Taunted Souls: A Friends to Lovers Romance by Janice Ross

Author:Janice Ross [Ross, Janice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cultural Cocktails
Published: 2018-08-29T16:00:00+00:00

—————

SHAYNA

MY ESCAPE TO the place Lucas had helped me turn into a home didn’t fully register until I pulled into the driveway. When I’d pulled off, I wasn’t entirely sure of my direction. I only needed to put distance behind me, not just between us. I needed Lucas to be a fading memory, not a lingering desire.

My fingers gripped at the wheel. They ached as much as my heart. The world felt stifling, my mind got fuzzy. The car that I loved so very much became unbearable, with the space contracting from every angle. Yet deep within, I felt empty, unsure to a large degree. Looking up to the moonlight that now surrounded my split-level house, I suddenly felt all alone. It hadn’t ever been a problem before now, however.

Behind the door of the fixer-upper I’d purchased with the help of Lucas, the memories lived forever. He’d fronted the funds for me to buy the foreclosed home he'd already purchased. We’d worked to make it a suitable home, together. Not since Florida had I relied on a guy this way. This was so not Florida though. How could I not have known then that I’d fallen in love with Lucas? That he had become an extension of me? We operated as one unit, one body, one heart—

BEEP.

A car horn knocked me from my thoughts. I quickly swiped at my eyes. My shoulders slumped forward and head briefly dipped to the wheel. I clenched my fingers, breathing slowly and steadily. A couple beads of sweat lingered across my forehead. I didn’t immediately see anyone, until a second later wide lights rolled the short distance up my driveway to stop behind the Jetta. Very few people visited me. There was no doubt as swift, heavy footsteps drew near.

With each, I counted the echoes of my heartbeat in an attempt to slow the raging pace. I lowered my head, still not removing my hands from their clawed grip on the wheel. My breathing grew wilder for each second of anticipation. When a shadowed figure appeared at the driver’s side window, I moved my head slowly from one side to the next. There was no need to look up to confirm who it was. In fact, his electric force raced straight through the thick driver's side window.

“Shay, open up.” Lucas’s hand connected with the glass. The entire car shivered, reflecting the way my insides felt: frail. “I’m not going anywhere. Open up.”

He had this ability to remain calm, even when others would lose their shit over things. Nothing fazed him. He’d repeatedly drop hints of his past, but nothing I could piece together.

Yeah, each year this changed. I always listened, never offered much. My past had been buried away when I’d left Florida for Delaware, of all places. My woes had to be forgotten. But quite often, I’d see the far-off look in his eyes. He sometimes wore the aura of someone that had been kicked, stomped, and taken down to nothing. I studied for this purpose, to sense these things as a therapist.

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