No Place Like Home

By Nicole Sobon

Her death will reveal the truth.
Savannah awoke in the woods, her skin covered with cuts, blood dripping down her body. But she didn't know what happened. She didn't know why she was there, or why she was bleeding. And she couldn't figure out why she was standing mere feet from her corpse. Everyone thought that she ran away; that she finally hit rock bottom. But Savannah's death will reveal the truth. And some secrets are better left hidden.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME is a standalone YA novella complete at approximately 20,000 words.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nicole Sobon
• Release date: May 7, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476222998

Nicole Sobon

Nicole Sobon is the author of The Emile Reed Chronicles (Young Adult Science Fiction), the Outbreak duology (Young Adult Dystopian), and various other stories. Her novel, Program 13, was quoted on an episode of Criminal Minds (season 8, episode 13, "Magnum Opus"). She is currently working on Deprogrammed, the second book in the Emile Reed Chronicles, which is set for a late May/early June release. She will also be releasing Collide, a New Adult contemporary romance, in July 2013.

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Copyright 2012 by Nicole Sobon

Re-Edited August 2021

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

All rights reserved.

The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademark status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Mercedes, Dell, Windows, Converse, Excedrin, Mozilla Firefox.

Cover designed by Christa Holland of Paper & Sage Designs

http://www.paperandsage.com

First Edition Edited by H. Danielle Crabtree:

http://www.hedanicreations.net/freelance-editor

For more information, please visit: http://www.NicoleSobon.blogspot.com

Prologue

The water slammed against my skin as it seeped between my lips, filling my lungs with its weight. I sank slowly, unable to fight back against the power of the water. There were flashes of a life cherished, a life that was falling from my reach. With each sinking moment, I felt a sense of calm take over. Death wasn’t that bad. It was peaceful, the calm after the storm.

I welcomed the water now, allowing the cold to engulf my body.

A sense of tranquility overtook me.

There was nothing to run from anymore.

I opened my lips slightly, allowing the water to rush in now. I was sinking like a stone, slowly fading away. My body wasn’t a match against the water. Jeremy, I thought. In my own bout of selfishness, I’d forgotten about the brother who wanted to protect me. He’d be upset that I’d given up, but I hoped he could understand my reasoning. If I did manage to survive this, I wouldn’t be able to return home.

They’d be waiting for me, wanting to finish what they’d started.

I wasn’t sure what brought this on, why it was that I was drowning in a river. I didn’t know who was responsible or what I’d done to deserve this. I didn’t remember much of anything, to be honest, other than the chill that took a hold of my body as I hit the river’s unforgiving waters.

As I reached the bottom of the river, my head slammed against a rock, forcing a shock throughout my body. I could feel the warm blood filling the water around me. If the water didn’t take me soon, the head wound would.

Picturing Jeremy, I began to fight back against the river, trying to escape its hold.

I pushed and I pushed until I couldn’t push anymore.

I had managed to make it to the surface, but it was too late now.

I drifted towards the nearby brush, trying to free myself of the river’s hold, and then everything went black as the life left within me was lost. There was no fight left within me. I had lost.

I’m sorry, Jeremy.

CHAPTER ONE

D on’t you think we should get going? Jeremy asked, gently nudging me in the side.

It was going on 7:00 a.m. If we were going to be on time for class, we’d need to leave now. Not that I cared, to be honest.

Calm your horses. I didn’t bother to turn and face him.

We’d been attending Gatson High School for the past few weeks. We had just moved to Florida two months ago. The students and teachers were far from welcoming. Although, I think part of their reasoning for disliking me was due to the fact that I wasn't the easiest of people to get along with. Listening wasn’t my strong point, I was told.

Savannah, come on! Jeremy was pulling my arm now, trying to force me up from the couch. I could hear my mother’s footsteps coming down the hall, her heels clanking against the wood, sending a loud noise throughout the house. Crap, time to go! Jeremy started to laugh when he noticed my sudden urgency to leave. To say our mother was strict would be putting it easy. She was more like a drill instructor; at least, she was when she managed to remain sober. We still had a curfew, a set dinner time, and we were to finish our homework before going to bed. Children. She treated us like children still.

Grabbing a hold of Jeremy’s hand, I grabbed my bag, which was still on the hook beside my mother’s writing desk. I shrugged it on my shoulder and headed for the front door, not bothering to see if she noticed we were running late. I reached for the handle, flinging the door open. Jeremy slammed it shut as he followed behind me. Yes, I smiled. We managed to make it out before she could even utter a word.

How long do we have until the first bell? I asked, trying to regain control of my breathing.

Well, we may have already missed that. Jeremy laughed, looking down at his watch.

Oh, joy. Yet another thing for my mother to yell about.

Do you think Ms. Martin is going to send me to see the principal, again? I asked, hiding a chuckle. If there was one teacher who had it in for me, it was my English teacher, Ms. Martin. It was probably my fault, though. I mean I wasn’t exactly a star student. I hardly made it to class on time, and when I did, it was seldom that I actually came prepared. I did my best to hide it from my mother. But eventually, she began calling the school daily to check in on me. And that was when Ms. Martin and my mother formed some sort of friendship. It was like watching a nightmare come to life before my very eyes.

Outside of the house, my mother acted as a high-class socialite. She was always well dressed and friendly towards everyone, but the facade seemed to have run its course by