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SCARS OF THE HEART
by
KAROLE KENNEDY
Adrian Templeton scarred physically and emotionally, craves to live a normal
life away from his domineering and somewhat hateful mother. After accepting
a job offer, he meets Ellen Gerber a woman with considerable years age
difference.
Can Adrian and Ellen rise above judgmental people and society’s criticism to
live a fulfilled and happy life together?
Filled with drama, suspense and God’s infinite wisdom and love, follow their
trials and tribulations.
Will ending it all be the answer or will Ellen find a way to track Adrian
down after his disappearance.
ISBN: 978-1-935048-34-3 1-935048-34-1
Word Count: 63,336
EBook $6.49
Trade Paperback
$12.49 plus shipping.
EXCERPT
CHAPTER ONE
His dark, shoulder-blade
length hair clung to the side of his face and rain-drenched shirt. The
deluge, illuminated by the streetlight, fell in torrents and the biting wind
howled around the corner of the industrial brick building. Adrian Templeton
turned his scarred face to the light, the skin surrounding his dark-brown
eyes creased against the wild weather. He screamed into the blackness of the
night, “Why can’t anything go right in this horrible world?” He held the
railing that kept him from falling into the swell of the stormy water and
gripped it until his knuckles turned white, his nails biting into the flesh
on his hands. “I can’t cope with life anymore!”
His body shuddered when the
familiar lilting voice floated up from the water below. His lover’s face
floated under the surface beckoning to him, alluring him to join her in her
watery grave.
It whispered,
“Adrian…Adrian.”
He held his hands over his
ears and bent over, crying out, “No! No. Leave me alone! You’re dead!”
***
From the recess of his mind,
he heard banging. It intermingled with the storm in his nightmare.
Bang. Bang!
“Adrian! Are you awake?”
With a guttural gasp, he sat
bolt upright, his breathing laboured and his heart palpitating. He swallowed
hard, rubbed his face and answered his mother.
“Do you have to bang the
door down?”
“Get up. You’re going to be
late for work. Your bus is in thirty-minutes.”
Adrian lay back and tried to
squash the memories of the nightmare that frequented his dreams and chilled
him to the bone. He looked at the nail indents in his hands and sighed.
Footsteps stopped outside
his door once again. “Adrian! Are you up yet?”
Groaning, he clambered out
of bed, and hugging his arms around his chest against the cold, walked to
the door and flung it open.
“I’m up, okay. Give me a
break.”
His mother dressed in an old
floral cotton dress and towelling apron, inhaled on her cigarette, “Hmm,
what’s wrong with you? Another nightmare?” She pushed past him to go about
her morning duties.
“Oh, Adrian, You’ve knocked
everything off your night table again. You’ve tipped your glass of water in
the bed! Look at you, your hair, and bedding are all wet.”
“Mum, please, I’m twenty-six
years old. Stop fussing.” Irritation wrangled through him. “Don’t worry, I
will fix it up when I get home from work, and yes, I had another nightmare.
And please, get that cigarette out of my room.” He bit back the anger and
frustration at his mother’s meddling as she sighed while stripping the bed,
her cigarette dangling from her mouth. She’d never treated him like an adult
since the accident. I’ve got to get a place of my own!
“Mum.” He yelled,
exasperated. He took a deep breath, and his voice softened. “It’s okay, I
will fix it. Now, can I get dressed? I’m going to be late. The boss is the
last thing I need breathing down my neck. Remember, no job means no money.
That means no food.”
His mother placed her hands
on her hips and stared at him with a look of disdain. “How are you going to
cope out in the world?”
He laughed sardonically.
“Quite easily, I can assure you. Now, stress less. Go and let me get ready.”
“I doubt that, and hurry up.
You’re late again.”
I wonder why!
Adrian threw his hands up in
exasperation after his mother had flounced out of the room, slamming the
door behind her.
He glanced at the clock.
Ten minutes ‘til the bus arrives. I won’t have time for a shower or
breakfast! He scrambled into his jeans, and while doing his buttons up
on his shirt, wiggled his feet into his shoes. Grabbing his comb and wallet
from the dresser, he put the wallet in his mouth, combed his hair, and then
yelled a muffled goodbye.
* * * *
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