The Core

By Gloria Foster

Allie, Mary, Valencia, and Sheila were pretty occupied with their lives. They were working, partying, and moving on, drama-free. Everything seemed to be going linear. At least that's what they thought. And for a while, it was even true.

One night, Sheila has a very vivid dream about Allie. Not knowing who to talk to, she ends u

• Language: English
• Publisher: Global Publishing Solutions, LLC
• Release date: Feb 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9781737224471

Book preview

THE CORE by Gloria Foster

Published by Global Publishing Solutions, LLC 923 Fieldside Drive

Matteson, Illinois 60443 www.globalpublishingsolutions.com

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by

any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

Copyright © 2022 by Gloria Foster All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021918594

International Standard Book Number:

978-1-7372244-6-4

E-book International Standard Book Number: 978-1-7372244-7-1

Audio International Standard Book Number: 978-1-7372244-8-8

Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Printed in the United States of America

––––––––

For my readers

THE CORE

He never knew That Something was Changing

His spirit. He didn’t Even know When he left That it had Affected Him

And Even

Controlled Him.

Her

Magic.

The Core

––––––––

Gloria Foster

Preface

The Core is the second book of The Woman’s Soul series. The first book, The Mind, was primarily all about Sheila Leclaire’s uphill battle with depression and the childhood trauma that affected her. The other characters of the first book included her friends Valencia, Allie, and Mary and her guyfriend, Jonathan. More focus on the characters is set forth in The Core as well as how the ladies are affected by various issues. Additionally, the novel explores Allie’s tumultuous life and what is hidden in her past.

Prologue

7:45 p.m.

I’m not going anywhere.

I hear a voice. It is familiar. I crease my eyebrows; I am confused. I look around while I feel the hair at the nape of my neck rising. There is so much air in the room. I don’t understand where it is coming from.

I stand up from the bed and close the window. I draw the curtains. After locking the restroom door, I look around the room and sigh. She always leaves a mess behind.

I walk towards the kitchen to get a garbage bag. I have to start cleaning, or the room will start smelling like a junkyard. I would not like that. I walk back to the room and start with the other end of the bed. I know what I will discover there, and I have been shocked about it.

I pick up the glass bottles quietly and remove the ashes from the carpet, as well as the side tables. I see an entire pack of pills, and I throw it in the bag as well. I have to help her in any way I can.

I sit there for a while and think. There is so much I could do to help her get through what she is going through, but I chose to remain calm and let her live it the way she appears fit. I know that my

eyes might start tearing up. But there is no time for that right now, and I have to get back to cleaning.

I stand up from the floor and start to pick up the pile of clothes lying on the floor. I will never understand how she became a messy person. As far as I can remember, she was pretty organized. That was one of the best traits about her.

I pick up the clothes and throw them on the bed. I settle myself on the bed and begin folding them one by one. I really can’t figure which ones are clean and which ones aren’t. They all look pretty much the same to me, so I just fold them and place them on the bed.

8:30 p.m.

I have already vacuumed the carpet. Now I have to freshen up the bed and make it smell better. I spray a lot of air freshener in the room and switch off the lights. I stand at the edge of the door and take one last look at the room.

I shut the door behind me and walk outside.

9:45 p.m.

I am beginning to feel hungry. I switch off the television and look in the fridge. It is not much here, so I decide to cook. After all, she will come home, and she will be hungry. There is no way she would

do something for herself, so I might as well make something for the both of us.

11:15 p.m.

I am through with my dinner and also fed the baby. But she isn’t home yet, and I won’t be able to sleep until she gets home. I have the baby in my arms, and she is sleeping soundly. I walk to the baby’s room and put her in the bassinet. I kiss her forehead and exit the room.

11:25 p.m.

I resume knitting the sweater that I had been working on for the past week. I keep checking the time, and it’s getting late.

11:50 p.m.

I am pacing and knitting. It’s almost midnight, and she’s not home yet. She is never late. Even with all that she is into, she is never this late. I try to keep my calm, but I can’t seem to stop pacing.

12:20 a.m.

I can feel my heart sinking. I know something is wrong. I say a prayer and wish really hard that it is fulfilled. I don’t think there is any more space for things to go more wrong at this point in my life. I crack my knuckles and scratch my head. I breathe in deeply and walk back to her room.

12:30 a.m.

I walk in and survey the room, looking for a spot left unclean, but I find nothing. So, I involve my time with rearranging her dressing table. I move the perfumes to one side and her makeup to the other side. I wipe the dust off her jewelry and start placing it inside her drawer.

But the drawer doesn’t open.

I am trying hard to open the drawer, but it seems to be stuck because of something. I bend down and look