This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and her crazy friends. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It cannot be re-sold, reproduced, scanned or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
Copyright © 2018 Stacey Marie Brown
All rights reserved.
Published by: Twisted Fairy Publishing Inc.
Cover by Dane at Ebook Launch (https://ebooklaunch.com/ebookcover-design/)
Developmental Editor Jordan Rosenfeld (http://jordanrosenfeld.net)
Edited by Hollie (www.hollietheeditor.com)
Formatting by www.formatting4U.com
ALSO BY STACEY MARIE BROWN
Contemporary Romance
Buried Alive
Paranormal Romance
Darkness of Light
(Darkness Series #1)
Fire in the Darkness
(Darkness Series #2)
Beast in the Darkness
(An Elighan Dragen Novelette)
Dwellers of Darkness
(Darkness Series #3)
Blood Beyond Darkness
(Darkness Series #4)
West
(A Darkness Series Novel)
City in Embers
(Collector Series #1)
The Barrier Between
(Collector Series #2)
Across the Divide
(Collector Series #3)
From Burning Ashes
(Collector Series #4)
The Crown of Light
(Lightness Saga #1)
Lightness Falling
(Lightness Saga #2)
The Fall of the King
(Lightness Saga #3)
Rise from the Embers
(Lightness Saga #4--Fall 2018)
Dedicated to those who understand:
It’s through the shattered pieces
you find yourself.
Table of Contents
Chapter 01
Chapter 02
Chapter 03
Chapter 04
Chapter 05
Chapter 06
Chapter 07
Chapter 08
Chapter 09
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Acknowledgments
About The Author
Chapter One
My body floated and spun, rolling as if I were strapped to the wings of a wounded bird. Plunging to the harsh terrain below. For one moment it was beautiful, like I was flying, soaring high and free.
Then I dropped from the sky.
Glass splintered, metal crunched and wailed. Pain stole my breath and ripped away my senses like plucked feathers.
Then…nothing.
No sounds.
No taste.
No feeling.
No me.
Only darkness.
A Month Earlier
“Jaymerson!” My name rang down the hallway. I smiled but did not respond to the voice as I opened my locker. “Hey.” Arms circled my waist and pulled me into the athletic form behind me. A kiss landed on my neck. “You still need me to take you home after football practice?”
I swiveled around in his arms, my five-foot-four frame dwarfed by his six-three height. I stared up into vibrant, playful blue eyes. My eye color was more steel blue, like an ocean in a storm.
Colton Harris embodied the stereotype of the popular boy: wealthy, gorgeous, a football star in a town where people worshipped the game beyond reason. Everyone in town treated him like a celebrity. The whole team was. And if they won another state championship, I was sure the governor would build a statue in their honor. I didn’t help with the cliché. The football star dating the cheerleader.
“Yeah. My dad had to take the car.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I have cheerleading practice, then I’ll come over and wait for you.”
His full lips spread into a huge smile, lighting up his face. He leaned down to kiss me. “And then…” His lips found mine again. “Tonight we are going to McKee’s party.” Senior year had just begun. McKee had a lot of parties, but his welcome-back-to-school ones were notorious.
“Sounds fun.” I tipped my head back and our kiss deepened. I didn’t want the year to end. I enjoyed school and my life: Colton, cheerleading, friends, parties. I got top grades and knew I would be nominated for homecoming princess because of Colton. Life was good.
“Get a room,” a guy said behind us, slamming his hand down on Colton’s shoulder. “Or a shower. And can I watch?”
“Keep wishing, Adam.” Colton snorted and turned to his friend. Adam was about five-eight, thin but built. What he lacked in height, he made up for in speed on the field. He had been Colton’s best friend since grammar school. “The only one watching my girl in the shower is me.”
I stepped away, my back pressing into the lockers. My gaze darted to the side, embarrassment heating my face.
“Too bad.” Adam grinned. He had one of those huge smiles, which encompassed his face, causing an irresistible need to grin back. His dark skin highlighted his contagious smile. He patted Colton again. “See you in a few minutes. Heard Coach is on a rampage today after finding out McKee and Speedy got pulled over by the cops last night. Again.”
Colton groaned and dropped his head forward.
In our small town everyone knew each other. Because members of the football team were treated with celebrity status, I had no doubt they’d been let off with merely a warning.
“Okay, I’ll be there in a few.” Adam nodded and walked away. I gave him a small wave.
Colton’s hands came down on my waist, turning my attention back to him. He reached up, sliding his fingers through my long ponytail. The summer left my normally chestnut-brown hair streaked with golden blonde and caramel. “If Coach is in a mood, practice might go longer.”
I pinched my lips together. I hated not having a car of my own. Colton never had that problem. He came from one of the wealthiest families in the town. He had a brand-new car waiting on the day he turned sixteen.
“I’ll wait.” I shrugged.
Colton’s phone buzzed, and I couldn’t keep a small sigh from rising. I teased him all the time that he had a closer relationship with his cell than me. It was always buzzing, beeping, and singing, no matter what time of day. Everyone wanted a piece of the golden boy.
I watched him pull it out of his pocket. “Who is it this time?”
His face was unreadable as he looked at it then shoved it in his pocket. “Uh. Hunter.” Colton brushed a hand over his dark hair. He kept it short and perfectly styled.
I wrinkled my nose, a sour taste filling my mouth at the sound of his twin’s name. Hunter Harris was someone I tried to avoid at all costs.
“I know he’s a freak, but he is my
brother.” Colton leaned his head against mine. “Can you pretend to like him?”
“Does he pretend to like me?”
Colton laughed. “Fair enough.”
“I am the cuter one.” Colton pressed me into the lockers, his hands sliding over my shorts and tank, up to my face. He nuzzled my neck.
“You’re twins.” I planted my hands on either side of his face, pulling up his head. “Identical.”
They were clones of each other, down to the dimple in their left cheek. But even though Hunter and Colton were physical clones, their personalities couldn’t have been more different. Colton’s looks were GQ while Hunter’s scruff and tattoos would have been more at home in a motorcycle gang. Hunter hung out with the losers, getting high under the football bleachers, if he decided to show up for school at all. He passed his classes because the teachers were afraid of failing him, undoubtedly because his family practically owned this town.
We had two classes together last year, and we had been paired up in English to do a project together. He barely talked, and when he did, it was to disagree with me on everything. It had been a long, hellish week. Thank goodness I only had one class with him this year, and he sat in the back. Our dislike of each other was the one thing we both agreed on. We stayed away from each other. Far away.
“Not completely identical.” Colton’s eyes sparked, his eyes dipping to his pants. “Maybe something you can fully discover tonight?”
My shoulders tightened, and I glanced away.
Colton let out an irritated growl, and he stepped away from me. “We can’t even tease about this anymore? Will you just think about it? We’ve been together for a year.”
My family moved to town the year before, and I had only been in school a week when Colton shamelessly started flirting with me. By the following weekend we were together. I went from having no friends to a built-in group, which came with Colton. The girls in his crowd talked me into trying out for cheerleading. Within two weeks my life was set and everything in place. Simple and perfect.
“I told you I’m not ready.” Anger shot through me, and I clenched my hands into balls. Sex was a sore subject with us.
I turned to my locker and grabbed my bag, slamming my locker door before heading for the exit. The students had mostly dissipated after the last bell, leaving a few stragglers wandering the hall this Friday afternoon.
“Jayme,” Colton called after me. His hand clutched my elbow, turning me as I walked out the main doors into the afternoon sun. “I’m sorry.” We faced each other on the top stoop. “Really sorry. Forgive me?” He cocked one eyebrow, the dimple in his cheek showing. “Pleeeeaaasse?”
“Damn you.” I shook my head, fighting back the smile tugging at my lips.
“You can’t be mad at me.” He circled his arms around my waist and kissed my nose.
“No.” I went up on my toes, pressing my mouth to his. “I can’t.”
His lips opened mine, kissing me hard, before he stepped away. A grin smothered his face. “See you later.” He winked and jogged off toward the field. He turned toward me, running backward. “Love you.” His goofy grin ate up the last bit of my irritation.
Colton turned, running faster when a whistle blew from the far end of the field, not waiting for me to say it back.
Chapter Two
Voices, low and undisguisable, poked at my comfortable obscurity. The blackness was soft clouds, and I sank into their protective bubble where time, reality, and I were intangible things. I drifted around like an atom, neither concerned nor bothered by anything. I didn’t ask myself if I were dead, or if I understood the connection between life and death.
The outer noises prodded me to the surface, the darkness turning from black to milk chocolate. The rich depth thinned out and turned lighter and lighter until I flinched. The light breaking in blinded me. My lids lifted then closed. A groan came from my raspy throat.
“Jaymerson?” A woman’s voice broke into my eardrums.
Slowly I tried to pry my lashes apart. They felt like they had been glued shut.
“JayJay? Oh my god. Nurse! She’s awake!”
Blurry objects filled my vision but cleared with every blink. Then a woman’s face was over me. Tears streamed down her cheeks, glinting in her russet-colored eyes. A smile pinned her lips up in a pained but elated expression.
“Oh, my baby girl.” She squeezed my arm, moving close to me.
I stared at her. My brain circled around, trying to comprehend what was going on. A basic recognition of the woman followed swiftly.
“Mom?” I croaked.
“Yes, baby. I’m here.” She sat on the edge of my bed.
A woman with coffee-colored skin dressed in scrubs came up to me. “Hello, Jaymerson. You finally decided to join us again.” She grasped my wrist, tugging on her stethoscope. Her nametag read Shelly.
“Your father is going to be happy you’re awake.” Liquid tumbled down my mother’s face faster than she could wipe it away.
“Your vitals look good, Jaymerson,” the short, curvy nurse said, her smile warm and comforting. “We were worried about you.” She placed my arm back to my side.
I watched her from a strange distance. I was here in my body, but I didn’t feel completely tethered to it, as if I could still float away if someone didn’t secure me. My mind wrestled to take in everything coming at it. I concentrated on every word they said and tried to make sense of it, but I couldn’t. It was exhausting, like I was running uphill with a twenty-pound weight on my back. I pressed back into the pillows; my lids fluttered, trying to stay up.
“Mrs. Holloway, she’s going to need her rest. You can call from the nurses’ station.”
“I can’t leave her, Shelly.” My mom stroked my cheek. It was the first time I noticed the strange pressure of a tube in my nose helping me breathe.
“You need your rest too, Amy. You haven’t left her side in days.”
Amy. Yes, my mother’s name.
“Not till she’s asleep.” Her words were a lullaby. My eyes could no longer fight, and I succumbed to her suggestion.
Colton took my hand as we went up the walkway to the imposing Georgian-style mansion on the hill Jason McKee called home. It was walking distance from the Harris’s enormous columned home, but Colton drove because my house was across town and picking me up was what he called his “boy-friendly” duties.
“Have I told you, you look amazing?” He squeezed my fingers.
I glanced down at my black sundress and knee-high boots. Compared to some of the girls in Colton’s group, I tended to dress less sexy and more low key. “Thank you.” I moved my body closer to his. Music pumped from the house. The front door was open, and people wandered in and out freely.
We stepped into the foyer. My house didn’t have a foyer. Or a sunroom. Or pool. Actually, my entire house could fit into their kitchen and living room. Ours was more of a cottage, but it allowed my little sister and me to have our own rooms, which we didn’t have in our last house. My sister recently turned five, and I was grateful for our own spaces.
“Harris!” Several football team members hollered as we walked in the door. Colton was quickly absorbed by his buddies. They patted, hugged, and slapped each other on the shoulder like they hadn’t seen each other in years instead of a few hours.
“Think our captain needs a drink, rookie.” Adam nudged one of the new players.
The boy’s eyes widened and he nodded with eagerness. “What can I get you?”
“Think me and my girl would like a beer—” Colton hardly finished his sentence before the new player ran off to fulfill the wish of his illustrious captain.
I didn’t want one. Colton seemed to forget I didn’t like to drink, and if I did, not beer. Every time I tried to drink and relax, I envisioned my parents’ faces and slumped shoulders of disapproval. They wanted nothing to get between me and a good college, and the only way we could afford one was if I got a scholarship.
“Love the rookies.” Ada
m flapped his arms wildly, like he’d already had a few. His dark chocolate skin didn’t show the rosiness of alcohol, but his limbs were loose and his eyes couldn’t focus.
“Jayme! Colton!” A girl’s voice rang over the music. Savannah came bouncing up, her long dark brown hair pleated in a messy, sexy fishtail braid that hung over one shoulder. Her cutoff jean shorts were so short the pockets hung below. She wore high-heeled boots and a purple low-cut tank top. Her black, lacy bra was almost completely on display. She was beautiful and captain of the cheerleading squad, and one who immediately “adopted” me when I began dating Colton. She had talked me into trying out for the squad. I had a feeling even if I were bad, I still would have made the team.
“You’re finally here. You took forever.” She looped her arm through mine, walking with us as we made our way through the throng of people in the living room.
The entire school looked to be here, along with Jason McKee’s parents, Carrie and Dan. They were the type who wanted to show they were still young and cool. They smoked weed and provided alcohol. Their rule was you had to stay if you participated in those things, but with no one enforcing them, the rules were blatantly ignored. They actually made a great cover for a party. “Don’t worry, Mom and Dad, his parents will be there.”
“Oh no, there’s Carrie. She still hasn’t forgiven me for breaking up with Jason. Again.” Savannah slipped from my arm and darted for the kitchen, getting lost in the crowd.
“Jaymerson!” Carrie squealed from the sliding door. She ran up and gave me a hug. She was a tiny blonde, dressed in a turquoise-and-yellow flowy dress and expensive jeweled sandals. A gold band wrapped around her head. Both she and Dan were the modern, sophisticated hippies. “Oh, and Colton.” She hugged him. “How is the season looking? Dan and I have our hotel booked in Florida already.”
Shattered Love (Blinded Love Series Book 1) Page 1
