Words for Warning

By Nash

Alaina Down is a multi-award winning spoken word artist and an advocate for those who cant speak for themselves. She spends most of her time and energy catering to those around her and expects nothing in return. With a smile on her face she walks through life portraying a perfection but there is always two sides to every story and when the other side begins to unravel someone doesnt make it out alive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481740739

Nash

Nash is currently a student at South Carolina State University where she is a Psychology major. She is a graduate of Wade Hampton High School and is originally from Spartanburg, SC but has lived in multiple cities in South Carolina. Nash currently resides in Orangeburg as she finishes up her bachelor’s degree program.

Book preview

Words for

Warning

NASH

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AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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© 2013 by Nash. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/24/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-4074-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-4073-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013906742

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Chapter One Ilene Down

Chapter Two Riley Allen

Chapter Three Chad Yerlings

Chapter Four Rebecca Files

Chapter Five Hamilton Down

Chapter Six Ilene Down and Alaina Down

Chapter Seven Hamilton Down and Rebecca Fields

Chapter Eight Alaina Down

Chapter Nine Meet and Greet

Chapter Ten May 03, 2008

Chapter Eleven May 06, 2008

Chapter Twelve May 09, 2008

Chapter Thirteen May 15, 2008

Chapter Fourteen Delivery

Chapter Fifteen y 27, 2008

Chapter sixteen Dr. Alex and Hamilton Down

Chapter Seventeen Hamilton Down and Rebecca Files

Chapter Eighteen Hamilton Down and Ilene Down

Chapter nineteen Ilene Down and Chad Yerlings

Chapter twenty Family Meeting

Chapter twenty-one Alaina Down

Chapter Twenty-two Reunion

Chapter Twenty-three Words for Warning

This book is dedicated to my loved ones that always believed in me. Some of the characters share characteristics of the people in my life so I thank them for the inspiration, both good and bad.

My name is Ilene Down and on June 1, 2008, I found my younger sister stained with her own blood. It was three years ago but I can still remember the chills that touching her cold body sent through my spine. I recall dialing 911 and praying to God as I held this limp being in my arms. Could I have saved her I wondered. Why would she do something like this? The ambulance came and as they were loading her into the back of the truck, I sat frozen on the bathroom floor. Eventually my eyes began to wonder and I found the suicide letter that she had left behind. I crawled to the last words that my sister left on this Earth and after reading it everything made sense. The countless spoken word trophies that wrapped around her room were just symbols that no one was truly listening to her, not even me.

"The day I live be the day I die,

but before I go I must let this last tear dry.

You always assumed my words to be that of my creation,

Your ongoing applause feeding to my undying imagination.

Never once did you think I was actually articulating,

The ropes tightening on my internal enslavement.

Through the years I’ve shared nothing short of my own pain,

Still you confused me to have the mind of someone sane.

After today there shall be no more from me to read,

Signed and dated in red ink, as my left wrist bleeds."

Alaina Down

6/1/1988-6/1/2008.

Chapter One

Ilene Down

"Two souls in one place and only one is flawed,

Two fighting for the same goal and only one gets scarred.

Your first breathe was before mine and yet I’m losing air,

Our heartbeats came simultaneously so I feel like you should care.

But you can’t hear me; you are deaf like the rest,

Blind you must be to not see the pain in my chest.

Boom, boom, boom, boom,

Boom, boom, boom,

Boom, boom,

Boom.

My heart is beginning to beat less and less,

Soon there will be no sound to ignore,

No soul to bless."

When Alaina read this the whole crowd uproar with applause and I was a part of it. She was speaking to me and instead of paying attention… I clapped. Alaina and I are twins so when she spoke of two souls she meant us. She was more than my sister, she was my best friend and I failed her. Growing up we spent most of our time together but after we graduated, I went to the military and she stayed behind. I left to protect my country, leaving my little sister unprotected. I don’t know why those two minutes that separated our births mattered so much but they did. I took the role as the older sister then left. It was my fault that she felt this way.

When we were growing up I always felt like Alaina hated me. My mother and I would go out all of the time but Alaina never wanted to go with us. I used to love going to Mia’s, my mother’s best friend, house but Alaina hated it. I just figured that she would do anything to keep me from being happy. Why couldn’t she just like me? I didn’t expect her to love me but she could at least like me as a person. I guess that was just too much to ask, but anyway that was a long time ago. As we grew older, our relationship changed.

By the time we entered middle school we were as close as two people could be.