The Singles (58 page)
Authors: Emily Snow
To Rebecca, my ass-kicking agent—Thank you for all your wisdom and support. You keep me sane!
To Jovana Shirley with Unforeseen Editing—You are so incredibly talented! Thank you for taking Savor You and marking it up with your red pen of greatness. I’m so grateful for all your insight and suggestions!
Thank you to my early readers: Lisa Kane, Lisa Rutledge, Tracey Kruger, Dawn Martens, Aimee Pachorek, Lourdes Sanchez, America Matthew, Kim Person, Stacy Kestwick and Jennifer Wolfel. I appreciate you ladies so much for taking the time to read over my pages and for giving me insight. Your opinions are invaluable to me.
Thanks to Letitia Hasser at RBA Designs for creating such a beautiful book cover. Your artwork brings Kylie to life!
To Cris Hadarly, Becca Manuel, and Abbie Dauenheimer—Thank you ladies a million times for being so effing creative. I love the trailers and collages, and I smile like an idiot every time I look at them.
To the bloggers in the romance community—THANK YOU! Your support and love for my books mean so much to me. I appreciate you all more than you could ever imagine. Thank you for taking such good care of me and all the other indie authors!
And to my family—You guys rock my socks! (Don’t look at my feet right now because they’re mismatched.) Thanks for encouraging me to follow this dream of mine. I love you guys.
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A New Adult Romance By
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Emily Snow
Copyright © 2014 by Emily Snow Books
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over designed by Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs
ISBN:
9781310410604
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his book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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 from the publisher in writing. For information message [email protected].
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wo years ago, Evie’s sister died, leaving her lost. Existing without really living. Coping the only way she knew how: by wrecking things.
Last year, Evie exposed her dad’s affairs, finished ripping apart her relationship with her longtime boyfriend, and completely ruined her music scholarship.
But today, she’s reinventing herself at her new university. Desperate to break away from all the destruction she’s caused, Evie’s ready to start over. For her sister, who never even had a chance. And for herself.
Then Rhys, her new voice instructor, happens.
He’s gorgeous and insanely talented, but he’s also a part of the dark past Evie is trying to overcome. Rhys’s brother is the reason why her life went up in flames, the reason why Lily, Evie's sister, is dead. But even though Rhys is the last person Evie should ever want, for the first time in two years, wrecking things seems...right.
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- “Hanging On” by Ellie Goulding
- “Riverside” by Agnes Obel
- “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus
- “Human” by Civil Twilight
- “All the Right Moves” by One Republic
- “All Falls Down” by Kanye West
- “Adolescents” by Incubus
- “Delicate” by Damien Rice
- “Lovesong” by 311
- “Counting Stars” by One Republic
- “Mirrors” by Justin Timberlake
- “Heartbeat” by The Fray
- “Avenue” by Agnes Obel
- “Breathe (2 AM)” by Anna Nalick
- “Fix Me” by Ten Years
- “Yesterday” by The Beatles
- “Lonely Boy” by The Black Keys
- “The Monster” by Eminem ft. Rihanna
- “Heaven Knows” by The Pretty Reckless
- “Between the Raindrops” by Lifehouse & Natasha Bedingfield
- “Say Something” by A Great Big World
- “Slowly Freaking Out” by Skylar Grey
- “Stay” by Rihanna & Mikky Ekko
- “Don’t Say A Word” by Ellie Goulding
- “Everlong” by Foo Fighters
- “Under the Milky Way” by Sia
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To the Your Toxic Sequel Support Group -
You girls kick ass and do Lucas proud everyday.
Thank you for your awesomeness.
Two Years Ago
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“Y
ou sure she won’t figure out I’m here?” my boyfriend, James, murmurs into my ear. His warm, minty breath fans strands of my long chestnut brown hair, coursing a tingle down my spine. Tilting my head, I look back into his gray eyes and notice the flash of pleasure in them because of my visible reaction to him. There’s a definite note of apprehension there, too, thanks to his odd fear of my mom.
She’s too scared to kill a spider, much less come after him with a weapon just because she catches him inside my bedroom. “Evie?” James groans. “I’d hate for her to start shooting at me.”
I throw my head back and laugh. “My mother doesn’t own a gun,
but
she does keep a butcher knife under her bed.” His blond eyebrows knit together, and I’m sure his head is now full of images of my delicate PTA officer mother going stab-happy with a dull Bed, Bath, & Beyond utensil.
“Evie, this shit’s not funny.”
I snort and roll my eyes. “Calm down. She’s got one of her book club meetings tonight. She’s probably down stairs Googling spoilers so her friends won’t realize she hasn’t picked up a novel in weeks.”
“Until she comes up here.”
Flipping over onto my stomach, I prop myself up on my forearms and give James the most serious look I can muster, which is laced in laughter. “I promise,
promise
, you’re safe.”
From the skeptical look he’s wearing, he doesn’t fully buy my words, but he forces himself to relax, linking his fingers together behind his head. He lies back on the plush pillows and looks up at me. “Not going to lie, I’m still nervous as hell.” He dips his smooth chin toward the iPod dock on my dresser, which is on the other side of the room. “Maybe you should turn that up a little more. Just in case.”
A laugh rumbles deep in my chest as I push myself up. “You are a big, fat chicken shit.” As I make my way over to the sound system, I swing my hips in rhythm to the Kings of Leon song that’s currently playing. I am definitely not a dancer, but I hear James’ sharp intake of air as he watches my movements.
After I adjust the volume so there’s no way my mom will be able to hear anything other than my “Relaxation” playlist, I spin around to look at him, noting the appreciative glint in his eyes that’s taken precedence over any fear that was there before. “I’ve missed you,” he mouths. “Get over here.”
Without warning, I jump onto the bed beside him, the mattress sinking a little at the sudden motion and my weight. I squeal when James tackles me, drags me beneath his long, lean body, and pins my wrists to the mattress.
“Now who’s being loud?” I demand breathlessly, releasing a soft noise from the back of my throat when his lips lower to mine. After he draws away—much to my disappointment because he hasn’t kissed me like this in almost two weeks—I clear my throat. “What are you doing?”
“Looking at you.”
“What time do you have to be—” But the sound of my phone blaring on the nightstand beside the bed interrupts my thought process. We both turn our heads to where the phone is buzzing fiercely on the antique white wood, and I sigh. “I’m not answering that stupid thing.”
“It might be important.” James’ lips twitch. “But, to answer your question, I told my mom I’d be home by seven. I parked a mile away, so you’ve got me all to yourself for”—he looks at my alarm clock, and cocks his head to the side like he’s calculating how long it will take him to sprint to his car and get home before his mom starts bitching—“another hour and a half.”
When my phone starts vibrating again, he lifts his eyebrows. “You should answer it, might be Lily again. Or your other boyfriend?”
“Don’t care if it is her.” Still, I grab the phone and check the number on the screen. “And I’m too lazy to manage another boyfriend, I can barely keep up with you.” I flash the phone in his face, wiggling it around so he can see the smiling face of one of my friends. “It’s Sophie.”
Letting out a low whistle, he moves his head to each side. “God, you hold a grudge. Hard to believe y’all have been fighting this long. Usually you kiss and make up after a few days.”
He’s referring to the epic fallout I had with my older sister two weeks ago. Honestly, just thinking about it right now pisses me off.
When my mom had woken up in the middle of the night after a bad dream only to find that I was nowhere to be found, she’d automatically confronted Lily. Being the worst liar, a born worrier, and a natural avoider of confrontations, Lily had accidentally revealed that I
might
be with James. Mom had freaked out, of course, and when I finally made it home shortly after three AM, there was a cop car waiting in our driveway.
Although Dad had only suggested a week without driving privileges, Mom had upped that punishment to a month. Then she’d thrown in a teen pregnancy movie marathon to try to scare the hell out of me along with a strict
No James Without Parental Supervision
policy for good measure.
Obviously, I’ve managed to get around at least one of those punishments, but since my mother came down on me, I’ve only said a handful of words to my sister.
“I’ll get over it when I get my keys back,” I inform James hotly. When he rolls off of me, I grab the pillow closest to my face and crush it to my chest. His gray eyes search my face until I finally groan. “Okay, I’ll talk to her and apologize tonight. Are you happy now?”
His answer is muffled by the sound of my mom frantically yelling my name from downstairs. “Great,” he whispers harshly, his gaze darting anxiously to the door. “Maybe I should go.” He starts to get up, but I press my palm against his chest, shoving him back down.
“Calm the hell down.” I push myself upright, swing my long legs over the side of the bed and hop off. “If she thought you were in my room she would already be in here telling you what a manwhore you are. Since she’s not, I’m going to run down there before she gets worked up enough to come get me. I probably left an empty Coke can lying around and seeing it set her off.”
Grabbing a stretchy hairband off the nightstand, I fist my brown hair into a high ponytail and pile it on top of my head. “Sit tight, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Once again I dance across my room, winking at James when he gives me another longing look.
“Thanks for being a tease.” He hurls the pillow I was just holding in my direction, but I easily catch it before dropping it in my computer chair. “Hurry back.”
My mood is the best it’s been in weeks as I jog downstairs, grinning and humming Fuel’s “Shimmer,” which I can hear coming from inside my bedroom. That feeling of invincibility, however, takes a backseat when I reach the landing. My mother’s standing at the front door, her shoulders sagging forward and her hand gripping the doorframe for support.
What’s going on?
Curling my bare toes against the hardwood floor, I let my gaze slip past her to stare out toward the early autumn evening. And to come face-to-face with the cop standing on the front porch with a grim look on his weathered face.
I feel my heart lurch. “Mom, what’s going—”
Slowly—so slowly that I have a difficult time managing to breathe while I wait for her—she turns to look at me. This is when I notice that she’s trembling, the yoga body that she’s absolutely proud of shaking so violently I’m surprised she doesn’t tumble over.
“Is everything okay?” I whisper.
But when I squint, I realize she’s crying. I see the tears glistening on her cheeks. Finally hear the soft gasps coming from her parted lips. She lifts her hazel eyes, and as I register how wide and terrified they are, I know something awful has happened. Something that will obliterate me.
Suddenly, all thoughts of James waiting for me upstairs in my bed disappear and gnawing panic sets in.
Oh god.
Oh god.
I try to force my body to move, to finish walking down the stairs to get to my mother, but I’m frozen in place, my legs bogged down by some invisible force.
Fear.
No, terror.
I’m scared to death of whatever it is she’s about to tell me.
“Mom?” I whisper brokenly. I look from her stunned eyes, to her speechless, trembling lips, to the solemn face of the police officer and then back again. “Is it Dad?”
But somehow I know it’s not, even before she tells me in the calmest voice possible that she needs me to give my father a call at the car dealership he owns and tell him to get to the local hospital, NOW.
I
know
what she says next. The name is already racing through my mind, shattering all my control to bring me crashing to my knees. For some reason, though, I don’t
hear
her say it because the only sound entering my ears is my erratic breathing and the last thing I said to my sister.
“You’ll be fine.”