Sunday Snippet: Gut-Punch Feeling

Well, my youngest attended our local prom last night and she looked so beautiful. I'm always amazed I had a hand in creating my kids. They're good people. J

Gotham returns Monday! I'm pretty excited for the final half of this season. Also looking forward to having my CW shows back with new episodes. And the summer TV fare isn't looking too bad either.

My work schedule is jammed and I love it! I like to stay busy, even when it cuts into my writing time. I could live with about four more hours each day, but I'm getting a lot better at managing personal with professional.

Tonight's post is from Gut-Punch Feeling, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt of "one character is revealed to be an enemy after they're rescued by a main protagonist". I love scenarios featuring a betrayal of some sort.

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 you 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 head 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.

I'm very fond of Evie and Parr. Their story is coming together in ways I didn't expect.

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye