Unexpected Love (Unexpected Series)

by Charlene Martin

  Unexpected

  Love

  CHARLENE M. MARTIN

  Copyright © 2012 Charlene M. Martin

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 9781301979233

  DEDICATION

  I dedicate this book to all those who believed in me and helped me along the journey. This was a long hard road and I am so glad that I took it. To my husband and daughter for their support and understanding during the time it took to make this book happen. To Dana Welch, Wendi Hulsey, Angel Steel, and Kirstie Hicks for being my support system. There are just too many of you to name, but thank you all.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Angel Steel ~ Revising/Editing

  Dana Welch ~Dramatizing

  Kirstie Hicks ~ Revising/Editing

  Sharon Courtney ~ Editing

  Wendi Hulsey ~ Editing

  Editor

  Terry Trahan @ TNT Editing

  https://www.facebook.com/TntEditingServices

  A special “Thank You” to Terry Trahan for editing my mess. I am so appreciative of your help and kindness. You really made this book come to life.

  Cover Artiest

  Dee Allen @ Cover Art

  http://www.deeallencoverart.com/

  A special “Thank You” to Dee Allen for being so kind, patient and understanding.

  Beta readers

  Amber Wren, Angel Steel, Becky Hooper, Ena Brunette, Gina Cantwell , Jessica Owens, Kathy Jones, Kirstie Hicks, Kristen Rene, Kristy Louise, Lisa Serpa, Shanora Williams, Stina Rubio.

  If I have forgotten anyone, I am sorry, but know that I love you and appreciate all your help on making this book happen.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Prologue

  I cannot take my eyes off Arissa, as she runs around the peaceful garden-catching butterflies. I cannot believe how much she has grown over the years. Her blond hair is down to her shoulders with loose curls that dangle onto her pastel pink dress. She has on little strappy white sandals that show her tiny toes. She giggles as she jumps high in an effort to catch a vibrant orange butterfly. Unfortunately, it is just out of her grasp. I watch as disappointment washes across her face as she stands there with her head bent down, shoulders slump and pouts. I chuckle and shake my head; she is too cute for her own good.

  I watch patiently and notice she is excessively caught up in her pouting to be aware that the butterfly has landed upon her head. I lock this beautiful image into my memory bank for safekeeping; I never want to forget how precious she is. I am suddenly alarmed by a warm sensation. Unsure of what it is I look over my body to see what it could be. I nervously examine my chest, arms and legs and they remain untouched by anything. What on Earth could this be? Strange things like this have been happening a lot lately and they are very alarming.

  I have never had this happen before; I wonder what is wrong with me, maybe I am becoming ill. Disregarding that, I watch Arissa as she notices a purple and yellow butterfly dancing its way towards her. She stands so still with her hands out in front of her with bright eyes just watching and waiting patiently to catch the beautiful creature. My gaze is anxiously upon her awaiting to see if she succeeds.

  Then by the grace of God, the tiny butterfly lands in her hands. She just stands there shocked by its presence. As it starts to walk around her hand, she trembles and giggles a little. She then folds the butterfly in her hands, careful not to harm it. Lifting her arms high above her head, she opens her hands letting it fly free.

  She is such a sweet, patient, and caring child. I hope life stays this way for her and she does not lose herself in life. Life has a way of taking the good parts of you and leaving bitter ones in its place. It can be a very cruel world, and I am really starting to believe that one should think hard before bringing a child into it. It seems as if Lucifer has his claws firmly dug into this world. I do not want to believe it, but I am unsure if the world will ever be safe again.

  Maybe I should explain. Once upon a time, before heaven and hell separated, this place was very peaceful. Everyone treated each other with respect and concern. Unfortunately, a rift developed between the heavenly brothers causing them to separate, thus creating heaven and hell. In addition, sadly, this left the earth open to be demonized. Lucifer sent his minions to wreak havoc on the earth. They were manipulating people to steal, inflict pain and harm onto others as well as kill anyone that did not want to choose their way of thinking; all of this just to get back at his brother.

  God responded by sending angels to earth to protect the people from Lucifer’s demons. Angels have the ability to protect one against any direct threat to life, but cannot influence freedom of choice. Any influence of free will would make them no better than Lucifer himself. For now, it seems all those on earth continue to have freedom of choice, all while living, unbeknownst, in a world full of hells demons.

  I thought that Arissa was being persuaded by evil at one time. She was six and was very angry with little Elena for tripping her on the playground. She had smacked her head into the corner of the wood frame around the play set. She stood up with tears in her eyes and cold cocked Elena right in the nose. I was a little worried by that. A long conversation took place and Arissa quickly learned that she should never hit anyone and that anger will only hurt others and her. After that, she was encouraged to treat others with love and compassion just as she has been treated.

  You know the famous saying, “Treat others how you want to be treated.” She apologized to Elena and they became inseparable best friends. I believe that she closed the door to the pulls of darkness that day. I dread the day if evil ever truly finds her again.

  Over the next few years,I continued to watch Arissa grow up with a strong sense of self. I remember when she was twelve and was playing seven minutes in heaven at her best friend Elena’s birthday party and she kissed little Jimmy from down the road. At the time, I felt what I now understand to be frustration and I had no idea how to handle the situation. I know all kids do these kinds of things, but not Arissa. She has always been more mature than other children her age. Sure, she is very capable of throwing temper tantrums just like any other, but she has always seemed more in tune with who she is and what she wants. I have always known her to be very loving towards others, treating them with respect, as it should be. I guess that little talk after she punched Elena worked. I am often proud of who she has become. I really admire her ability to encourage others to improve their self-esteem.

  I often find myself chuckling at Arissa’s great sense of humor. Like when she was fourteen, she was in her bedroom with her hair brush in her hand singing to Britney Spears “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” that was so funny, I was caught off guard by the outburst from my lungs. It scared me at first, but then I felt more alive than ever before.

  Life was changing for me and for her too. I found myself becoming strongly connected to her, as she grew older. I know now, deep in my soul, that I have this deep desire to always ensure Arissa is safe and protected. I guess that comes from being so close to her. I have noticed that she has begun to show an interest in boys and to say the least; I have found it very difficult to watch. I constantly have to stop myself from intervening, as it is not my place. However, these desires within me are starting to make that very difficult. This new person, Damon, has entered Arissa’s life; well at least that is what I understand from overhearing her conversations with E
lena. I know I probably should not listen in, but I just cannot help myself.

  Damon and Arissa have only been dating a few days as I watch them from the school parking lot. I see Damon sitting on the hood of his friend’s car and Arissa standing in between his legs. The look they are sharing has me slightly on edge. I feel my agitation growing with every minute that passes. I watch as a group of jocks walk by and whistle at Arissa. Damon is quick to show his possessiveness by pulling her into his arms and kissing her. The crushing feeling as I witness their first kiss; the huge smile plastered on Arissa’s face as she looks into his eyes; she is all doe eyed by his actions. I on the other hand, feel a surge of fire burning me up inside, all I want to do is rip off his pretty little head and feed it to the wolves for dinner. I still cannot believe that little nitwit is kissing my girl. I am going to keep a closer eye on her from now on, because I do not trust this delinquent with my girl.

  Chapter 1

  Do you ever sense that you are being watched?

  Every day, every hour and every minute someone is watching you. Someone has seen all the embarrassing ‘things’ you have ever done. How creepy is that? Well this is exactly what my life is like.

  It all started when I was a little girl. I remember spinning around in circles and watching my dress twirl around me. When I stopped, I would feel weird, uneasy, and have cold chills running all over my body. I was being watched, I did not know by whom and nor could I see anyone, but I could feel eyes on me. I would shake it off and continue spinning in circles, eventually the sensations wore off and I would forget all about it.

  As I got older, the feelings were more persistent, so I finally started to pay attention to them. Take for example; today I was standing at my locker getting my things ready to go home, when I became aware that someone was watching me. I glanced around thinking it is my boyfriend Damon. I did not see him at first, but then he appears from around the corner walking towards me. Relief washed over me and just the sight of him makes me forget about everything else.

  I remember the first day he came to my school. I was sitting in Biology when he walked through the door. I could not take my eyes off him. We seemed to lock eyes straight away. I felt an instant connection with him. Maybe it was because of his devilish good looks, but man I could not think of anything after that. The whole class just watched him. He was seated two seats ahead of me and one to the left, every now and again he would glance back at me and I would shoot him a smile.

  It was less than a few weeks later he approached me when I was talking to my friends before school. His words were all sexy and shy like when he asked, “Arissa can we talk alone for a minute?”

  I looked nervously at my friends, “I’ll see you guys after class.”

  Once they left he began, “I have noticed you staring at me a lot and I can’t help but think you are interested in me. I know that I am interested in you. Would you want to go out with me sometime?”

  I stood there for a moment not believing what I had just heard. With his seductively deep voice, he says my name making me snap out of my astonishment and answer him, “Um yea that would be cool.”

  He smirked, “I will pick you up Friday night at eight.” I just nodded in agreement, as he walked off. It totally took a few days before it really sank in.

  Friday after school, Elena came home with me and we went through endless amounts of outfits trying to find something to wear. We decided on my favorite skinny jeans and a pink tank top under a black see through tee. Just as I finished putting on my eyeliner and lip-gloss, the doorbell rang.

  Racing to get to the door before my dad did, I ripped it open and stood there in awe. Damon was dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt with a leather jacket. He looked so damn hot. After leaving my house, we headed to the movie theater. I could not tell you what movie we saw; because during the whole date, I was transfixed by the piece of sexy eye candy sitting next to me with his arm around my neck.

  There was no kiss at the end of the date, but from that moment on, we have literally beenglued together at the hip. We constantly text each other and spend hours on the phone when we cannot be together. Every day we walk to and from school together, eat lunch together. We truly are inseparable.

  We have only been dating about a month now, but when I look at him it makes my mind go blank, I mean he has it all. You know how most girls always say they want a tall, dark, and handsome man? Well, my boyfriend Damon Marks is just that. He has an extreme athletic frame with abs that appear, hard as stone. He loves his every day jeans and t-shirts that show off his strong comforting arms. His troublesome dark eyes remind me every day of his devilish side. His stern jaw shows what an ass he can be, but his sexy smile lets me know that he is all mine.

  The only thing is; he has an annoying little jealous streak that really pisses me off at times. He always thinks I am interested in other guys. He gets so uptight when other guys mention anything about me, even when his friend Jarred asked him if I had been working out. Which was an innocent enough question, but Damon took it, as he was interested in my body. I mean seriously. So now, every time Jarred is around, Damon gives him the death stare to mark his territory. Boys can act so Neanderthal sometimes. It is not as if I am the homecoming queen or anything.

  I guess you could say that I am pretty. I‘m about five feet seven inches and I have long blond wavy hair and light blue eyes. I have curves that I am proud of and a natural tan, thanks to living so close to the beach. I am kind of a shy girl, I like to hang out with my friends, read books and watch teen drama shows. The thing I love most is shopping with my mom. Every girl has to love shopping.

  As Damon and I are walking home I get that tingle on the back of my neck, someone is watching me again. You know that cold chill that runs down your spine. Yep, that is the feeling. I look out of my peripheral view to see if I can spot who is watching, but as usual, I do not see anyone. There are people walking down the street on the other side; however, none of them is looking our way. What is wrong with me? I am starting to wonder if I am just crazy! I snuggle in closer to Damon as we walk home, maybe if there is a creep out there watching me he will get the hint that I am taken.

  .

  As I watch Arissa walking home with Damon, they look so happy and she seems to enjoy his company. I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as she snuggles into his side. I want that to be me.

  Damon drops me off at my front door. I hear my dad yelling for me to hurry up because we have dinner plans. “Oh joy, dinner tonight is probably another seafood restaurant. I hate seafood,” I whine as I roll my eyes in disgust.

  Damon just laughs at me, “It will be alright babe, just go and have fun. You don’t have too much time left before you go away to college; enjoy the time with your parents.” Damon pulls me in for a goodbye hug while whispering in my ear, "I will call you later babe; just try to have fun.”

  The ride to the restaurant is torture. My parents are listening to oldies and singing. I think my ears are going to bleed from the noise. I swear they are so weird, I truly believe they know just how embarrassing they are and they totally do it on purpose! I grab my IPod and turn the volume up as loud as it goes to drown out the horror of them singing. I start to bob my head to Taylor Swift’s new song, “I Knew You Were Trouble.” As we pull up to the restaurant I notice it is packed. I take my ear buds out and place my IPod in my pocket whilst getting out of the car.

  The sign reads, “Bob’s Crabs”, another seafood restaurant; great! I knew they would do this to me. I swear they just like to watch me suffer. They know I hate seafood. As we walk in, I am hit with the overwhelming smell of seafood. I shake my head trying to shake off the bad smell. My mom looks at me odd, but I wave her off. We are seated right away at a wooden booth with hard seats. There are a few cast nets with sea creatures in them hanging on the walls, as well as other fishing decor. Could it be any more cliché?

  I search the menu for anything-non seafood related. All I can find is some chicken strips and f
ries on the kids menu. “This is ridiculous!” Why can’t my parents choose a steakhouse instead of the same ole seafood theme every time? I would love a steak every now and again. Maybe they do not want to kill a cow. If that is the case, we could eat at Chick-Fil-A. Isn’t that their motto anyways?

  “Welcome to Bob’s Crabs, what can I get for you today?” I look to my parents as they order. Dad looks up from the menu, “I would like the fish and shrimp deal for 15.99.”

  “And what to drink, sir?” The waiter asks.

  “Sweet tea. No lemon, and please no lemon,” dad emphasised. The waiter nods his head with acknowledgment and looks to mom.

  “And you ma’am?”

  “I will have the crabs with butter sauce to dip them in please with coleslaw and water.” The waiter nods again then looks to me, “And you miss?”

  I hesitate and then meekly tell the waiter, “Um, I would like the kid’s chicken fingers and fries with barbecue sauce and a Dr Pepper please.” I answer the last part with a smile.

  “And how old are you miss?” The waiter replies with an incriminating look.

  I laugh and say with sarcasm, “Too old to be eating off the kids menu, but you don’t have anything other than seafood and I don’t eat seafood. So can you just give me what I ordered and pretend I am 12 or something.”

  The waiter looks stunned at what I just said. “Sure, I can do that for you and I will also have the manager look into adding some other options for customers who don't like seafood.”