For once in
Charlie’s life, she has something she'd never allowed herself to have before.
Hope.
All because
of Sam’s love.
He fought
for her. No matter the cost.
He loved her
even when she couldn't allow herself to feel loved.
Now, when
things feel like they might go smoothly for once in her life...
The
unexpected happens. Her fate. Her constant date with Death.
A reality
that completely blindsides her when life once again rears it’s ugly head.
Shattering
any sense of a future she ever felt she could grasp, even if only for a second.
Will she
give in and surrender to her fate?
Will she
retreat, pushing away everyone she loves to hold onto her secrets?
Or will she
fight? Fight for Sam, fight for their love, the way he's always fought for her?
"You
suck, old man. This is blackmail." She grit her teeth like she always did
when he baited her.
"If the
only way to get you to talk is to withhold food, well, then so be it."
Joe
slowly lifted another heaping spoonful toward his mouth. The craving for marshmallows,
chocolate, and nuts was suddenly so overwhelming that it was too much to take.
"Fine!
I'll talk, but don't you dare eat
that bite."
An evil
smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he shoved it in his mouth.
"You
asshole. That's a party foul."
"Did
you just call your father an asshole?"
"Hey,
if the shoe fits…."
"Just
for that...." Joe cocked an eyebrow at her and brought the bowl to his
chin, shoveling the rest into his mouth.
Charlie
narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a menacing shake of her head. "I
hope you get brain freeze."
"You
can't freeze what's not there," he mumbled with a laugh as ice cream
dribbled down his chin to his shirt.
She covered
her mouth and looked away with her face scrunched up in disgust. "That's
freaking gross. You're not even senile yet and you're already drooling 'n
shit."
Joe let out
a laugh. "Well it's good to see you have some semblance of your sense of
humor left."
"Oh,
look at you and your big words."
"Oh,
bite me."
"I
should since you ate all my ice cream."
Giving her
his best stern look, she knew the jig was up. Their verbal dance was over and
there was no more avoiding the dreaded conversation.
"So,
when are you going to talk to him about it?" He moved from the table to
the chair next to her.
"I'm
not."
"Come
on, kid. I've raised you better than that. Don't do this to him."
Was he
really going there and pulling that bullshit? "What the hell is that
supposed to mean? The only thing I'm doing is protecting him from inevitable
pain."
"Seriously?
Don't pull that bullshit with me."
Her heart
pounded rapidly in her chest as her cheeks flushed with heat. "It's not
bullshit," she said with a growl.
"Charles,
I think you forget I've been in your shoes-"
Is he out of his fucking mind?
She didn't
even let him finish before she cut him off. "The hell you have. You think
you have an idea because you were with mom, but you have absolutely no idea what it's like to actually go
through any of this." Tears welled in her eyes as she sucked in a ragged
breath and forced herself to look away.
"That's
what I wish you'd pull your head out of your ass about. Just because we aren't
the ones being cut open doesn't mean this doesn't affect us. We have been on
this ride with you from day one, every step of the way. So, no, you don't get
to tell me how I feel—or anyone else, for that matter."
Deep down,
she knew he was right to some degree, but it still wasn't fair for him to
compare what he was feeling to what she was dealing with. Not that it was a
competition to her, but he always tried to make it seem like everything was so
simple and in black and white.
But it
wasn't, and she was slowly sinking to the murky grey in the middle of it all.
Always the cause of shenanigans, Vanessa is a heavily
tattooed, sarcastic motorcycle enthusiast who started her career as a Jeep tech
at the age of sixteen. The happily married mother of three little
monsters—oops, children—lives in Kentucky by way of Las Vegas, Nevada. Once her
life took a different direction—sidelined by Heart Disease at 26 and becoming a
pacemaker recipient—she decided to write as a creative outlet, and Heartless
was born. She realizes life can be dark clouds and acid rain at times, but her
outlook on life puts a positive and sarcastic spin on it all.
Thank you for being a part of my tour!! <3
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