The Blackmail of Evelynn Faust by Shirley Anne Edwards

The Blackmail of Evelynn Faust
Shirley Anne Edwards
YA Contemporary w/Romantic Elements/73k

Evelynn Faust suffers from horrible insomnia and paranoia. The summer before her senior year of high school should be one of the best summers of her life. But she’s tormented by guilt and an addiction that haunts her every waking moment. Evelynn is a drug dealer who also craves the drug she sells. The money and the popularity that come with it aren’t bad either. But when she’s caught dealing on school property by Eric Wagner, the respected and admired police chief’s son, the game is over.

He won’t snitch on her, unless she gives him whatever he wants - her.

She’s being blackmailed.

Evelynn has no one to turn to for help. Not her parents who don’t understand her rebellious nature or her circle of friends who only care about partying and getting high. When Adam Tristen moves in across the street, and he wants to get to know her better, it all seems too good to be true.

She must make a pact with the devil.

Evelynn now looks over her shoulder wherever she goes, waiting for Eric to act on his threats. But Adam, the charming college sophomore, sees something special inside Evelynn, and he wants to help her fix mistakes. In order to do that she must confront a dark secret from her past that could destroy her family…her life…and her entire world as she knows it.

She must take a leap of faith.

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Excerpt

Sweat caked my body. I shook even as I held my cell between my ear and shoulder as I waited for Adam.

He remained on the line the entire time he drove, talking to me, keeping me sane. I didn’t tell him about Eric. It would be better to tell him to his face and hope he didn’t freak out.

The sounds of tires rolling over crushed gravel met my ears. A few moments later, his tall, beautiful dark-caramel body came into view, and I crawled out of my cubby hole. Adam rushed over to me and pulled me in his arms. He smelled so clean, as if he had just taken a shower. I didn’t even want to know how I smelled.

“Are you okay?” he asked, cupping my face.

I shook my head and burst in tears. He held me tight while I cried.

***

We sat in the back of his car near the old entrance where a brick shed stored sports equipment. We were all alone, surrounded by long grass, weeds, and broken concrete that hadn’t been paved in years since the main parking lot was used in the front. The car windows were down, letting a hot breeze in. Adam wanted to take me home, or to his house, but I told him no. I wasn’t sure what I would face there. So, we suffered from the heat, or rather I did. Adam didn’t seem to mind as he held me in his arms and whispered in my ear.

I wiped my swollen eyes, staring down at my lap. My wrists and arms were covered in red from my sunburn, including a rainbow of new colors.

“Someone hurt you. Tell me who did this to you.” He rubbed the pad of his finger over the inside of my wrist. His thumb grazed the side of my hand, sending a tingle up my arm. I wanted to feel the same on my whole body, to erase the aftermath of Eric’s abuse.

“Eric and I had a disagreement about something.”

“Evelynn,” Adam murmured. “What did he do to you?”

 He laid his palm on mine. The breeze whipped through the car. I closed my eyes, wishing I was lying on my bed in the cool darkness even with the annoying streetlamp shining through my bedroom window.

“He didn’t rape me if you’re wondering. I stopped him before he could. He found out about me and you, and he got very angry. He said awful things about you, and I flipped out on him. He-he…threw me on his kitchen table and almost—” I rubbed my face on his shoulder and inhaled his clean scent.

“You were at his house?”

I nodded. “I visited Tink’s earlier in the day to meet some friends. He saw me coming out from there, but I think he followed me. I was so stupid to think we could talk. He was being nice for a change. I went over to his house to have lunch, and he became mean.” I dropped my head in my hands and groaned. “I messed up big time, and I don’t know what to do.”

Adam rubbed his cheek over mine. “You can trust me. Tell me what’s going on.”

The moment of truth had arrived. I couldn’t lie anymore. “My cousin Jenn and her boyfriend were arrested yesterday on possession of drugs and selling them. They’re involved in a network of drug trafficking in the area where they sell not just to high schools but to the middle school and maybe younger. The reason I’ve been on and off with Eric is because he’s blackmailing me. He caught me dealing a few months ago in the parking lot of the high school. Unless I become his girlfriend, he’ll tell his father about me.” I shook my head. “I-I’m so dead.”

Adam stared out the window, pulling at his bottom lip. I scraped the side of my thumb nail where the skin was rough from all the biting and picking I’d done.

“It’s okay if you want to throw me out of your car and never speak to me again.”

He sighed, and I went to open my door. He drew me into his embrace. His mouth brushed the side of my neck, and he cursed, holding me until I turned my head and looked at him full in the face. Our noses almost touched. I pressed my palm on his head, enjoying his short curls and how they felt through my fingers as I tugged on them.

“No more lies between us. Okay?” He lifted his hand to my head, mimicking my touch.

“I promise you, no more lies. I’m all tapped out with my lies. I want to be more like you.”

“Like me?’ he asked, his breath a whisper on my mouth, a tangy scent I wanted to inhale.

“Yes. You’re everything I’m not. Honest, good, and sweet. You make me want to be a better person.”

“I think you’re sweet, but just misunderstood,” he replied.

“Misunderstood, huh? I’d rather just be sweet.” I moved closer, wrapping my leg around his waist until I almost sat on his lap.

He gasped and his mouth brushed mine. “Not quite good, but we’re working on it.”

That made me smile. He then gave me one in return and kissed me as I’d been dying for him to. He nipped my lips gently, prodding slowly, erasing Eric’s harsh kiss until I ended up panting, wanting even more of his kisses…his touch all over me.

“Hold me, please. I need you,” I whispered, sliding my hands beneath his shirt to feel his stomach and the muscles there that jumped under my circling fingers.

“I have you.” He sighed. “But we shouldn’t. You’ve been—”

“Hush.” I kissed him with a deep intensity and demanding hunger. “Don’t let me go. I feel clean when I’m with you.”

“I won’t let you go. Ever.” He pulled me against him, just like I wanted.

Straddling his hips, I locked my thighs around his until he moaned. His hands skated up my legs and higher until I gasped, dizzy and punchy as a tide of emotion brought happy tears to my eyes.

Shirley Anne Edwards is a Northeast girl who first found her love for books when she read Nancy Drew's The Secret of the Old Clock Tower at thirteen. Shirley found her love for writing at a very young age, and since then has let her imagination run wild by creating quirky characters and vast worlds in her head.
Shirley lives in New Jersey and works in the entertainment industry in New York City.
In the immortal words of Mark Twain: "Life is short, Break the Rules. Forgive quickly, Kiss SLOWLY. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret ANYTHING that makes you smile."
For more information about Shirley and her writing journey, visit Website

Twitter @ShirleyAWriter 

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Amazon author page

Giveaway

$25 Amazon GC & 1 Digital copy of The Blackmail of Evelyn Faust

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Maiden by C.L. Marin

I'm delighted to be showcasing Maiden by C.L. Marin. If you keep reading, you'll find a fun character interview and an excerpt from the book with the AWESOME cover! Enjoy :)
Evernight Teen Publishing
Paranormal/Romance/99k
Released March 6, 2015
Tomes of the Authentic Witch, 1

Tara secretly wished her estranged father would want her around, so when he unexpectedly contacted her, she agreed to get reacquainted. That wish turned into a nightmare. She learned that she is an Authentic Witch—the Maiden of the Moodus Coven—and the key to obliterating the black magic Haddam coven.
Tara’s mother took her into hiding when she was small in order to keep her alive but the Haddam’s found her. Now Tara must trust the help she’s found in her three close friends, one mystifying new love, and a father she barely knows as she fights for the life of her mother using a power she doesn’t yet understand.
And one of those trusts might cost Tara her life.
Buy Links: Evernight Teen Amazon
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Excerpt:
We walked up on a small, cinderblock building. There was a plaque on the door facing us with the silhouette of a woman in a dress painted on it. Isaac turned the handle back and forth firmly. It was locked. His teeth bore down and ground together loudly.
“I just can’t catch a break today,” he whispered into the night.
Unexpectedly, and with unrealistic strength, he kicked the door in. Never before had I seen a blow delivered with such force. The hollow metal door fired open like a cannon, striking the wall behind it, discharging a deafening echo through the structure. Isaac held onto me like a treasure while he led me inside. Maybe it was the near-death experience, but I melted into his strong arms like any good damsel-in-distress would.
Isaac turned the water on, and it rushed into the basin hard, splashing droplets all over the counter. I stood like a zombie. Isaac hiked my shirtsleeves up to my forearms, trapping my bracelet in the bunched up fabric, but as he fumbled around with the dead weight of my limbs scrubbing at the dried blood stuck to them, the jewelry was knocked loose and fell to my wrist. Isaac went rigid at the sight of it but recovered fast to finish my arms before moving on to my forehead. We said nothing.
Anguish lodged in the wrinkle between his furrowed brows, now only inches from my face. Isaac wet down another wad of paper towel, and as his gentle strokes wiped across my face it brought a little life back to me. Even so, there were no romantic gazes or love-struck smiles being exchanged—only intense analysis from Isaac, and all-consuming fear from me.

Character Interview: Connor
What do you want? Probably what every levelheaded guy wants who’s in his senior year of high school; to get into a good college, land a great job, travel…those sorts of thing.

There isn’t something deeper in there—something a little less tangible—that you want in life?
It would be nice to find my birthparents. Scary, but nice. They could be a couple of lunatics, for all I know, but they might be really great people. I’d like to know where I came from.

What is your most treasured possession? The relationship I have with my best friend Tara. She’s the absolute best thing that’s ever happened to me. We have each other’s backs, and tell each other everything. She’s really smart, too. Did she tell you she takes a foreign language class at Harvard University? Gaelic…who speaks Gaelic, anyway? (Connor laughs)

Hmmm…sounds like you have feelings for Tara, eh?
Tara doesn’t see me like that. In fact, I’ve never known her to have a boyfriend. Like I said, she’s smart. She’s always studying when we’re not together.

That’s a very interesting answer, Connor, but lets move on. What is a trait you hate most about yourself?
If you want me to be truthful, I’d have to say…sometimes I catch myself having fleeting, deviant thoughts. Like say I’m driving and some jerk cuts me off. For a very split second I might think, I could just run that guy off the edge of the road into a tree. But then I’m like, what are you thinking, Connor! It’s weird, and come from nowhere. I’m not a bad guy with deep seeded pain or anything.

And how does that make you feel?
It makes me want to meet my birth mom to find out if she was some kind of serial killer when she was pregnant with me. (Connor laughs at himself again)

Last question, Connor. What’s in your refrigerator right now?
You know, I’m not sure. You’d have to ask my mom. But we do seem to always have giant red grapes in the house. Do those go in the refrigerator?

C.L. Marin was born and raised in Lafayette Indiana. As a high school student she was more interested in her extra curricular activities like marching band, show choir, and being a diver on the swimming and diving team, than homework. In fact, C.L. Marin always said if her English Literature teacher ever found out she wrote a book she might die of a heart attack.  

After high school she worked as a travel agent for ten years before going back to college and becoming a dental hygienist. It wasn’t an easy task as a single mom but once C.L. Marin has focused on a goal it isn’t often it goes unattained. Once she settled into her career there was finally time to enjoy some pleasure reading. She was spellbound to a popular young adult series but found herself unable to fill the void of the characters she’d lost after finishing it. Right then C.L. Marin made herself a new goal—write the novel she could not find! She wasn’t expecting it to be as hard to do, nor as rewarding, but it is truly her passion.
C.L. Marin still works full-time as a dental hygienist while she writes in the hours she is not sleeping. She is the mother of three wildly intelligent, and extraordinarily brilliant, children, and the wife of her high school sweetheart. They have an eleven-year-old narcoleptic black lab named Murphy Lee, a seven-year-old massively obese cat named Thai, a four-year-old spastic pit bull named Molly Jean, and a one-year-old cat named Tuttle.
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Mirror X by Karri Thompson‏

Mirror X by Karri Thompson

BLOG TOUR

November 17 – 21, 2014

Cassie Dannacher wakes up in a hospital over 1,000 years into the future after her space capsule is retrieved from space. She soon learns that 600 years prior to her arrival, the earth was struck by a plague, killing over half of the world’s population. Naïve and desperate, Cassie, who longs for home and is having trouble adjusting to the new, dictatorial 31st century government, is comforted by Michael Bennett, the 20-year old lead geneticist at the hospital where she was revived.
But why is Cassie in genetics’ hospital in the first place, and why do several of the people around her seem so familiar, including Travel Carson, the hot and edgy boy she is fated to meet? Soon she discovers there is a sinister answer to all of her questions – and that they want something from Cassie that only she can give.
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#5

I was filled with too much turmoil and betrayal to even r

aise my voice. “You should have told

me from the very beginning, Michael. All that talk about

training and career opportunities was a

big lie.”

He bent forward, his eyes aimed at the gray floor as

I watched his back rise with each

breath.

“I’m sorry, Cassie. Until you were told about the proj

ect, we had to keep you from asking

questions we weren’t ready to answer. They were going to wa

it another week, but I couldn’t lie

to you one more minute.”

I folded my arms against my chest and sighed. “I’m being f

orced into doing something I

don’t want to do, and I’ve been manipulated and deceived by peo

ple I thought I could trust.”

“We needed to wait until you were stronger. You were too vu

lnerable.”

“And I’m not vulnerable now? Look at me.” I said, rais

ing my frail arms and letting them

drop limply to the bed.

“We’re all vulnerable. We’re desperate. And we’re running ou

t of time.”

Excerpt
I was filled with too much turmoil and betrayal to even raise my voice. “You should have told me from the very beginning, Michael. All that talk about training and career opportunities was a big lie.”
He bent forward, his eyes aimed at the gray floor as I watched his back rise with each breath.
“I’m sorry, Cassie. Until you were told about the project, we had to keep you from asking questions we weren’t ready to answer. They were going to wait another week, but I couldn’t lie to you one more minute.”
I folded my arms against my chest and sighed. “I’m being forced into doing something I don’t want to do, and I’ve been manipulated and deceived by people I thought I could trust.”
“We needed to wait until you were stronger. You were too vulnerable.”
“And I’m not vulnerable now? Look at me.” I said, raising my frail arms and letting them drop limply to the bed.
“We’re all vulnerable. We’re desperate. And we’re running out of time.”

Growing up in San Diego, California, Karri Thompson spent much of her years at the beach, reading novels, tanning, and listening to music. At SDSU, she earned a BA in English, MA in education, and her teaching credential. As a wife, mother, and high-school English teacher, she began writing novels, giving all of the compelling plots and unique characters in her head a home. Victorian literature rocks her socks, and when she’s not writing, jogging, going to concerts, or watching her son play football, she’s reading Dickens.

Find her at her website

The Empress Chronicles Blog Tour

In this dazzling first book in the EMPRESS CHRONICLES series by the author of THE MOMENT BEFORE, one courageous girl seeks keys to the past to unlock the future…
When city girl Liz is banished to a rural goat farm on the outskirts of Portland, the 15-year-old feels her life spiraling out of control. She can’t connect to her father or his young girlfriend, and past trauma adds to her sense of upheaval. The only person who seems to keep her sane is a troubled boy who is fighting his own demons. But all of this changes in one historical instant.
*
One-hundred fifty years earlier, Elisabeth of Bavaria has troubles of her own. Her childhood is coming to a crashing end, and her destiny is written in the form of a soothsaying locket that has the ability to predict true love. But evil is afoot in the form of a wicked enchantress who connives to wield the power of the locket for her own destructive ends.
*
When Liz finds a timeworn diary, and within it a locket, she discovers the secrets and desires of the young Bavarian princess who will one day grow up to be the legendary Empress of Austria. It is in the pages of the diary that these two heroines will meet, and it is through their interwoven story that Liz will discover she has the power to rewrite history—including her own…

Readers of books like Rachel Harris’s MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY will love THE EMPRESS CHRONICLES
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Can you tell us a little about your latest book?
Thanks so much for asking! THE EMPRESS CHRONICLES is the story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria's teenage years when she frolicked through the Bavarian forest recording secrets in a tiny leather journal, and the present-day Liz who, while battling her own inner demons, discovers the journal along with a locket that has the power to rewrite history and both young women make alarming discoveries about humanity and the power of words. I intend it to be the first book of a series.

What inspired you to write it?
When I was born, we lived in an apartment a few blocks from the Hofburg Palace, so I guess you could say that my “sponge” years were filled with grand sights and history, and I soaked it up. Years later, when I returned to Vienna to visit (we left for the U.S. when I was six), I became enchanted with the Sisi story, and worked to find a narrative that offered more about her roots—one that explored her whimsical youth.

How did you come up with the idea for the cover?
I offered some ideas to my publisher, Diversion Books, and they hired an amazing cover designer (who remains a secret), who came up with the cover.

If it was made into a movie, who would you like to play the main characters?
I would want a Polish actress named Agata Trzebuchowska to play Sisi. And Shailene Woodley for Liz. For Cory, definitely Jamie Blackley. Willow could be played by Lauren Lee Smith.

What is it about this genre that appeals to you so much?
I like both contemporary and light fantasy books – books that blur lines and venture into uncharted territory – both as a reader and a writer. I like to be immersed in the “what ifs” of everyday life.

What made you want to become an author?
So I could find a home for my daydreams and fantasies. I’m always inventing narratives when I eavesdrop on conversations of strangers. It’s nice to have a legitimate place to put those imaginings.

How do you come up with character names?
I often change them during drafts. Once a character is fleshed out a bit, the name often just arrives. Like a stork, bringing a baby in its beak.

Name one of your all-time favourite books?
WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson

Who, or what, inspires you?
I’m often inspired, creatively, when I walk the hills behind my house. Or when I travel. Or by the beauty of the natural world or a rich conversation, or an unusual person I happen to meet.

Where is your favourite place to write?
My 10 X 10 office just off my garage.

What is your favourite movie that was based on a book?
THE SPECTACULAR NOW.

Name two of your favourite authors.
Junot Diaz and Antonya Nelson

If you could have a dinner party with any authors from any time in history, who would you choose and why?
Raymond Carver, David Foster Wallace, and Beatrix Potter. They all fascinate me, and I’d love to hear them in conversation.

Tell us a random fact about yourself.
My grandmother’s uncle was a Habsburg portrait artist.

Who would play you in the movie about your life?

photo credit: Ana Gremard via photopin cc

Jodie Foster

Tell us an interesting fact about where you live.
The last two houses I lived in were both last-owned by persnickety widows who died within a few years of selling their houses. I often feel them spying on me from their respective graves.

What are your (writing) plans for the future?
Well, I want to keep going with my Empress books, and also write a few books that focus on millennial characters.

Tell us one thing that's on your bucket list.
Hiking in Wales

Favourite myth / fairytale?
Snow White and Rose Red

Who/What did you want to be when you were a kid?
A famous horsewoman or a mother of nine. I also toyed with the idea of becoming a veterinarian for a brief time – or a studier of animals, like Jane Goodall. I always wanted to be a writer, too.

Suzy Vitello is a proud founding member of a critique group recently dubbed The Hottest Writing Group in Portland, and her short stories have won fellowships and prizes (including the Atlantic Monthly Student Writing Award, and an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship).

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Miyuki by Veronica Bane

In the town of Jericho, a group of misfit teenagers haunts the underbelly of their society. Armed with the ability to manipulate different parts of nature, these teenagers fight for their right to stay alive. In the months following an attack on their lives, danger still lurks around them. Those behind the original strike have risen from the ashes, and new powers are beginning to reveal themselves. With this mysterious threat imminent, Mara, Miyuki, and the rest of the Unusuals must stand together to fight. However, time is running out for the group, for someone—or something—is hunting them, and this time around, not all of them will survive.

Mara (Book 1 in the series) on Amazon (Miyuki is not yet on Amazon)

Miyuki on Goodreads

Excerpt
Nayara unfurled herself from the tree, cracking her long fingers and shaking the dust from her legs. She crawled down the branches, digging her long nails into the bark before swinging down. Her toes brushed against the dirt in silence, and she peered around the twilight.
As she moved, the moonlight illuminated her features: her face, half covered in black scales, was all bony angles and pursed lips. Her nose met in a point, and her wide eyes flashed when she turned. An elongated neck met sharp shoulder blades and more of the black scales, though her chest bore silver and blue scales as well. Long, dark hair tumbled over her back and down to her knees, and her skin below the scales was mottled and scarred.
A twig cracked, and Nayara wheeled around, narrowing her eyes. She padded along the forest, running her tongue along her pointed teeth, tasting the metallic in the air.
There, just beyond the trees, she saw her. A girl stood on the edge, her hand filled with flames, throwing a glow over the whole woods. The girl sighed, watching the fire twist and turn in her palm.
“Mara!”
Nayara turned toward the voice and watched as the boy crashed through the branches. Stupid, messy boy, Nayara thought. No grace. No power.
“Miles,” Mara replied, and the fire ceased.
He smiled, scratching the back of his head.
“I didn’t know where you went,” he said.
Nayara curved her hands into fists, scraping the edge of her palm with her nails. A growl welled up inside her, and she ducked behind the brush to watch them.
“Look,” Miles said, shifting on his feet. “I know you’re mad at me because I didn’t back you up. But, I’d be lying if I said that I don’t think that you want to go after your brother because you want to get revenge. But, revenge isn’t safe.”
Mara turned away from him, looking past the woods.
“It’s not up to you to determine what’s safe for me.”
“I know, but last time…I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. Especially you.”
Mara reached out and touched a leaf, tracing the lines with her finger.
“Look, Miles, I know what happened last time. You guys want to look for whoever is doing this, and I’ll do that. For now. I just know he’s out here, and he’s more dangerous than any of you know.”
Mara’s voice, low and clipped, shook a bit near the end. Nayara tossed her hair behind her shoulder and slunk closer, drinking in the girl.
When Miles didn’t reply, Mara sent a small spark that set the leaf alight. It crumpled into ash that rained down on the ground, and Mara turned away.
“Just drop it,” Mara said. “Let’s keep looking for those tracks, okay?”
They slipped away through the trees, their voices dampening to whispers. Nayara watched them go, the flame girl and the useless boy, and considered them.
A plan curled up inside her, and then she darted through the woods.

Author Veronica Bane grew up in San Diego, California and spent her days writing in local coffee shops and at the beach. Her writing was and has always been fed a healthy diet of chai tea lattes and film scores. She studied Creative Writing at Chapman University and now lives in Los Angeles.
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Before by Melissa Pearl

I'm so excited to be telling you all about the new novella by Melissa Pearl, one of my favourite YA authors. I've read just about everything she's published and I'm always hungry for more. I was very lucky to have been able to have a sneak preview of Before and what can I say? Brilliant, Awesome, Epic... it's AMAZING! But look out for my review coming soon. In the meantime, read on and find out more...

BEFORE

(A Betwixt Novella #0.5) (Betwixt Series)

Book Description:

Dale Finnigan is a teenage rebel; he lives for parties, girls and joy riding in stolen cars. In spite of his uptight parents' constant warnings and lectures, he continues to run wild. His crazy lifestyle is the only way he can live and feel free…until his reckless behavior takes him down a path where there is no going back.

In this prequel to BETWIXT, find out who Dale Finnigan was before he became known as “scar-face”—the unassuming hero everyone underestimates.

WARNING: This book is intended for mature teen readers due to coarse language and mature content.

Purchase Links:

*On SALE for only 99 CENTS for a limited time only!*

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Smashwords

Excerpt:

The car horn sounded like a trumpet, making me laugh hysterically. Hugh was anything but subtle. Jamming my feet into my Converse shoes, I tie the laces in a hurry and rush for the door.

"Where are you going?"

My mother, one of the shortest people I know, tries to block my way. I gently nudge her aside as I zip up my hoody. "I'm going out," I mumble.

"No you're not. It's Friday night. You have youth group. Your father is expecting to see you there."

"Well he's going to be disappointed...again. How many times do I have to tell you guys I'm not interested? I don't want to sound snarky, but I can't help it. I hate youth group. I hate church. I hate that my minister is my dad who is constantly harping on about it and forcing me to go to stuff that is as boring as hell. It's bad enough they force me to the Sunday morning snore-fest each week. I decided a few months ago, that my parents could stop stealing my Friday nights as well. I used to sneak out after youth group all the time, but it was getting tiring. The last few months of just skipping it have been much easier, although I could do without the arguments.”

"Dale, stop."

I don't bother holding in my sigh as I pause by the front door. My mother's voice, usually so soft and sweet has taken on a hard edge. It's been doing that a lot lately.

"You know the rules."

Do I ever!

"You must attend youth group. How do you think it looks to the parishioners when their own minister's son doesn't even show up?"

"I don't care how it looks." I spin around to face her. "I don't care what any of those people think. I'm not here to impress them. I never asked to be a minister's kid."

"Dale…"

"No! I'm going out."

Her expression crests with sadness before bunching into a tight frown.

I race out the door before she can stop me. Her voice chases me down the path all the way to Hugh's car. I slam the door shut, trying to block out the, "Dale, you get back here right now!"

"Go, man, go!"

Hugh nods and screeches away from the curb, but not fast enough for me to miss the tears welling in my mother's eyes. I shouldn't have looked back.

I hate that. Why does she have to go crying about it and making me feel bad? Maybe if her and Dad would stop lumping so many rules on me, and actually listen to what I had to say, I wouldn't have to cause her so much pain. This had been brewing for years, mostly without me knowing it, but at the end of my freshman year I just snapped. I couldn't play the role anymore. I refused to keep following the rules I thought were stupid. They weren't doing it because they loved me, they were just worried about what the damn church goers thought. It was all about appearances to them. I refused to follow some religion I wasn't even sure I believed in. Hypocrites were the worst kind of sinners, and I wasn't going to be lumped in with them.

No, I had chosen to swing to the complete opposite side of the spectrum. Having spent a lifetime living by the letter of the law, I was now doing my best to live as far from the law as possible. 

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Melissa Pearl’s September Giveaway:

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