Title: Punished
Author: Krys Fenner
Series: Dark Road #2
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Young Adult
Release Date: Late June 2015
Summary:Hope springs eternal for everyone except Bella Kynaston. She survived the rape, but making it through the trial is another deal all together. As lies come forward, more questions arise leaving Bella to suffer more punishment than she believed she deserved. Sometimes ending it all seems like the only answer. Will she find the peace she so desperately seeks if the pain permanently ended?
Jeremiah believed he’d done the right thing, even if the timing hadn’t been ideal. The only way to protect Bella was if he stayed out of her life. Or so he thought. When Bella starts dating David, Jeremiah thinks David could save her. As it turns out, things progressively get worse. Could Jeremiah be the solution? If so, can he get to her in time? Or will he suffer the worst punishment of his life and lose her forever?
“What do you want?” David’s ice-queen sister answered.
Bella tucked her hands in her jean pockets. “Is your brother here?”
“Yep.”
If he was there, it would only be practical for the girl to step aside, but that wasn’t the case. Like she should be surprised. “Can I come in?”
“What for?”
Holy hell, she was so not in the mood. “Let’s get something straight Heather. If I start dating your brother, I plan to be around here a lot. Now you have two choices: get used to the shit, or get shoved on your ass every time I have to walk all over you like a goddamn rug.”
“There a problem?” David asked on approach.
Shock remained ingrained on Heather’s face, so Bella took full advantage of the girl’s inability to speak. “None at all. Somewhere we can talk?”“Yeah. We can go to the library.”
Bella inhaled deeply, nodded and followed after him. Once they were inside, David closed the door and she slowly paced the large room. She walked around and tried to get a hold of her nerves. David leaned against the huge oak desk and waited on her. She stumbled over her own two feet. Bella held a hand to back David off and sat down on the chaise lounge. “I’m sorry about last night. I panicked.”
“I’m more concerned about what prompted it so that we don’t go there again.”
Unable to sit still, Bella stood again and resumed her pacing. “The smallest thing reminds me of the night I was attacked. I was okay when the kiss was gentle. Then it changed and everything beautiful about it got devoured, lost in my memories of the attack. All I could think was that I had to get away. I had to run.”
Two hands wrapped around her arms and prevented her from pacing further. “Bella...”
She gasped at the touch and jumped back. “Sorry.”
“You could have told me. We would’ve left right then. I’m in no hurry for whatever is happening between us. I’ll wait as long as I need to for you to be okay with any kind of intimacy. You need to believe that.” David placed a finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to his.
She’d managed to contain the tears through all the pacing and talking, but not now, not after what he said. The flood gates opened and tears freely streamed down her cheeks. How could she express her gratitude? He was so understanding about the whole situation. There was only thing she could think of. Bella wrapped her arms around David’s neck, placed a tender kiss on his lips and snuggled against his chest. “Your heartbeat, it reminds of where I am.”
“That’s the best thank you I’ve ever gotten. We’ll go as slow as you need to. I’m just glad I get to spend time with you.”
She didn’t deserve him, but God knew she needed him. Bella sniffled and wiped her face.
“You need a tissue?”
“Yes, please.”“Okay.” David kissed her forehead and started for the door. “You eat dinner yet?”
Bella wiped her face with the back of her hand. She hadn’t eaten since dinner last night. Not that she planned to mention that. “No.”
“If you’d like to stay, I’ll have chef whip up something.”
“That sounds good.”
“Okay, stay here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” David closed the door behind him.
What the hell was she doing to this guy? Yeah, Jeremiah broke up with her weeks ago. Yeah he used her insecurities against her and hurt her in ways she’d never imagined, but she still had feelings for him. And here she had encouraged David toward something he would never really have from her. She turned back to the chaise lounge and sat. As much as she didn’t want to compare herself to David’s sister, she could possibly be just as much of a bitch. The empty ache in her heart was getting to her. Maybe he could fill part of it and she wouldn’t be so alone.
Whoa! The room had begun to spin. Bella gripped the back of the chaise lounge and waited for the dizzy spell to pass. With all the pills she’d taken that day, she probably should’ve eaten sooner. Much sooner, but it would pass. She’d had a couple and they went away after a few minutes. This one seemed to last longer. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Relief faded as quickly as it arrived. Nausea climbed up the back of her dry throat.
God, she was going to throw up. She hopped off the chaise lounge and grabbed the desk to keep from falling over. Bella covered her mouth before she tossed cookies all over the place and stumbled to the door. If she was going to throw up, she’d do it in the bathroom. Movement made the dizziness worse.
She fumbled with the door and attempted to get enough control that she could grip the knob and open it. Finally she got it open and looked out to the two people standing in the foyer. The last thing she recalled was calling David’s name before her muscles gave out and she collapsed onto the floor.
At the age of 16, Krys Fenner fell in love with Psychology and Creative Writing. At that time she wrote her first short story dealing with sexual abuse and forgiveness. Psychological issues in her family filled her with the desire to help others using her own experiences. So in 2004, she earned an Associate of Arts in Psychology. And while her sister is the one with dreams of becoming a Psychologist, Krys Fenner returned to Creative Writing. She is currently working on a Bachelor of Arts and plans to continue on to a Masters degree, where she can major in her first love (Creative Writing) and minor in her second (Psychology).
(Amazon link will work when it's released)
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