Twisted FateTwisted Fate | FREE READ | Publication Date: September 2013 | Genre: Paranormal | Length: Short Story

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All may seem lost…until you really do lose everything.

Jessica Ellison thought she’d lost everything in the Joplin tornado, until her boyfriend, Nick, dies in a freak accident. It all started as a retreat to Eureka Springs to escape the rubble of what was left of their lives, a chance to have a normal weekend before returning to sift through the debris one last time. Things come into focus for Jessica when the only man she’s ever loved is killed. Can fate twist things around and set it right, or has it just spiraled out of control?

Excerpt

Jessica Ellison perched on the rusted metal railing of her hotel room’s balcony. She stood up, fingers of one hand gripping the rough wall next to her for balance. The crisp fall breeze tousled her long, strawberry blonde hair across her face, whipped her silk nightgown against her legs. Loss and grief twisted her gut and clawed her heart. She stared down eight stories into the empty park below. The clock tower bell rang out twice, slicing into the calm silence of early morning. The chimes startled her, nearly toppling Jessica. Adrenaline rushed through her body. A sadistic laugh ripped through her tears as she found herself clinging to the brick wall for safety. She let go, dropping her hands to her sides. Her toes curled over the wrought iron, steadying her ever so slightly as she leaned into the oncoming wind.

Nick was gone. She’d watched him tumble down the hotel steps, held him in her arms as he struggled for his final breath.

She closed her eyes, seeing it all again in her mind’s eye.

His trembling hand brushed her face and, in a quiet, breathy voice, he whispered, “I love you.” His familiar blue eyes clamped shut in pain; his body shuddered and went limp.

Jessica tangled her fingers into his thick mass of dark hair and screamed, “Don’t you dare leave me!” Tears hadn’t come yet, but pain, panic, and gut wrenching terror consumed every fiber of her being.

The plump woman who’d been leading the tour of the haunted Basin Park Hotel dropped to her knees beside them, pressing a finger against his neck. A few seconds later she looked up at Jessica, her face scrunched in sadness. “I don’t feel a pulse.”

The tears finally joined in with the myriad of emotions assaulting her, streaming freely down Jessica’s face. “Someone do something. Please?”