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?
The back of T2 had a wooden porch high enough that most of the city could be viewed from it. Bella was thrilled by the reaction to their performance and took a breath as she stepped outside with David. She had worn exactly what had been picked out earlier. Her tan heels tapped against the wood with every step. As if he was trying to match her, David had on a pair of tan slacks, loafers, and an untucked white button-up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
Bella smiled. “That was so much fun. And you were good. I’ve heard you sing, but not like that.”
“Thanks, but you were better. I’ll never get tired of hearing your voice.”
“We definitely have to do that again.” When they reviewed the song selection, Bella had relented and allowed David to choose. She hadn’t sung anything in weeks. Of all the songs in the world, he picked
“Meet Me Halfway” by the Black Eyed Peas. Bella liked the song, but David seemed more passionate about it than she had. Regardless, she enjoyed being on stage with him.
“I’m sure I can arrange that.”
They stopped as they approached the edge of the balcony. Bella had worn her hair down. It was the only option that covered the mark. She hated the brand, but aside from a tattoo on the neck nothing could repair the damaged skin. Crisscrossed scythes had been seared into her flesh and she learned to hide the darkened pattern. She leaned on the balcony and glanced to David. “That’d be nice.”
“You okay? You seem a little distracted.”
“Yeah. I just had a hard afternoon.” More like wretched. The only nice part had been sleep, something she attributed to the pills. Those things blissfully knocked her out. Something she longed to do again. The world faded to black quite peacefully on those occasions.
“If you want to go I’ll understand.”
There was a whole lot of I’m sorry included in that comment. And it was all unnecessary. Her eyes snapped up to his. “Go? Why would I want to do that? I’m having fun, and after the day I’ve had, I need that.”
Raising a brow, David reached a hand up and tenderly tucked a loose hair behind her ear. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“It was just one thing after another today. I guess I figured by now I’d catch some kind of break.”
“What happened?”
He genuinely wanted to know and her inability to mention any of the horrible things crushed her spirit. Bella stared out at the view of the city. Rescate County was gorgeous at night. There had to be something she could tell him. “I’m supposed to testify at the trial. It’s difficult to deal with the memories when all I want to do is forget. Go on with my life.”
“I’m not sure there is a way to forget. But I have faith you can move forward. There are a lot of people who care and support you.”
“Yeah. Too bad they can’t face it for me.” Bella smirked. She hadn’t intended to be sarcastic, but it still came out that way. There was a way to forget. It would be a forever kind of forget, so the only thing that lived on would be the memory of her everyone carried.
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).
Punished #2
Destroyed #1
