Four years ago, I thought my life was pretty normal for a teenager. Three years ago, my world was shattered, and now I’m just trying to hold the pieces together. But regret and anger aren’t so easy to ignore.
I just need to catch my breath … for it all to go away …
I thought I might finally be ready to move on from that horrible night, but then he decided to come back.
He can’t come back … he’ll ruin me completely.
One horror-filled night changes the course of Samantha’s seemingly normal life. She’s ruined everything. Despite her determination to keep the family ranch up and running, her guilt makes it impossible to completely move on or forget.
Sam takes comfort in her quirky, endearing friends as she tries to balance between the girl she was and the woman she wants to become. Just when she thinks she’s finally making amends with her past, someone she never thought she’d see again returns, and Sam’s life is once again turned upside down. Both her head and her heart want different things, so she’s lost when, once again, she’s forced to make a decision that will inevitably change her life.
The dismal ache inside me overshadows the disappointment I know I should feel as I contemplate the shard’s sharp edges. Standing motionless and muted, I take deep, grounding breaths.
In . . . out . . .
In . . . out . . .
In . . . out . . .
It does nothing to stave off the unbearable tightness in my chest. I should put the shard down. The months of fighting against the pain, of trying to ignore it and accept it, to control the growing weakness that nearly cripples me, moves so far beyond me I want to give in.
I can’t push the urge aside. I can’t ignore it. Not any longer. I need the burn—so raw, demanding, and overpowering—to go away. I need my heart to stop aching, and for once, I want the grief and shame to ease, just a little, so I can breathe again.
Finally, I let out a shaky breath. I run the pad of my thumb over the slick surface of the piece of glass. It’s thin, sharp, and might break in my hand if I clutch it any harder.
A fiendish need claws inside me, and a delirious giddiness overcomes me at the thought of even a second’s relief.
I lick my lips. This is what I need . . . one fell swoop of the glass across my skin. The burn. The sting of air and torn flesh, just enough to draw blood. Then I’d feel something else.
I press a jagged edge of the glass to my palm.
“Samantha, I was calling you,” Alison says from the doorway.
Lindsey Pogue has always been a little creative. As a child she established a bug hospital on her elementary school soccer field, wrote her first YA manuscript in high school, and as an adult, expresses herself through writing. Her novels are inspired by her observations of the world around her—whether she’s traveling, people watching, or hiking. When not plotting her next storyline or dreaming up new, brooding characters, Lindsey’s wrapped in blankets watching her favorite action flicks or going on road trips with her own leading man.
Question to the author: What is your favorite genre to read?
This is a tough one! All the great questions are, right? I love anything with a thread of romance, especially historical and even proper romance. But I love gritty, real life stories as well, something that’s less “once upon a time” and more real to life, or at least the life I grew up living. But there’s always been something about that moment while you’re reading a good romance when you either stop breathing for a second entirely and your body tenses as that one moment you’ve been waiting for finally happens. OR that moment your heart sinks into your gut and you can’t wait to see where the character’s journey goes, but you know there’s generally always a happy ending.
Thoughts? So many confused ones. Book seems okay and I like the raindrops quote.
Sounds interesting!
Thanks, Tiffany! Have a wonderful weekend!
great blog post today and love the cover
Thank you Jodi! I’m happy you like the cover 🙂
Whatever It takes sounds like a really good book. I find this blog very interesting, Great giveaway.
Thank you Cheryl! It’s a new series for me. I’m coming off of a 5 part dystopian romance series, so I appreciate you stopping by to check Whatever It Takes out! Have a great weekend!
This sounds like a story I’ll thoroughly enjoy, thank you for chance. Congratulations on the new release.
Thank you for taking the time to comment and for stopping by. As a fellow cat lover, I hope you win 🙂 Happy Reading!
Sounds like a great book! 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway.