Paper Stars Rewritten
Fallen Brook Series, Book 2
Jennilynn Wyer
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Synopsis
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Epilogue
Broken Butterfly
All Our Next Times
That Girl
About the Author
Tattoo Confessions
Also by the Author
Copyright
Paper Stars Rewritten
Copyright © 2020 Jennilynn Wyer
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, brands, media, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All Rights Reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Design By: Jennilynn Wyer
Cover Page designed using Canva
Proofreading: Paul W.
Copy Editing: My Brother’s Editor
Formatting By: Jennilynn Wyer
Beta Readers: Julia T., Lisa P, and Landi O.
WARNING: The Fallen Brook Series is a mature High School / New Adult / College / Contemporary Romance with dark themes and possible triggers. This series contains violent scenes, foul language, sexual content, and references to drug use and sexual assault. Recommended for age 18+.
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Synopsis
This is the story of a girl and three boys.
Elizabeth. Jayson. Julien. Ryder.
A princess and her three princes.
Four forever loves.
But this is not your typical love story.
Elizabeth’s choice changed everything.
It took one night to destroy it all.
One will lose everything.
One will get a second chance.
One will have to choose.
Pick a side. Are you Team Jayson, Team Julien, or Team Ryder?
Ryder.
It has always been the four us – me, Elizabeth, Jayson, and Julien. We grew up together. Shared our lives together. We were best friends. We were a family. Until we weren’t. Until my best friend betrayed me.
Let me back up to the beginning. I have loved Elizabeth since I was nine years old. From the moment she smiled at me and teased me. Elizabeth was everything I ever wanted but couldn’t have because my best friends, Jayson and Julien, were in love with her too. So I was relegated to watch from the sidelines, stuck in the role of best friend, as the girl I loved gave her heart to someone else.
But I loved her enough to let her go because loving her meant I would sacrifice what I wanted for her to find happiness – even if it wasn’t with me.
Then one horrific night changed everything, and Elizabeth was gone. Taken from us. Taken from me.
It’s been over a year since Jayson, Julien, and I last saw her. Every day has been a struggle without her, and all we want, all we wish for, is to have her back.
What is the old adage? Be careful what you wish for.
What happens when life offers you a second chance? Am I selfish enough to take it? Strong enough to survive when it all comes crashing back down around me?
All I know is - our stories can be rewritten.
Paper Stars Rewritten is Book 2 in the Fallen Brook Series, a mature High School & Young Adult, New Adult & College, Contemporary Romance with mature themes. Book 2 ends in a cliffhanger. The series ends with an HEA, but you have to ride the roller coaster journey first to get there. You may think you know how Elizabeth's love story ends, but like life, things can change in the blink of an eye. Because of mature content, it is recommended for ages 17+.
You should read Book 1 in the series, All Our Next Times, to get the back story of the events and characters in Book 2. Don’t miss out on the highly anticipated conclusion of Elizabeth’s love story. Broken Butterfly: Fallen Brook Series, Book 3 which releases June 2021!
Enjoy!
Dedication
Shout out to my BRGs (beta reader girls).
Your witty text messages had me laughing so hard.
And to my husband, who proved my point.
(Then again, a husband should know his wife is always right.)
Thank you for getting emotional at certain parts of the story.
That’s what I was aiming for.
Prologue
Present Day
Elizabeth
They say when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. You see a bright light and a warmth wraps around you. You feel at peace.
I wouldn’t know any of that.
Because I can’t remember a fucking thing.
But here I am in a place I don’t remember. A place that has been calling to me, beckoning to me like a Siren from Greek mythology. My only hope is that the outcome of being here is better than the fate of the Greek sailors who answered the Siren’s call only to be met by death. And if there is one thing that I’ve learned in the past thirteen months since waking up in a private facility in Seattle, Washington, it is that death doesn’t scare me. I’ve already died and come back to life. I had been in a coma for two months. Now, I’m a ghost that wanders aimlessly without a home. A boat that is splintered and fractured, barely afloat and at the mercy of a shifting, relentless tide.
My fingers touch the outside of my dark pink short-sleeved T-shirt, fingertips hovering over the raised scars along the side of my upper torso and waist. Knife wounds, I was told. Wounds that are now covered in a delicate pattern of butterflies; tattoos that were paid for by a nonprofit that helps trauma victims transform scars into something beautiful. Something to help ease the pain of what the scars represent. I asked the artist that did my ink to make the butterflies broken. Why? I ha
ve no idea. Just another unknown thing that called to me, like this place.
My eyes scan the buildings in front of me, the trees full of green summer leaves, the grass well-manicured and tended to. Several people are milling about or are taking a nap under one of the giant trees that surround the central quad.
Carolina University.
A place, where I’m told, I was supposed to start college last year as an incoming freshman. A place where I feel like I need to be but don’t know why. My therapist back in Seattle said this would be a good thing for me. Maybe a way to trigger a memory or some form of recognition. Drew and Daniel were a little more apprehensive about it. They didn’t want me to come here. They thought it was too soon. I disagreed. It was time. I need answers. Answers that no amount of additional psychotherapy, cognitive-behavior therapy, music therapy, hypnosis, or meditation could offer. I had done almost thirteen months of that shit on top of all the physical therapy I had to endure in order to regain strength and flexibility in muscles that had wasted away while I was in a coma. A coma which was the result of brain swelling caused by a head injury and severe blood loss. A coma that I came out of not knowing the first eighteen years of my life. A life that currently exists in fucking limbo. I take a moment to scoff at myself. It’s ridiculous that I can still remember how to play a piano and a guitar flawlessly or some random movie, but can’t remember people, places, or events. Why would the brain retain some arbitrary things but not the ones that truly matter?
I still don’t know exactly what happened to me. I know the where, but it’s a place I’m not ready to visit yet. I know I’ll have to at some point. I’ve been able to piece together most of the major events of the attack from online news articles, police interviews, police reports, and whatever Daniel and Drew were told. I know I was stabbed. I know my parents and sister were all gruesomely murdered. I know I was the only survivor. But those are just cold facts. I feel no connection to any of it. How can I not remember my family, the people who loved me and were closest to me? I look at their pictures and all I see are strangers. My questions revolve around the who and the why. Who the hell did this to me and my family and why? Was it a random home invasion? Were we targeted by someone? Why, why, why? It’s a fucking nightmare not knowing why.
I wonder if it’s time for me to go through the boxes that contain my past life. Before taking me to Seattle, Daniel had a company box up several things from my room. A room where I lived for eighteen years. Items that hold pieces of my life that no longer exist. A family that no longer exists. I’ve avoided everything from “BTA,” before the attack. I’m not ready to see it. I’m not ready to face it. But Daniel insisted that I bring the boxes with me. As soon as I brought them into the apartment, I shoved them all inside my bedroom closet. Maybe one day I’ll be more prepared to open them. But not today.
The ringing of my phone breaks me from my thoughts. “Hey, Daniel,” I answer once I see his name appear on my screen.
“Hey, sweetheart. Have you gotten unpacked and settled in yet?”
“The apartment is awesome. Thank you by the way. I promise I’ll repay you and Drew.”
“We’ve already discussed this, Elizabeth. We want to do these things for you, so please let us. I’m sorry we couldn’t come with you and help. I promise that as soon as things settle down here, I’ll make the trip myself.”
I think about everything Daniel and Drew have done for me. It still boggles my mind how I was lucky enough to be taken in and cared for by the both of them. They didn’t know me. They had never met me before. It just goes to show that there are really good fucking people in this world, not just the bad ones that do all the harm. The police searched for any living relative of my family’s that could step in as my guardian. I was in a coma and couldn’t make medical decisions for myself, not to mention the funeral arrangements and other legal decisions that pertained to my family. Daniel was my dad’s distant cousin. He and his husband Drew stepped up and immediately came to North Carolina when they heard what happened. He was the only one. Other than a couple of cousins scattered around the country, my family has no living relations. They took me back to Seattle where I stayed in an exclusive, private rehabilitation center paid for by them. Daniel and Drew are co-founders of D&D Tech, a global research and development company famous for its advancements in increased computer processing speeds and drone technology. To say that they are independently wealthy is an understatement.
“How is Drew today?” I ask Daniel.
That’s the reason they didn’t come with me to North Carolina. Right after they brought me to Seattle, Drew started getting sick. First it was constant headaches, then mood changes. Drew blew it off as stress. About a month after I woke up, Drew suffered a grand mal seizure. That’s when doctors found the tumor in his frontal lobe. Drew is a fighter, though. He’s so brave and strong and wonderful in the face of such a horrible disease. He never let the glioma stop him. That includes taking care of me. I think that’s one of the reasons I want to go to medical school now. I want to work in oncology and help people like Drew.
“Doing better. Today is one of his good days. Says he misses having you around. Let’s plan on videoing tonight so he can see you’re alright and safe. Have you checked in with Dr. Clairemont yet?”
I bite my bottom lip. I don’t want Daniel to be disappointed in me. One of the things he and Drew made me promise in order to attend CU was that I had to continue to see a therapist here.
“I promise I’ll make an appointment with Dr. Clairemont soon. I wanted to spend today touring the campus and seeing everything. Look at the medical school, the hospital. It’s gorgeous out here. Much different than Seattle. Much hotter too.”
“We worry about you, Elizabeth.”
“I’m safe. I’m on campus so there isn’t anything to worry about. And it’s not like you don’t know exactly where I am right now,” I reply.
Daniel knows that I know they have a tracking app on my phone. It’s a separate app not connected to my phone’s location sharing. My apartment is decked out with an over-the-top high-end alarm system they made the leasing company agree to. All thanks to them as well. Overprotective? Yes. But honestly, I couldn’t care less. I’m glad that someone cares about me. Other than Daniel and Drew, I don’t have anyone else. If I did, I don’t remember, and no one else has come forward or has tried to contact me. It makes me sad to think that I truly am alone in this world now.
“I need some independence, Daniel. You guys can’t keep me locked inside a gilded cage forever.” I chuckle. “I appreciate everything you both do for me. I really do. Right now, however, I need to carve a new life for myself. Get an education. Apply to medical school. Go out on an actual date. Do something fun and silly. All the normal things I should be wanting and looking forward to, memory or no memory. It’s past time I rejoined the world of the living.”
“We’re here for you, sweetheart. Never forget that.”
“I know.”
“Has the detective contacted you yet?”
“He called and left a message. I haven’t called him back.”
“Elizabeth,” I hear the exasperation in his voice. “We talked about this.”
The murder investigation of my family and my attack is still open because there is no expiration date on murders. The homicide detective from the Criminal Investigation Division has been wanting to talk with me again since I arrived back in North Carolina. I honestly don’t know what more I can tell him. Which is basically nothing since, oh yeah, I can’t remember.
Daniel sighs on the other end of the line. “You need to be safe, Elizabeth. Call Dr. Clairemont. Call the detective back. Video us tonight so we can see you, alright?”
“Yes, sir.” I mock salute him with one hand since I’m holding the phone with my other. I hold my eye roll from fully forming. I know he’s just worried about me being here on my own for the first time in a year. “Big kiss to Drew. Talk to you later tonight.”
“Bye, sweetheart.”
I shove my phone in the back pocket of my frayed jean shorts as I approach my car. Daniel had it transported from Seattle and it arrived yesterday morning. It’s the one thing I convinced him to let me buy myself with the money I received from my parents’ life insurance. Money which now sits in a testamentary trust. Money that I refuse to touch. Well, the exception being my car. There was something about that cherry red Challenger Hellcat that felt familiar to me. When I first saw it sitting in the lot of a garage in Seattle, my heart pounded and adrenaline rushed through my veins like liquid fire. I had to have this car. I fucking love this car.
“That’s a nice ride,” a male voice comments to me from my side peripheral. My hand automatically goes to the pepper spray canister inside my bag. A guy my age with blond spiky hair who is a few inches taller than I am approaches me, a wide grin on his face. He’s wearing dark sunglasses, board shorts, and a muscle tee that shows off his half-sleeve tattoo.
“Thanks. I like it.” I like his ink too. Since getting my butterfly tattoos, I have come to appreciate ink as an artform. His are really nice. I love unique geometric designs and this guy’s are exceptional.
Facing me, he leans casually back against the car parked next to mine, like we’re two old friends stopping to chat. “Do you go to school here?”
My eyebrow cocks up with a smirk. “Isn’t that an obvious question?”
He chuckles. “Yeah. Guess that was a stupid question. My name’s Preston.” He holds out his hand for me.
Paper Stars Rewritten: Fallen Brook Series: Book 2 Page 1