Laughter and hurtful names being chanted pierced my heart as I laid in a daze on the floor. My fog-filled eyes slightly registered the disgusted faces of some of my classmates, who were looking at me as if I had a disease they were liable to get if they had got too close, while others were wide-eyed like they were witnessing an alien encounter.
Possessing no energy and with shame washing through me, I remained boneless on the cold, hard ground and wished that I was normal. That’s when I heard her. Something shifted inside me the moment she spoke.
“You, stupid idiots, get away from her now!”
Who is shouting? It was only a few weeks into the start of junior high and I didn’t hang out with anyone from this school. The kids I knew were either from the private school I used to attend, or the country club my parents belonged to and all their friends' children. They were all privileged snobs, which is why I had begged to come here, but now I wasn’t sure that had been a good idea whatsoever.
“Back the hell up before…”
The lioness cut her sentence short, no doubt tempering her choice of words so she didn’t get herself in trouble, though she didn’t seem to care how loud she was. I inhaled sharply as small hands gently touched my face and a pair of bright blue eyes suddenly peered into my clueless stare.
I didn’t know the fierce girl who was staring down at me, and I wasn’t sure why she was helping me, but I was grateful. Jerking her head up, she released a mighty roar of warning. Everyone moved back, some even skittering away completely. It reminded me of a mama lion protecting her cub, and as confused as I was, happiness which I hadn’t felt in a long time, buried its way deep inside me, replacing the biting hurt from seconds before.
Pretty and tough. Those were the first two things that I’d thought about the savior of mine.
Struggling to gain my bearings, with my vision, and feeling fifty shades of emotional, tears gathered in my eyes and the beautiful face in front of me swam like a mystic deep blue sea. Then, unlike the harsh tone she’d used seconds ago, the musical words like a mermaids song floated to my ears.
“You're safe, it will be okay. I got you.”
Wanting desperately to believe what she said, I shakily swiped at the tears falling freely down my face and tried tipping my mouth up in a tentative smile, one I didn’t quite feel, but that the girl deserved.
“T-Thank y-you,” I stuttered, my throat tight. “But w-why are y-you h-helping… me?”
Nobody helped me. Not ever.
It was always competition and jealousy where I came from. Beauty pageants, fancy restaurants, those country clubs I mentioned, and everything else only money could buy. My parents belonged to that world, but I didn’t. I despised it. Inside me, there was something wrong. The seizures that took over my body made the outer beauty people saw fade, and I always became something hideous in their eyes when I had an episode.
And everyone, including my parents, never let me forget I am not good enough. So how can I?
The one person I could always count on was my brother Landon. But he was older than I was and he was the son, so my family was even harder on him than they were on me. We were still close though, and he had always been my person.
But I think I just found another one.
“You needed me,” she said, breaking through my tormented thoughts. A flash of what could come played in my head. Things girls who were true friends would do together, like talk about boys, their dream wedding—if I ever find a guy who likes me damaged and all, which is highly unlikely—help each other with homework, and be there for each other through everything. It was an amazing picture of what I had always wanted. Then her soft voice grabbed my attention once again.
“My name is Alley,” the black-haired raven said to me. “What’s yours?”
“I’m-m Summer,” I managed to get out, still shaken up.
As I gave her my name, a smile broke out across her face that I had a feeling most people didn’t get to witness. Staring at one another, I knew something special had just happened and that Alley just let me into her world. A world I will like. At that moment, our souls synced with one another.
I was one of the lucky ones.
To be continued…
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Acknowledgments
To my husband
Thank you for putting up with my crazy behavior throughout this process, spending money on this endeavor to get started, and being understanding of the time taken away from everything else as I write my first book. Your support means a lot as I created my very first story. I love you.
To my mom
All my life you pushed and pushed for me to read, and I always said no. Thank you for not giving up on me, and giving me that last shove I needed to fall in love with reading, even if it came way later in life. In return, it also brought the passion to give writing a try. So, without you I would not be doing either, reading or writing and for that I am grateful.
To my daughters
Once again, you are both my miracles in life and I am blessed you are each part of my world. Thank you for your support as I try out this writing thing, for putting up with my crabby behavior during the process, and to Makenna for working through edits with me when I thought I was going nuts this first time around.
To my best friend
Jaimee, you are my best friend and I am lucky to have you. The help you have given me every step of the way while I work on this book, the whole process of setting everything up, helping me learn the ins and outs of the things that go into releasing, and holding my hand through it all, is again why this book is happening. I also cherish the people you have brought into my life when I found you. My honorary nieces and nephews: Caylee, Jordan, Jackson, Catie and Kinley, bring so much joy to my life. I adore them all, even your nutty husband, John, and your sweet dad. You are remarkable, kind, and there are not enough words to say thank you.
To my supporters
A special thank you to my beta readers, arc crew, crazy chick club members, and all those who have helped me, shared my release, and supported this journey. You make me so happy, and I appreciate you giving a new girl like me a chance.
To my editor
Sara, thank you for taking me on, the support, and your help. I appreciate you being willing to take on my crazy self, and messy work. You do it with grace and ease. It means a lot to me to have you in my corner.
To my cover designer
Avery, thank you so much for helping me figure out what I wanted for my first cover, logos, and teasers. They are all amazing and I am in love with my cover. You do fabulous work.
To my honorary brother
John, the love you have for your beautiful wife (my best friend) and your fun personality, inspired one of my texts in the book Braxton sends to Jurnee. This came from a part of a message you sent to your wife one day, and it is one of my favorite lines in the story. “Baby, I love the fuck out of you, but I swear to God if you’re not back tomorrow I’m gonna go out of my ever-lovin’ mind.” It was changed some of course, but still transpired from your words.
To my friend Eric
Thank you for giving me a very funny and creative terminology to use for a mans’ private parts. We laughed over some of the names we saw, which were hilarious, but it was yours that had me cracking up the most and I knew I needed to fit it into the book. It also worked great with my characters’ humor and part of my storyline.
Find C.M. Online
Christina’s Classy Chick Club
Facebook Author Page
Goodreads
Bookbub
Amazon
Also by C.M. Youngren
Soul Sisters Series
Entwined Souls
Unlikely Souls*
Forbidden Souls*
*Release Info TBA
About C.M.
C.M. Youngren is an author of swoon-worthy contemporary romance whose dream in life is
to own a bookstore slash coffee shop.
She lives in Oregon with her husband, two daughters, and her herd of animals.
She loves 80's music, movies, reading, and adores singing regardless if she can hold a tune or not. Hopelessly addicted to watching The Voice, driving her best friend crazy, and eating tacos are some of her favorite things.
Entwined Souls (Soul Sister Book 1) Page 27
