Fused

By Cecile Tellier

A shorter version of this novella was previously published in the Patched Over Anthology.

Ash Erickson and Savannah Sin were best friends throughout most of their teen years. When Ash went into the military, all hopes Savannah had of him being her knight in shining armor were lost. Or so she thought. There was a reason Ash stayed away from Savannah, and suddenly years later and after returning home that reason is no longer the same. A new MC may serve as a distraction for Ash, but the same old Savvy will be an even bigger temptation. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cecile Tellier
• Release date: Oct 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9798201503567

Cecile Tellier

Cecile Tellier is a best-selling romance author with titles ranging from paranormal to contemporary. She can often be found clearing her research history and engaging in shenanigans. 

Book preview

FUSED

By:

Cecile Tellier

Short Version Previously Published

in the

Patched Over – A #TNTNYC Exclusive ANTHOLOGY

Chapter 1

Ash

W hat do you mean you’re enlisting?  Savannah Sin’s voice rang through the hallway of Flintridge Preparatory School.  Ash Erickson sighed and turned to look at the little angry young woman with her hands on her hips.

I mean that I’m going into the army Savvy, exactly what I believe I just said.  He tried to smile and inject some humor into the moment.  She was his best friend but sometimes having a very emotional girl for a best friend made his life challenging.

I heard you, I’m not deaf or stupid.  When did you decide this?  Savannah wasn’t a girl to mince words, which normally was something Ash liked about her.  Today however he wished she could just pretend to be happy for him even if she wasn’t.

You know that I’ve been considering it, let’s just not talk about it for now. It's not for a few month.  He closed his locker and looked at her.  She was doing that thing she did when she was nervous and rolling her hair around her finger over and over.  It annoyed him that some thought she did that to look cute.  He knew she had some severe anxiety issues and that this was a way of coping. That thought made his chest hurt and the guilt nearly had him changing his mind on the spot about enlisting.  He knew he couldn’t though, and instead forced himself to walk away from her and leave the school for the parking lot.  He didn’t dare look back and see if she was still watching him or he might break.

He went to his beat-up Cavalier and sat down with a heavy sigh.  While he hadn’t expected Savvy to be excited he was leaving after he graduated, he had hoped she would not be so openly upset about it.  With the enormity of the decision he made hoping she would be fine with it was unrealistic. When Ash received a scholarship to their private school, Savannah never quite believed he would go to boot camp after graduation rather than go on to college or vocational school.  His grades were as high as hers, but his aspirations were as different as their backgrounds.

He waited in the car until the passenger door opened and Savvy slid in with her backpack before she slammed the door closed.  She jerked the seatbelt over her chest and he thought even the click sounded angry.  Without daring to speak, he started the car and drove toward her mother’s salon in Hyannis.  When he pulled into the driveway he pulled up to the door and stopped the car.  Ash turned toward her and frowned as she immediately threw off her seatbelt and stormed out of the car inside into the house. 

Deciding he had better not pursue this while she was angry he pulled out of the driveway and drove to his own parent’s small house a few blocks away.  When he entered the house, his father was sitting on the couch watching a baseball game on the television. 

Did you tell her?  His father was also never one to beat around the bush.

Yes.  Throwing his bag on the counter he went to the kitchen and grabbed a soda before walking back into the living room and sitting down next to his father. 

Well?  How did she take it?  Muting the television, his father turned and looked at him carefully.

Terribly.  She isn’t speaking to me right now.  I didn’t think she’d be mad, sad possibly, but not angry.  What am I supposed to do?  He shook his head and took a long swig of the soda.

Nothing, there’s nothing you can do.  She doesn’t understand but I’m sure she will come around.  You have to do what is best for you too. 

Ash knew his dad knew what it was like to regret not doing something in life.  He had married very young and gave up his own dreams to raise his son and take care of his wife.  Now that Ash’s mother had passed away from cancer, it was just them.

Are you sure I should go dad?  What about you?  I’m all you’ve got.

When you come back on leave you will still be all I have.  Your job is to stay alive out there, and to come back whole not just in body but in spirit.  This has been your dream for as long as you could talk.  That Savannah is angry with you for following it right now is not a slight against you, it’s simply her heart aching. 

Well her aching heart appears to be holding a grudge at the moment.  Standing up he stretched and grabbed his bag along with the soda.  He gave his dad a salute and a grin before heading upstairs to his bedroom.  His father’s voice carried behind him. 

Don’t call her yet, give her some time to calm down!

Ash laughed, he was thinking about calling her now but knowing his dad was likely right he put that thought away and began to do his homework.  He had to get his finals and his thesis in for the last few weeks of his classes before graduation.  Once he graduated, he would only have one week before he went off to basic training.  What frustrated him was that he would be at basic training in Georgia, on the other side of the country from home. 

Images of his first meeting with Savannah drifted across his mind. They had been in the same elementary school when his mother was still alive.  He was in sixth grade and she was in 5th when she and her mother had moved into the area.  Initially Savannah had been very shy and hadn’t spoken to anyone.  She dressed up and was often the target of bullying because of that.  When he had walked in on an older boy trying to scare her into doing his homework he had lost it and punched the kid.  While he had been given a week’s suspension he had also made the best friend he would ever find in Savvy.  She had quickly told him about how her father had left her mother for his secretary and how they’d been forced to move somewhere new for her mother’s Salon.  He had relied on her heavily when his own mother had taken ill and required extensive care in the home, and even more so for support when his mother had passed after a short few years battling the illness.  She would forever come first to him and he knew that was what was making him second-guess his decision. 

Ash refocused on the present.  He still had prom to attend and he honestly had planned to take Savannah but now he wasn’t sure if she’d want to go with him.  She was a junior and while they were not a couple, he often preferred taking her to school functions rather than the girls he occasionally spent time with.  Those girls only received attention from him when he had nothing important to do with Savannah.  He couldn’t be romantic with her, unfortunately he had the typical male urges. Ash was careful not to become involved with anyone that didn’t know he was not looking for a serious relationship. 

He knew Savannah didn’t approve of his casual encounters with the other women, but he knew she previously wouldn’t have left him hanging for a date to prom.  Deciding that now was as good a time as any to confirm her intentions he picked up his cell phone and tapped her picture on his phone.  The smiling redhead looking back at him from the phone was the complete opposite of the look she’d had on her face when he’d dropped her off at the house.  Against his father’s advice he lifted the phone to his ear and waited for the ringtone to end either in her voice or the voice mail message. 

What?  Savannah’s voice sounded as though she were under water.

You okay?  He tried to keep his voice calm.  He panicked, as he’d never so much as heard her sniffle even when she’d broken her leg during a track meet.

No, I’m not.  Is that all you wanted?  She sniffed, and he knew she was crying.

Christ Savvy, let me come over.  He pleaded, not knowing how to handle this side of her.

"Why?  It won’t change anything.  You’re going to leave, and