Fated Dreams (Book One In The Affinity series) (38 page)

Most of the
lights were off at my house, which meant my sister must be sleeping and my
parents were in the living room watching TV. How was I supposed to walk past
them without being noticed? I knew that as soon as my mother saw me, she’d know
that something was wrong. I wasn’t that good a liar, and I was sure my face
would be a dead give away.

I stood on the
porch and peeked through a crack in the curtain. The only sound coming from the
house was the drone of the TV. The whir of the cars on the highway was louder.
The living room was empty; they must be in the kitchen getting a snack or a
drink. My mother did like a glass of wine at night. I took my chance, since I
knew there probably wouldn’t be another, and turned the doorknob slowly.

Once inside, I
shut it without a sound, thankful that my father had recently oiled the squeaky
hinges.

I heard them
arguing in the kitchen—something they had been doing a lot lately—but instead
of dwelling on that, I hightailed it up the stairs before I was seen.

In my room, I
stared at myself in the mirror. My face was red and puffy; my eyes were
bloodshot with mascara running down my face. I looked like a psychotic clown.

I took a wipe
out of its box and rubbed my cheeks. As the makeup washed off my face, I made a
promise to myself. Logan would pay for this, if it was the last thing I ever
did. I didn’t know how yet, but I wouldn’t stop until he regretted the day he
messed with me.

Acknowledgments

I have many people that helped and
encouraged me to take on this new challenging career. First, I would like to
thank my mother, my sisters Debbie and Brenda, and my cousin Jody for being my
guinea pigs and reading this for me. Their input was a great help. And a big
shout-out to my cousin and long-time best friend, Tracy, for editing and
helping with the cover even though we didn’t use it.

To my beautiful
niece Courtney for being my model, and for freezing her butt off while I took
her picture, twice, thank you.

To my
mother-in-law, Donna, for all of her pre-editing, and for loving it as much as
I do. You made my day with your praise.

To my husband,
Brad, and children, Josh and Megan, for being patient with me while I was
locked up in my room writing. I love you all.

And I cannot
forget Stephanie Mooney for creating such a great cover, and Christine Leporte
for saving me, and doing the final edit.

About the Author

Christina Smith is a wife and mother of
two. She lives in a small rural town in Ontario, Canada where she spends most
of her free time writing.

Look for her
newest novel,
Delusions
– Book Two in the Affinity series, available
now.