Greetings!
I'm coming off
something of a stress and drama filled work week. I have a seasonal job at a
local golf course and we're down to two people since we're winding down to our
October 31 'official' close. When one of those two people has to take time off…
it sucks hairy ones—especially when they wait until the day before to say
anything. Just saying.
Moving on to fun
stuff. Let's see, Lost Girl will air
its final season sometime soon. I'll be sad to see the show end. Haven returns with Evil Audrey. I refuse
to call her by whatever name she ended up with when she went inside the barn
and returned. I'm also pretty excited for Flash
to debut. Anything that has ties to Arrow
can't miss in my book.
That's it for TV
this week.
Tonight's post is
from Gut Punch Feeling, a working title for a short story / novella where my
main character gets to face her issues head on to save the one she loves.
Here's the tagline:
Evie Roth, a soldier explorer, keeps her promises. But when
a sinister plot threatens those she loves, especially Parr Romanoff, she'll
break a vow she made long ago… to herself.
And a sneaky peek…
Evie resisted the urge to rub the
phantom pain again. "I just can't understand why you'd want anything
reproductive from me. I'm such a screw up." Hell, she could show him the
documentation of her many mistakes.
Cavelle tilted his head to the
side. "Ah, but your pattern for self-destructive tendencies is part of the
reason we chose you. Your emotions run deep." He shrugged. "We needed
to test our theory."
Evie narrowed her eyes. "Go
on, fill me in. What was the working theory?"
Cavelle leaned forward.
"Personal connection. We don't have those among our race. We took your
ovary to create life with someone you cared for." He met her gaze.
"Loved."
Lifting a brow, she casually
asked. "And did it work?" She bit back the bile rising in her throat.
Plenty of time later to expel the rage building inside her.
Cavelle's shoulders slumped.
"It didn't, no."
Relief flooded her and a
victorious vibe followed.
Evie snorted. "Guess you
overestimated my feelings for Steven, didn't you." She had what she needed
now.
Cavelle realized he'd lost the
advantage. "You loved him. We know you did." But he couldn't deny or
take back the information.
She started for the exit.
"Apparently that's not enough." And they were so mistaken. Parr
always held her heart, whether she'd known it or not. "Or… you're
wrong."
Cavelle didn't accept total defeat.
"But you came back for him."
Evie paused, her hand on the
doorknob. "Yeah, I did." But
not because I love him. "I made a promise to return… so I did."
She glanced back over her shoulder. "Something we lowly humans do… keep
our word. I said I'd get everyone off that planet and I did. End of
story." She exited, head held high.
She managed to keep her composure
until she hit the first juncture. Leaning back against the wall, she gave free
rein to the emotions slamming into her. Sliding down, her butt hit the floor
and she bent forward, resting her forehead on her knees.
She'd bested Cavelle, but at a
price. All illusion stripped away, Evie owned her love for Parr. Steven worked
as a pleasant substitute, but didn't touch her soul the way Parr did—and always
had—which made her as bad as the Simulates, maybe worse. At least they had an
excuse for their behavior, all in the programming, but she had no defense for
playacting at being in love with Steven.
Heaving a sigh her head snapped
up when footsteps approached.
Parr rounded the corner and
stopped short, hovering in position for a second before relaxing his stance and
slowly making his way toward her.
He dropped down beside her and
draped an arm around her shoulder. "Evie…"
She shook her head. "It
figures you'd show up. Is this the moment where tear me apart and tell me what
a failure I am."
He huffed out a harsh breath.
"I can if you want me to, but that wasn't the plan."
She angled her hear around and
met his gaze. "Then what? Why are you here?"
He leaned in close, nudging her
head. "Just wanted to say, nice work. That's all."
She opened her mouth. Closed it.
What could she possibly say? She never expected kindness and his praise
disarmed her, stripped her bare, and she didn't know how to respond. Her
shoulders slumped, then shook, and tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Parr
gathered her close, cupping the nape of her neck to rest her head on his
shoulder.
He pressed a kiss to the top of
her head. "Let it out, Evie." His hand smoothed her hair. "Purge
the past and let everything go."
She truly didn't deserve his
support, but if possible, she loved him even more than five minutes ago.
Evie is a treat to
write. And Parr makes me swoon, just a little.
That's it for this
week. Catch everyone on the flip.
ML Skye
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