Cherish - Book 0.1 - Marcus P.O.V

Sixteen year old Sarah Parker is afraid of returning to St. Mary's orphanage, afraid of losing her foster Mom, Ida and afraid of being happy. four years ago, Sarah was an orphan who'd lost hope of ever being adopted until Ida showed up. Sarah's pretty much settled into her "new life" when cracks appear in her comfort zone.

When Marcus David, her boyfriend, is accused of murdering a student and Ida is attacked shortly thereafter, Sarah's deepest fears materialize. She loses Ida and Marcus in one breath and returns to St. Marys. Sarah is forced to participate in a deadly mind dissociation game inside St. Marys - only the toughest make it out alive. As Sarah readjusts to St. Mary's she learns the oprhanage holds crucial secrets to her past.

The following chapter is based on Chapter One of the original book but is written from Marcus's point of view.

Rock Star

It feels good being back home after spending two years in rural China. I can't say I like parties but since it's being held in my honor I can't exactly skip. Pri Chopra, a friend of mine, got her billionaire dad to book the most expensive venue on the shore of South Africa’s East Coast for this epic event. Rock Star is a multistoried, exclusive club built precariously on what is reputed to be South Africa's most solid rock formation. The up side is I can sneak off at any time - the guests outnumber the residents of Blythedale. I search the crowd for any signs of the girl I haven’t heard from two years.

Damn. She isn’t here yet. I guess she’ll never forgive me for leaving even though I didn’t have a choice. Maybe she isn’t coming.

“Hey, Marcus.” Venetia de Amar bats her fake eyelashes while speaking to me. It’s freaky. I swear it seems like she’s going to have a seizure or something the way she does it.

“Hey.”

“Dance?” she holds out her hand.

“Um…no …I was on my way to the little boy’s room.”

“I’ll wait.”

I turn away and disappear into the gyrating dancing bodies and find a spot closer to the door. There’s no sign of her.

 I give up waiting and sneak out the main hall and onto the balcony of one of the upper levels.

Music thunders downstairs. I fail to understand why these beats need to stir up mini earth tremors for everyone to feel it. The wind's strong and pushes away the sound.  Unfortunately the floor still vibrates with the insane beat. That doesn’t stop me from watching the magnificent, untamed waves racing towards the shore. In the moonlight they look like rolls of a mega, liquid blanket unravelling.

 I screwed up by not calling her, emailing or even texting. It’s not like I didn’t have her number. I just didn’t want to give her false hope. I might as well spend the rest of the night alone.

I’m staring at weird shaped clouds when someone joins me on the balcony. Her hair reaches her waist, she’s wearing jeans and a decent top and she sighs so loud I half expect someone to burst onto the balcony and scream “Gotcha.” She turns ever so slightly in my direction and my heart literally stops for a minute.

Sarah. She’s even more beautiful than the last time I saw her. She’s taller, sexier too.

"Hey, Sarah."

She jumps at the sound of my voice but recognizes me immediately. "Marcus?"

I shove my hands in my pocket as I walk towards her because all I want to do more than anything else in the world is grab her and hold so close that I can feel her heart beat next to mine.

"Did I scare you?"

"Kind of."

She puts her hands into the pockets of her jeans and I wonder if she wants to hold me as badly as I want to hug her. "How did China treat you?"

I try not to stare at her. It’s pretty difficult when all I want to do is look. "Awesome. I've seen enough fossils to last a lifetime. How are things with you?"

"Let's just say I don't try to make sense of the world anymore."

"Tell me about it." I lean against the railing next to her.

Emotion surges through my blood and flares in my eyes.   I blink quickly. Damn. I hope Sarah didn’t see that. My eyes light up when I feel too much or when I want something really badly. She blinks and stares into my eyes. Change of topic, Quick.  Think of something!

"Dance?" I say the first thing that comes to mind. Lucky the music downstairs changes to something more techno. I can’t imagine grinding against Sarah – she’ll probably freak out and run considering we haven’t seen each other for two years.

"Yeah."

"I never took you for the shy type."

"I...crowds make me nervous."

"Me too."

She smiles shyly and my knees turn to jelly.

The music changes to a slow, romantic ballad within seconds. She tries to move away, but I refuse to let go. I pull her closer until I’m breathing in her soft, flowery scent. She looks up at me – her lips are so close to mine. My pulse races. Our lips are brush softly. She closes her eyes.

A blood-curdling scream penetrates the air just when I'm ready to deepen our kiss. It’s not just any scream – it’s the final plea of someone facing death.

I pull away so fast Sarah seems confused. A few seconds pass before she follows me upstairs. I pause when I reach Riviera, an upmarket coffee shop.

"Help," someone begs.

I reach her just in time. The girl's covered in blood. Her breathing's ragged. She'll lose consciousness any moment now. Sarah sinks to the floor as the scent of blood chokes her.

"Sarah, help me stop the bleeding."

Sarah’s frozen. I forget she hasn’t seen someone on the brink of death before. The stench of blood overwhelms me.

"Sarah," I call her again hoping she’ll snap out of it and help me. Sarah’s healing touch is the only thing that can save this girl now.

Somehow she manages to get a grip on herself and crawls towards us. I tear off my shirt, rip it in half, and hold out one piece to her. The girl's chest is ripped open.

"Help me compress the bleeding."

“I…”

She stares at the girl but fails to react.

"Sarah?"

“Hmm.”

"Sarah, please, you have to focus..."

“Hmm.”

"Sarah?" I hold her briefly until our eyes lock.

"She needs you."

"Okay..."

Her fingers hover over the girl's open chest and crackle when they make contact with her cold, near lifeless skin. Streaks of white light escape her fingers and flow inside the girl. Her chest closes up. She's breathing a few moments later. Sarah stares at the fading rays of light in my hands. She’s burned up too much energy bringing her back to life, and it's taken a toll on her. I grab her before she hits the floor as she passes out.

***********************************************************************************************

Cherish, the complete novel will be published by Breathless Press. The release date will be announced.  Please follow me on Goodreads and mark Cherish as want to read to be part of my contest celebrating Cherish's release. I have swag up for grabs and the contest is international. please follow me on twitter @Shersinghzn