Here is a little excerpt from my latest book . . . The Path to Us
But first, let me start by saying this. The teens of today go through a lot more than we did at our age. With social media, the influx of bullying has reached an all time high. Teens feel isolated, alone, unloved and as if they aren't important. This can lead to them becoming bullies themselves, drug addiction, sex addiction, and suicide. I wrote this book with a heavy heart because my son is now a teenager, and some of the kids he knows are already showing signs of drug addiction. They are screaming and as adults we sometimes forget that they have very real problems as well. The Path to Us follows three childhood friends from the time they are 8 years old until they graduate high school. Some of the content in this book is hard to read, and believe me when I say, this was the hardest thing I have EVER written in my life. I didn't want to write this book, but I felt like I had to. Thank you for taking the time to check it out!
He turned onto his street and saw the car Trevor loaned Lily sitting in the driveway. Trevor and Diana had decided to take a quick, last-minute mini-trip into the mountains. They’d left shortly before he had left for work. Coraline was staying with Trevor’s parents.
Chase frowned. Why was Lily home? She usually worked on Wednesday evenings. He pulled his truck into the drive beside hers. He turned, and in the darkness of the evening, he could see someone hunched forward. Had she fallen asleep?
He climbed out of his truck and made his way to her door. Before he even made it all the way over, he could hear the sobs and cries coming from inside. Panic clutched his chest as something inside him pushed him into gear.
Reaching out, he jerked the door open. “Lily!?” he reached for her arm, but she shied away. “Lily! What’s going on? What happened? Are you okay?”
There was no answer as she cried and struggled to catch her breath. Again, he reached for her, but this time she shoved at him.
“G-g-g-get aw-aw-away!”
He reached for her again, and she began to thrash and kick. Her hand flashed out and caught him in the mouth. Blood bloomed in his mouth. “No!” she screamed. “D-d-don’t touch me.”
Keeping his hands down, he moved a bit closer. “It’s me. It’s Chase.” No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get her to see him. The last time he’d seen her this bad was when she was restrained in the hospital. Everything clicked into place. She was having a panic attack.
“Lily. Lily. Damn it, look at me,” he said raising his voice. Slowly she lifted her bloodshot gaze to his. She was looking right at him but was like she couldn’t see him. “Lily, I need you to listen to me. Okay? Do you hear me? You’ve got this. Listen to me. Come on. You can do this.” He took several deep breaths and exhaled them. “Breath with me, baby. Come on. Breathe.” In and out. In and out.
At that moment, headlights washed over them as Tyler’s pickup pulled into the drive. Only a split second passed before Tyler was standing at their sides.
“What the hell? What happened?”
“Lily, breathe with me. Please, sweetheart. Breathe.” He continued to breathe, praying that he could get through to her. “Came home and found her in the car like this,” he said between breaths.
“You don’t know what happened?”
“Dude! I just got here like three minutes ago,” he said impatiently, not once taking his eyes off Lily.
“What can I do?”
“Go in the house and get a bottle of water and a cold rag.” Tyler crossed the yard and bounded up the front steps like the hounds of hell were on his heels.
“Come on, Lils. That’s a girl. Come back to me. There you go,” he said with more calm than he felt. Inside he was one big ball of raw nerves.
Finally, after what felt like hours, Lily’s breathing began to slow. The dazed look faded from her eyes, and he knew she was on her way back. She still trembled. Reaching forward, he gently cupped her cheeks and turned her face gently toward his. His thumbs brushed away the tears that still rolled from her lashes.
He gave her the best smile he could muster. “Are you with me now?”
She nodded weakly as Tyler appeared beside them carrying a washcloth and bottle of water. He twisted the top off and handed it to her. With shaky hands, she took a small sip and Tyler put the cloth on the back of her neck.
“Thank you,” she finally rasped.
“What happened?” Tyler asked.
She was quiet for a moment and looked down at her lap. “Lily? What happened? Did someone hurt you?” Chase asked, automatically assuming the worse.
**For more check out The Path to Us for $1.99 available now on Nook, kindle, iTunes, Kobo and many more.
