Ricochet
Fear.
It's the last thing I remembered.
I was afraid.
Afraid to fight, afraid to run…
afraid to breathe.
Then, everything had gone dark. As
if life was finally hearing my pleas, my cries to end the torment. To end the
fear.
But even in the dark, I still felt
it.
I always felt it.
My life had been a ricochet of one
event leading to the next. Bouncing back and forth from good to bad. Happiness
to despair. Hope to fear.
My name is Arianna West. I'm
stronger now. Steady. Alive.
I can find a way to survive on my
own. I can see what is coming for me. I can channel my fear into strength.
Except… I didn't see Jack.
And Jack changed everything.
For readers 18+ due to language,
violence, and sexual content.
I laughed. A laugh so deep that the
muscles in my abdomen flexed. How long had it been since I had felt that? Too
long. I hadn't really laughed in a long time and something so simple had
brought it out of me.
Jack had brought it out of me.
"God, I missed that
laugh," Jack whispered.
I went silent, so suddenly that my
breath couldn't keep up and it came rushing out with the emotion that had been
built up inside of me.
Tears immediately sprang to my eyes
and the heaviness in my chest was back.
My life had changed so much. Everything had
changed.
"Jack..."
"Ari, please don't cry."
He had turned his body towards me
and was holding my face in his hands. The tears running down my cheeks didn't
make it far. He wiped each one away.
He saw the moment my control slipped
and I just couldn't seem to stop the tears. That's when he pulled me into his
arms. Arms that had always made everything better. Strong fingers combed
through my hair, down my temple, across my jaw, then retraced their way back up
and into my hair once more. He was giving me whatever comfort he could while I
sobbed on his chest.
I should have been embarrassed about
the quick change in my mood. I should have felt ridiculous. Childish. With
Jack, though, I never had to worry about being anyone but myself no matter who
I was now.
"So much is gone," I said
in a broken and weak voice. "So much is missing from me."
"No, Ari. You're still in
there, babe, just a little harder to reach."
I shook my head. In denial? I wasn't
sure. He was only half right.
"I've bent too far for too
long. I'm broken," I whispered. So much regret came pouring out of me and
I couldn't control it.
I had been slowly breaking for three
years and my determination to move on was waning much faster than I could ever
keep up with.
Jack buried his fingers in my hair
and I felt the press of his lips on the top of my head. When he spoke, the tone
of his voice sounded defeated. Resigned. "The world breaks everyone, and
afterward, many are strong at the broken places."
I sniffed as the rumble in his chest
vibrated against my cheek. His shirt was wet from my tears and I knew I looked
like a mess, but I looked up at him anyway.
"What is that from?" I
asked.
"What? You don't think I could
come up with something so profound by myself?" he teased.
"I know damn well you could,
Jack."
He looked at me for a moment, his
eyes searching mine and his fingers sweeping a lock of hair back behind my ear.
If I didn't know any better, I would think he was reading my mind, seeing all
my secrets, all my broken places. "It's Ernest Hemingway. He said
that."
"Do you believe it?"
"I do. So much so that I
tattooed it on my shoulder the first chance I got," he mumbled with a
short chuckle.
I glanced down at his shoulder. It
was too dark to see much of anything, but the moonlight streaming in the window
showed enough when he lifted his shirt sleeve. The words were there,
permanently inked into his skin just above a complex shape that I couldn't
quite make out.
I live in Morgan Utah with my
husband, daughter, and dog, Kolo. I write as often as my active daughter will
let me and my husband has the patience of a saint. I find inspiration from
dreams, people I meet, and life experiences. When I write, I usually end up
drinking one too many cans of Peace Tea, eating three too many Fruit by the
Foot fruit snacks, and accidently kicking my pup and best buddy, Kolo, too many
times since he loves to sleep under my desk at my feet. I started writing as a
teen, but my fear of the unknown won out every time and I threw everything out.
After becoming a mother and deciding to stay at home to raise my beautiful little
girl, I tried again when I couldn't stop thinking of ideas. I loved every
minute, every hour of sleep lost, and every character that came to life in my
mind. It's strange, but my favorite moments are when I have writer's block
because I can turn to my husband and find inspiration through him by just doing
what we do best together. Talking, laughing, and just being in love. He doesn't
like to read, but he never stops encouraging me to keep going. Writing has
become an important part of my life and every book has a special place in my
heart.
WOO HOO! Thank you so much! <3 <3
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