to-do list to feel accomplished if I’m too lazy to check off anything else on the list. No lie.) Even in high school, I liked getting ahead of work, and in college that need to make sure everything was perfect intensified. I am obsessed with doing well, getting good grades, and keeping to myself.
Tara’s story is going to be the next book in this standalone series. I’m not sure exactly when it’ll be out, because when I identify with a character strongly, I tend to have problems writing their story. However, I do have some ideas that’ll really make her story come alive. We’ll see how much she changes it when I start writing.
Regardless, her story is coming.
I also have plans to extend the series in points of view of Aaron and Katie, as well as Josh, who we met in A Safe Place to Fall. I am thinking their stories will be novellas. I also have plans to introduce Sarah’s story in the distant future as well. We’ll see where that goes, because I have so many voices in my head that want their stories written, that I’m borderline insane. Between college, working for the newspaper, and taking care of myself, I don’t have too much time to write everybody’s story.
But no worries, because there is more to come! This standalone series is by far my favorite one that I’ve written, and I want as many books I can get out of it. So we’ll see which character speaks up next.
Acknowledgments
I find writing the acknowledgments is much harder than writing the book itself. So I’ll try making this short and sweet.
Thank you to Micalea Smeltzer, who has become not only my mentor in the publishing world, but an amazingly supportive friend. Seriously, I was so lost when I tried making it out on my own. You saved me from giving up something that I love doing. I might go mad if I don’t write.
To Emily Wittig, who designed the amazing cover, thank you so much! I love how this series is designed, and I can’t wait to work with you on more covers! Your support and friendship is incredibly valuable to me. We’re going to have to meet up and have a M*A*S*H marathon sometime.
To the BB eBooks company for doing my interior design in such a short time, thank you! I love working with new people, especially when they’re so quick and have great results. The interiors look amazing!
To my mom, who reads my books, I hope the mother-daughter bond in this book made up for the last one I wrote about. Thanks for buying my books, for reading them, for reviewing them, and for being awesome. It’d be a shame if not even my mother liked my novels.
I totally dedicated this novel to my cat Oliver, because I am the crazy cat lady in training. I’m a future Mrs. Meyer if you will. Ollie is always by my side (sometimes sitting on my face or laptop) while I’m writing, so it only seems fitting that my partner in crime gets a dedication. You wait, one of these days I’ll be having his name down on the cover as a co-writer.
Thank you to my BETA readers who read this book. I know some of you were tearing up as you read it just like me, and I love how emotional this story is. I know it isn’t how I mentioned it would be, but when my characters took over I just let them lead. I am so glad I did, beca
use this story is my current favorite.
To everyone who shared my first book re-release A Safe Place to Fall, to those who read it, reviewed it, I cannot thank you enough! It’s because of the love and support I get in the writing world that I’m able to keep doing what I do! Without readers who are interested in my books, I’d never be able to produce more and share my characters with the world.
Before I make this acknowledgement page never-ending, I’m going to stop. Just know that I appreciate all the support from everyone I encounter. It means the world to me in every way possible.
Until next time,
Barbara
About the Author
Barbara C. Doyle grew up in a small town in Upstate New York, surrounded by a passion for writing, pizza, and cats.
Her journey started at the young age of fourteen, and grew as she pursued a degree in English and Journalism throughout college. She believes that the written word is best used as a mode to escape into a different reality, thus the birth of her novels.
Her other passions include binge-watching Netflix, reading, and hanging out with her cat.