I swallowed hard. Emotions surfaced inside me I couldn’t fully name. They were too jumbled. I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel in this moment. I was drowning, my mind bouncing through all the words I could possibly give for a response. A hand slipped into mine and a head leaned against my shoulder.
Emory was there, like we’d promised each other we always would be for one another, pulling me back to the surface with just her touch so I could breathe again.
“Hey, um…I hope I’m not interrupting, but Mom wants some pictures of the two of us.” She squeezed my hand. She knew. She knew exactly what I was feeling.
God, I loved her.
“Yeah, no that’s all right.” Logan nodded. “I said what I needed too.” He squeezed my shoulder.
“Thanks.” It was only one small word, but behind it there was so much more meaning. I knew Logan understood.
I walked beside Emory, heading toward the trees where her family stood. When we reached them, I pulled her into my arms. She leaned against me, posing so her mother could capture this moment, this chunk of time.
Emory and I had been the damned, but somewhere along the line, we had shed that sense of hopelessness and gained a new outlook.
Interlacing her fingers through mine, she brushed her thumb against the last form of self-mutilation I would ever put on my body—a tattoo that ran from the crook of my arm all the way to my wrist. The words I’d had etched across my skin floated through my mind: Silence is the most powerful cry.
I had gotten them as a reminder never to be silent again; not when it came to Emory and not when it came to myself. Bottling stuff up never helped anyone in the long run.
“I love you,” I whispered against her hair.
It was the first time I had said those three words out loud to her, the first time I’d said it to anyone and truly meant it with every fiber of my being.
Rising to the tips of her toes, Emory brushed her lips against mine. “I love you too.”
When I first arrived in Baycrest, I had only a sliver of hope that it would save me from the misery that clung to me from the life I had left behind on Hilton Street. Somewhere along the line though, I learned that sometimes salvation comes in the form of a new beginning, other times in the sweet smile of the girl next door, and every so often it comes in the form of both. As I gripped Emory in my arms tighter, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that had been the case for me.
AUTHOR NOTE
According to the website healthyplace.com 1 in 5 females and 1 in 7 males engage in self injury. About 50 % of those who engage in self mutilation begin around age 14 and carry on into their 20s.
If you, or someone you know, have a cutting problem, here are some resources to find help:
1-800-DON’T-CUT (a hotline with information and people to talk with on self-injury)
1-800-273-TALK (a 24-hour crisis hotline)
1-877-332-7333 (Real help for teens’ help line)
Visit healthyplace.com for more information.
* * * *
According to mirror-mirror.org, Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents. 40-60% of high school girls diet. 50% of girls between the ages of 13-15 believe they are overweight.
If you, or someone you know, have an eating disorder, here are some resources to find help:
1-800-931-2237 (National Eating Disorders association)
Visit mirror-mirror.org for more information.
THE UNLOVED
Read Julie and Nick’s story in…
Available Now!
Sometimes the love our heart needs to heal can be found in the familiar eyes of a childhood friend...
Julie Porter learned the hard way that trust is something which must be earned and not something to be given out lightly, those who say they love you are those who hold the power to hurt you most, and best friends can help you survive anything—until they move away.
Nick Owen knows a thing or two about a hard life. At a young age Nick learned how to take a hit and to make lemonade out of the lemons life tossed his way. Returning home after nearly two years of being away, all Nick cares about now is protecting his mom from the abusive hands of his father and catching up with his best friend—the girl who lived across the street, the girl he can’t seem to stop thinking about.
Finally reunited after two years apart, Nick and Julie are about to learn that age does nothing to protect you from life’s trials and tribulations, heartache and loss, but maybe together they’ll find a way to survive.
Thank you for reading The Damned, I hope you enjoyed it! Please consider leaving an honest review at your point of purchase. Reviews help me in so many ways!
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Also, feel free to reach out and tell me your thoughts about the novel. I’d love to hear from you!
Email me at: [email protected]
To see a complete up-to-date list of my novels, please take at moment to visit this page: http://jennifersnyderbooks.com/book-list/
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, thank you to my adoring little family. To my husband, for allowing me to be who I am without judgment. To my kids, who I love to the moon and back. To my mother and sister.
To Alyssa Rose Ivy and T. A. Foster for beta reading another work of mine. To my editor H. Danielle Crabtree for her impeccable editing skills. To Nicole Stephenson for proofreading for me. To Stephanie from Once Upon a Time Covers for creating something soft and sweet for the cover.
A special thank you goes out to Katrina Grassman for coming up with the name of Emory’s gymnastics studio, Ignite, for me.
Thank you to all the bloggers and readers past, present, and future, who help to spread the word about my novels. I cherish you all.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing New Adult and Young Adult Fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.
Find out more about her latest novel by visiting her website:
JenniferSnyderBooks.com
Other ways to connect with Jennifer:
Jennifersnyder04(at)gmail(dot)com
https://www.facebook.com/authorjennifersnyder
http://twitter.com/jennsnyder04
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The Damned Page 18
