The Paths We Take

By Michelle Bernier

The Paths We Take is about three friends, Samantha, Jay, and Carli, who are planning a summer trip to Florida. They are also in the middle of school examinations and preparing for the school dance. The three friends plan to attend the dance together when Steve, a member of the schools football team, asks Carli to the dance. Samantha becomes anxious and uneasy with the thought of going with Jay alone until Jay admits he has loved her for a long time. Everything changes when its discovered that Samanthas parents are found buried at their abandoned house. Samantha is taken by the police and brought to a mental hospital. When she remembers the accident, she escapes the hospital only to get in an accident herself. Samantha is met by a guardian angel who tells her to choose a path. After making a selfless choice, all the nightmares she endured fades away.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 9, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483604947

Michelle Bernier

About the Author My name is Michelle Bernier. I was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. I am married to Chris Bernier, and we have three amazing kids, Christopher, Brandon, and Brooke. I also have three stepkids, Cayla, Brittney, and Matthew, and two grandchildren, Brileigh and Josie. I have an older sister, Tina; an older brother, James, who died at the age of sixteen; and a younger brother, Tony. Together they have blessed me with four nieces and three nephews. My mother and father are James and Theresa Rickman. I have a big family that has supported me and believed in me, even when it was hard for me to believe in myself.

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Copyright © 2013 by Michelle Bernier.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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

Rev. date: 03/04/2013

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I dedicate this book to all my family—if not for them, this wouldn’t have been possible. Thanks for being there and seeing the light in me. Love you all.

Have you ever been torn between two worlds? Well, that’s exactly what happened to me. I was planning a summer trip when school was out for me and my close friends, and that’s when it all began. I won’t start there because it’s confusing, so let’s start at the beginning.

My name is Samantha Cardin, but everybody calls me Sam. I am five feet three, and I have light-brown hair and green eyes. I am from a small town in Kentucky called Taylorsville. I’m not really what you would call popular, but I am nice to everyone. I’ll say I get along with the boys better; the girls just gossip too much for me. I go to Taylorsville High School, and I live with my grandparents since my mother and father got a divorce and both decided to move away to the big city to find themselves, I guess. I decided to stay here with my friends and finish school. Besides, I am graduating next year anyway.

My very best friend is Jay Woods. He has black hair and brown eyes, not to mention he is six inches taller than me. He is very adventurous and does a lot of crazy things. My other close friend is Carli Fargin. She is shorter than me. She has blond hair and blue eyes and is very shy. Carli’s family came here last year just before school was out for the summer. They came from Detroit, Michigan. There was too much crime there, and they wanted a safer place to live. Jay and I have lived here our whole lives, and there’s not much crime here, other than people passing through. I remember one time when Jay and I were younger, and he bet me he could jump his bike off the roof and land it. I tried to talk him out of it, but there’s nobody on this planet that could talk him out of one of his ideas when he’s got one. He climbed on the roof with his bike, and let’s just say things didn’t work out the way he planned; he broke his leg in two places. His mother was furious, and we didn’t see each other for a while after that. He calmed down quite a bit after that injury. My grandparents are very different; they hardly know when I am there, and they don’t care so much about where I go or what I do.

Well, before my parents left, my mother gave me her Blazer. That’s what I call it—it’s a 2000 Chevy Blazer, red and a little beat-up looking, but it gets me where I want to go. Right now, I’m going to pick up Jay and Carli at the clock on Main Street. As I turned onto Main Street by the old church, I saw Jay’s mom walking down the sidewalk. She yelled out to me, Be careful at the lake today!

I answered, We will, as always.

She was always so worried about Jay, but you couldn’t blame her; he was nuts. She actually thinks he listens to me, and I can’t remember one time he listened to me while I tried to talk him out of anything.

I pulled up by the clock and barely stopped when they both came running toward me. Hey, are you two ready to go? I asked sarcastically.

Oh yeah! Jay said.

I’m so bored! Carli said with a frown.

Carli still wasn’t used to our small town, and her little sister drove her crazy all the time. Her name is Sarah. She is eleven and looks like a porcelain doll. She has curly hair and pale skin. She always wants Carli to play dress up with her.

It was a great day to go to the lake today—the temperature was around eighty degrees, and the sky was bright blue with not a cloud in sight. The lake was about eight miles from town, so we had plenty of time to talk about our trip on the way there. We were planning to go to Pensacola, Florida, to Carli’s aunt’s house.

So has your mom talked to your Aunt Jullian? I asked Carli.

Yes, and she has everything we will need, Carli replied. My aunt is very excited to meet my best friends.

This is going to be a great summer! Jay yelled out. We were all excited to get away from our small town for a while.

Your mom has been very busy then? I asked Carli.