Okay, the main characters from the first half of the book have been introduced (scroll down through the recent blog posts to catch up, or for a refresher). Here is a significant excerpt from the opening chapters of the story:
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She opened the blinds to let in the soft, early morning light. The warm rays of the sun fell across Jamie's face - the same face that she remembered staring up at her when she first held him in her arms fifteen years ago. His hair was thick and black, with long bangs that hung down, partially covering his eyes. She brushed his bangs to the side so she could see his entire face. His features had filled out, and he had a little peach fuzz on his chin and upper lip, but it was the same little face to her. His lower lip, slightly swollen, sported a fresh, new cut partially covered with dried blood. His cheeks and chin were bruised. His eyelids flickered as the sunlight warmed them. He opened his eyes and saw his mother sitting at the edge of his bed, her own eyes moist with tears.
“Mom?”
Her lips quivered. “Randy took off. You'll stay home from school today. I'll tell them you have fever.”
Jamie looked into her eyes. She looked back. They wanted to talk about what happened, but they never did. It was too awful to verbalize. They wanted to talk about the possibility that maybe Randy wouldn't come back this time, but they didn't. They knew he would return – he always did.
Without speaking, they communicated.
I’m sorry about what happened to you. I wanted to try to stop him, but I was afraid.
It’s okay, Mom. It’s not your fault.
Things will change. I’ll get a job. We’ll move. I’ll find a nice man.
I know, Mom. I believe you. He turned his head and hid from her eyes the fact that he knew those things would never happen. Things would never change. Randy would come back and torment him again.
The beatings he didn't mind so much. They were painful and the bruises took time to heal, but they were only exterior wounds. If he'd only had to endure beatings, he could have handled that. It's what followed that was destroying his soul. They say time heals all wounds, but Jamie was sure he would never recover from the horrors he had experienced.
Once he'd flushed the skepticism from his mind, he turned back toward her and looked again into her eyes.
I love you, too, Baby. You mean the world to me. No matter how bad things get, we’ll always have each other. Crystal looked away. She wanted to go to the police, but Randy had told her that if she ever did he would kill them both. She didn't know if he was bluffing, but the threat, always floating around in the back of her mind, popped up like a neon sign whenever she considered calling the authorities.
She opened the blinds to let in the soft, early morning light. The warm rays of the sun fell across Jamie's face - the same face that she remembered staring up at her when she first held him in her arms fifteen years ago. His hair was thick and black, with long bangs that hung down, partially covering his eyes. She brushed his bangs to the side so she could see his entire face. His features had filled out, and he had a little peach fuzz on his chin and upper lip, but it was the same little face to her. His lower lip, slightly swollen, sported a fresh, new cut partially covered with dried blood. His cheeks and chin were bruised. His eyelids flickered as the sunlight warmed them. He opened his eyes and saw his mother sitting at the edge of his bed, her own eyes moist with tears.
“Mom?”
Her lips quivered. “Randy took off. You'll stay home from school today. I'll tell them you have fever.”
Jamie looked into her eyes. She looked back. They wanted to talk about what happened, but they never did. It was too awful to verbalize. They wanted to talk about the possibility that maybe Randy wouldn't come back this time, but they didn't. They knew he would return – he always did.
Without speaking, they communicated.
I’m sorry about what happened to you. I wanted to try to stop him, but I was afraid.
It’s okay, Mom. It’s not your fault.
Things will change. I’ll get a job. We’ll move. I’ll find a nice man.
I know, Mom. I believe you. He turned his head and hid from her eyes the fact that he knew those things would never happen. Things would never change. Randy would come back and torment him again.
The beatings he didn't mind so much. They were painful and the bruises took time to heal, but they were only exterior wounds. If he'd only had to endure beatings, he could have handled that. It's what followed that was destroying his soul. They say time heals all wounds, but Jamie was sure he would never recover from the horrors he had experienced.
Once he'd flushed the skepticism from his mind, he turned back toward her and looked again into her eyes.
I love you, too, Baby. You mean the world to me. No matter how bad things get, we’ll always have each other. Crystal looked away. She wanted to go to the police, but Randy had told her that if she ever did he would kill them both. She didn't know if he was bluffing, but the threat, always floating around in the back of her mind, popped up like a neon sign whenever she considered calling the authorities.
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