Feel Me Break (A novella)

By Tara R.

Chloe Reed and Nick Grayson couldn’t have more different lives. Where Chloe had a bleak future and was trying to deal with a loss that had left a hole in her heart, Nick was a happy-go-lucky guy, leading a carefree life with a path set.

Until one fateful night, they met and everything changed. The night that gave Chloe hope for the future, left Nick scarred for life. Was their meeting a one-off tryst or was their story just beginning?

-Prequel novella to full length novel "Watch me Rise"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tara R.
• Release date: Sep 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370327812

Book preview

Feel Me Break

A novella

By Tara R

Copyright 2016 by Tara R

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever including Internet usage, without written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, or events used in this book are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, alive or deceased, events or locales is completely coincidental.

E-book formatting by Maureen Cutajar

www.gopublished.com

Contents

Chapter One: Chloe

Chapter Two: Chloe

Chapter Three: Nick

Chapter Four: Chloe

Chapter Five: Nick

Chapter Six: Chloe

Chapter Seven: Nick

Chapter Eight: Chloe

Chapter Nine: Chloe

Chapter Ten: Chloe

Preview: Watch Me Rise

Chapter One: Chloe

Did you call the Petersons? my mom says, her hands shaking. Perhaps he’s gone there. He has known Nate since forever…he should be there. Jack, did you call?

"He is not there!" my dad growls. He slams the phone on the table and presses the bridge of his nose. I can see the vein on his forehead pop out, sweat lining up against his receding hairline, and his face is turning red.

A suffocating silence descends in the dining room. I am rooted to my seat, frozen, my eyes darting to and fro between my parents. It’s past midnight, and my dad is still in his work clothes, but his crisp white shirt is crinkled and his red tie is loose around his neck. My mom is in her nightgown, her thick frame of hair disheveled.

Did you call the Stuarts? Dad leans against the chair and stares pointedly at Mom with rage burning in his eyes. Maybe they saw him leave and go somewhere?

I called twice. Her voice cracks. I called twice! They haven’t seen anything!

I suppress the urge to roll my eyes. Once again, my brother hasn’t come home. This is so typical. Him disappearing for a few hours—sometimes even days—and then showing up out of the blue and pretending that everything is normal. He is broken in the head. I never understood what his deal was. But he had pulled this off so many times that I was over it. In fact, I was even annoyed. But for some reason, Mom and Dad were panicking. He was putting them through hell.

Again.

Especially Mom…I stare at her shaking fingers.

Chloe? Dad says. Has he made any new friends? Any new kind of crowd he is hanging out with? Some rumour you heard at school? A new girlfriend?

No. I shrug as he shoots questions at me. No one knows what Ian is up to. He is like a ghost at school. He keeps to himself.

Dad presses his lips into a thin line. The police said to wait for at least twenty-four hours to file a missing persons report, but Detective Barba owes me a favor, so he will ask around.

Jack… Mom’s voice breaks and, finally, the waterworks begin. Is he…will he be okay? I am s-scared…

Well, you should be! he snaps and my skin crawls at his coldness. I have never seen him lose it like this. "You have one job, Jessica! He places his hands on the table and leans forward, almost getting in her face. One job! To take care of the fucking kids! You can’t even do that right!"

Mom recoils like a scared squirrel, clutching her arms and sobbing away.

Dad! I say in her defense. Why does she always act so skittish? It makes me angry. "Ian runs away all the time! Last month, he went missing for six hours. He’ll show up. It’s not Mom’s fault that he is such a loser—"

Shut it, Chloe! he seethes and then turns to Mom again. Great job, Jess. One kid is a teenage runaway and the other lacks the maturity to grasp the seriousness of the situation. What the hell have you been doing?

I am so sorry, Jack. She wipes her nose with the back of her hand. I try b—

Save it! Dad cuts her off and paces around the room, making calls again. I look over at the grandfather clock, which chimes one o’clock in the morning, and mentally berate Ian for causing trouble. Dad is fuming and Mom is breaking apart in the chair next to me. I can’t even think about the exam I have tomorrow. I raise a hand to comfort Mom, but then I withdraw it and instead go to the kitchen to pour her some water.

When I give it to her, she looks at me with red eyes and her hands tremble as she takes the glass from me. Why are you like this, Ma?

What the hell that kid is up to, I’ll never know. Dad sits on a chair and stares out the window into the darkness of the street.

Why would he run…? Mom wonders, staring at the floor, and I inhale sharply as Dad whips his face to look at her. Mom, please, please, keep quiet.

I don’t know, Jess, he hisses in a low voice. You are the one who stays at home while I go out and try to feed this family. Do you know anything about Ian? You saw him last at four in the evening and you didn’t realize when he slipped out of the house?

Mom looks around like a child who doesn’t know where to run.

Dad, no one knows anything about Ian, I chime in. He’s seventeen; he’s probably going through some phase…

Oh great! You too! He raises his hands in defeat. You don’t leave kids alone just because they are being angsty teenagers, Jess! he bellows, fisting at the table. That is no excuse!

Please calm down! I screech, unable to bear this anymore. Where the hell is Ian?

Your brother may be… He doesn’t finish his sentence and looks away, clasping his hand to his mouth. There you go; he vocalized everyone’s biggest fear. The giant elephant in the room. But that wouldn’t happen…would it? Ian always came back.

I slump on a chair as my head throbs. We all are seated in silence, with the heavy anticipation lingering in the air. Everything would be fine. It always was. Suddenly, Dad’s cell buzzes and he answers on the first ring.

Hello? he asks hopefully. Detective Barba?

Mom looks at him with desperation, but her face falls. I look at Dad