Book 1 in the Helios Chronicles
HELIOS
Awakened
By
T.M. Witko
Copyright All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, 2016
ISBN 978-0-9861133-7-6 (ebook)
ISBN 978-0-9861133-6-9 (paperback)
Tampa, Florida
Copyright © 2016 Winyan Press, LLC
Cover Art © Alex Marin
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to all my friends in the fandom, to all the FF authors looking for a voice, and the readers who encourage and support.
PREFACE
I would like to take a moment to thank all of my friends and family that have encouraged me to write over the years. Your support means the world to me.
To my partner in crime, Mindy Marin, thank you for all that you do, not only for our company but also for what you do for me as a friend. Love you!
To my long time editor, Amanda Rash, thank you so much for being one of the first people to tell me I should write when I didn’t think I could anymore. We started this journey together a long time ago and it’s only fitting that you are here with me now.
To my lovely friend Corinne, my maske’ from across the pond. Thank you for all the late night chats and the support you have given me over these many years. Words can’t express how much your friendship has meant to me. To my friend Tamara who’s been pushing me to publish since the day she was first introduced to my writing so long ago. To my amazing fandom friends: Brenda, Rachelle, Leeanne, Tamara, Amanda, Corinne, Michele and Carrie. You ladies have served as my Helios Reading Group, affectionately known as my Helios h00rs, from the beginning, your input and support has been invaluable. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! And Brenda, yes, I know you are the original Helios h00r and that you called dibs on him a very long time ago. But remember, sharing is caring!
To Stephenie Meyer, thank you for giving me such beautiful characters to fall in love with. Twilight was the first series in a long time that made me yearn for the beauty of uncompromising love. Your kind and loving words served as a healing salve on a then aching heart.
To the world of fan fiction, I thank you immensely for helping me find my voice again. Without it, and some very good friends, I would have never tried my hand at writing again. You let me be me and produce whatever thought I had at the moment and in the process released the writer in me.
And last, but certainly not least, thank you to Bobby Long for supplying the soundtrack to The Helios Chronicles. I wrote this entire series while listening to my ‘Bobby’ playlist. You wrote such powerful and moving lyrics that inevitably inspired me and my work and I am most grateful for it.
Okay, now that the pleasantries are done, let’s get to the nitty gritty of this particular book. It is the first in a series of three books that will chronicle the life and times of Andrew ‘Helios’ Harrison and Madison Nicole Ellis as they traverse the difficulties of loving one another in a complicated world that throws unbelievable obstacles in their way.
In Book 1 we will be introduced to our eclectic cast of characters. Some of which you will immediately fall in love with while others you will likely despise from the get go. It is my hope that as you read Madison and Andrew’s story that you will fall in love right along with them, that you feel your hearts break when theirs do, and that you will cheer for joy at various points in time, throughout this first phase of their journey together.
Please remember that this is an adult romance and as such there will be some graphic language and situations that are clearly not suitable for younger audiences. With that in mind, I welcome you to the world of Helios, may you love him as much as I do!
CONTENT WARNING
Please be advised that this story contains graphic language and situations that are not suitable for younger audiences.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Winyan Press, LLC would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their contributions on Helios Awakened.
Leeanne Lemaster, Proofreader
Alex Marin, Graphic Artist/Illustrator
Amanda Rash, Copy Editor
Table of Contents
DEDICATION
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
PROLOGUE
1 A DRY HEAT
2 OVER MY HEAD
3 FRIENDS AND ENEMIES
4 TRUTH HURTS
5 FUN IN THE SUN
6 NOT SO HAPPY ENDING
7 MY TWO DADS
8 MR. BENNETT
9 BEARER OF BAD NEWS
10 A CHANGE OF LUCK
11 IT’S A HARLEY THANG!
12 AFTERMATH
13 MORNING SUN
14 DIVINE INTERVENTION
15 WHISPERED CONFESSIONS
16 HOLLYWEIRD
17 EXPLANTIONS
18 CONFESSIONS
19 JUST HANGIN’
20 CONFESSIONS
21 A PART OF ME
22 LIKE HEAVEN
23 THE VILLAGE
24 SHARING
25 AN EVENING WITH MILES
26 WORRISOME
27 TO PROSECUTE
28 INTERFERENCE
29 AND THE DEFENSE RESTS
30 THE VERDICT
31 CELEBRATION
32 A SON’S REVENGE
33 RELIVING THE PAST
34 THE SENATOR’S SON
35 DECISIONS
36 IT’S A GO!
37 DIFFICULT CONVERSATION
38 SHARING EVERYTHING
39 THE RITZ
40 SPANISH NIGHTS
41 PERFECT ENDING
AUTHOR NOTE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CONTACT INFORMATION
THE ICE QUEEN
PROLOGUE
May 2012
Madison heard the incessant ringing on her phone but refused to answer it. It was too early and she had fallen asleep too late, not to mention that her head was still pounding. By the second round of rings, she groaned and grabbed the receiver, prepared to yell at whoever was on the other end.
“Madison,” her mother said flustered.
“Yes, what is it, Mom?”
She glanced at the clock, 7:00 a.m. Madison couldn’t fathom why on earth her mother would be calling her so early, especially on a weekend. She stretched a little and then felt a hand brush up against her lower back. Madison sighed. She had already forgotten about the man lying beside her.
“What the hell is going on?” Madison barked into the phone as she sat up and wiped her hand over her sleepy eyes. She glanced at her hand and saw black there. The remnants of last night’s heavy mascara and eyeliner winked at her. She shook her head just as Kurtis grunted and reached out for her.
“It’s your grandma.”
There was an edge to her mom’s voice, more so than usual. That immediately set off alarms. What could be going on with her grandma that could cause her mom to call so frantic?
“Hold on, Mom.”
Madison slipped out of the bed and looked around the floor for her clothes. Instead, she spotted Kurtis' t-shirt so she quickly threw it on and then glanced back at the bed. He was lying on his stomach, his naked backside completely exposed. Kurtis worked in her office and was her occasional... Well, let’s just say he served a purpose. It had been awhile since they had been together, but a work gathering and several margaritas later, they found themselves
making love wildly in her bed. Madison frowned. They had left the bar close to 2:00 in the morning, were at her apartment by 2:40 and he was asleep by 3:00. Not exactly the evening she had envisioned. She wasn’t even sure why she’d invited him back to her apartment in the first place. He was definitely handsome, but often a lot more work than she wanted. Her frown turned into a scowl as she realized that now she would have to do the whole awkward thing where he wanted to hook up again and she wanted to forget they ever hooked up at all. She ran her hand through her knotted hair, frustrated that she didn’t seem to have any chemistry with anyone. She heard her mother’s impatient breathing on the other end of the line and quickly exited the bedroom. Her lack of chemistry debate would just have to wait for another time.
“What happened to Grans?” she asked as she walked towards the living room.
“Apparently she slipped last night in her bathroom and they had to admit her to the hospital.”
“Is she okay?” Madison asked as she made her way to the couch, plopping down on it in shock.
“I don’t know, Madison. I’m going out there. My plane leaves in three hours. I’ll call you when I know something.” Her mom sounded oddly kind and compassionate.
“Thanks, Mom,” Madison replied, feeling tears already pooling in her eyes. “Hey, can you please tell Grans that I love her and that I miss her.”
“I will,” her mom said right before hanging up.
“Oh God! Grans please be okay.”
Madison dropped her face into her waiting hands. She was consumed with guilt. She should have gone out to see her. She shouldn't have been so selfish. It had been a while since she had even talked to her. Madison had thought she would always be around, that she would be there to let her vent about what her mom was saying or doing. Madison wrapped her fingers in her hair and cried, hoping that it wasn’t too late.
~*~
“Mom, there is no way in hell that Grans is going into a home.”
“Well, she has to. She can’t be on her own. The doctors say she needs assistance.”
“For how long?”
Madison watched as her mother paced in the living room. She couldn’t help but think that her mom was just angry that this was a huge inconvenience for her.
“Oh, who knows, Madison? You know how doctors are. They don’t give a straight answer to anything. They say anywhere from 3-6 months to forever,” Jacqueline replied flustered.
“Can't we hire a nurse or something?”
Madison was trying desperately to find a solution that didn’t involve forcing her Grans out of her home. It wasn’t as if she had some life-threatening disease or anything. She just needed help getting around. Why was her mom making it so complicated?
“With what, Madison?” Jacqueline asked harshly, snapping Madison out of her thoughts. “How are we going to pay for a private nurse? With your charm and good looks? How much is that going for now-a-days?”
Madison could hear the bitterness in her words. All she could think to do was glare at her. They had never gotten along that well but, at this moment, Madison despised her. What kind of daughter throws her mom in a nursing home just because she doesn’t want to take care of her? It wasn’t Grans fault that this happened. Of course, now that Madison thought about it, would she want to take care of her mother? Probably not, but this was Grans they were talking about. She was always kind and sweet, a little too religious, but to each her own. Madison often wondered how the hell her mom came from her womb. She couldn’t believe how selfish she was being.
“Don't look at me that way, Madison. I have a life here that I am not willing to sacrifice. What? Are you going to give up your career and your life to help her? Because that’s what it will take,” Jacqueline said, cocking her brow, having thrown down the challenge.
This was just great. Her mother was putting all of this on Madison. If she said ‘no, I won't help’ then her mother would send her Grans away and Madison couldn’t say anything about it and if she said ‘yes, I will help’ then Madison really would have to give up her career and life. As she contemplated what the options were, she noticed the smirk on her mom’s face and suddenly knew exactly what she was going to do.
“Yeah, I’ll do it. I’ll take family leave. According to the Family Leave and Medical Act, the firm will have to hold my job. I’ll go and I’ll take care of her.”
Madison smiled at the expression on her mom’s face.
“So let me get this straight. You’re going to go live in white trash central in a tiny two bedroom trailer in the dead of summer. In Bakersfield, no less. That's your plan?” she stated, now smiling at the stunned expression on Madison’s face as she realized that that was exactly what she had just agreed to do.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Madison replied with less conviction than she had before.
Jacqueline huffed and threw her arms in the air. “Fine, fine, go martyr yourself for her. I don’t care.”
Madison rolled her eyes which elicited the scowl that she had come to look forward to from her mother. It meant that she’d won this particular round. It wasn’t until her mom stomped out of her apartment that she looked around and realized what she’d just done.
“Oh Shit!”
1 A DRY HEAT
Madison hated the dry heat of the desert and she hated living in this little shit town even more. She had only been here for three weeks but it felt like a lifetime. The sun beat down on her skin and the light sheen of sweat on her brow told her that it was easily close to 100 degrees in the summer sun and it wasn't even noon yet. Oh how she wished she could just toss her blouse off and go around in her bikini top and shorts but she knew that wouldn't work. Her grandmother would not allow such frivolous actions to bring shame on the family. It didn't matter that Madison was a grown woman who had given up a good job in the city to come and take care of her. No, Grandma Downing held true to the belief that a woman need not show flesh in public. She nearly had a conniption when she saw the shorts her granddaughter had put on to go to the lake.
Madison was new to Bakersfield, California but, on a trip to town, she had met a few people who were going to the lake that afternoon. They had asked her to come along, saying that it would be fun. Madison was fully aware that the invitation may not have been sincere but, at this point, she didn’t care. Madison just wanted to go somewhere, anywhere but here. She needed to do something that would get her the hell out of this God forsaken trailer park that she hated with such passion that it was seriously bordering on unhealthy. She adored her Grans but living here had been crushing. The heat, the cramped quarters, the lack of anything interesting or exciting was driving her insane. So, going to the lake sounded like as good a plan as any, until a flat tire had crushed her hope. Her grandmother, who had tired of hearing Madison’s exaggerated sighs and moans about the heat and her thwarted excursion to the lake, had decided to call a friend. She knew that Aaron and Olivia had a nephew living with them that might be able to help out.
Madison hadn’t actually seen the man that was working on her car, as he had arrived while she was inside grabbing the cooler. But when she had come back outside, the car was jacked up and a man in a pair of loose fitting jeans and a holey white t-shirt, practically bare from over wear, was working diligently to change her tire. Madison had been instantly intrigued by him and had decided to lay a blanket down and place one of the cushions from her grandmother's tattered lounge chairs against the hot metal of the trailer so she could watch him. She didn’t know what it was about him but there was some kind of heat emanating from where he knelt. Maybe her brain was starting to fry in the ungodly desert air, but as she watched his shoulders and the muscles on his back move effortlessly each time he turned the tire iron, her heart fluttered and a part deep inside of her was awakened. A part she thought would forever lay dormant.
As he stood up, he stretched his arms above his head and arched his back just slightly. This small action caused the back of his shirt to ride up a little, revealing a sliver of s
kin and what looked like some sort of tribal tattoo that spanned his lower back. It wrapped around his waist and rib cage and rested, she presumed, somewhere on his abdomen. Madison couldn’t take her eyes off of him as he reached into his back pocket to pull out a pack of cigarettes. He carefully tapped the bottom of the pack until the desired stick extricated itself. She could see the motion of his heavy breaths as he leaned his head down to light the cigarette. She found herself swallowing reflexively as his long fingers placed the pack back into its rightful place. Madison was unable to focus, she was lost in the way the sun shone around him, making him seem almost ethereal to her, an enchanted being sent to earth. She was finding it very difficult to function in his presence. His head tilted ever so slightly to the left as he blew out a long cloud of smoke into the dry desert air. Madison desperately needed him to turn around; she didn’t just want him to do this, she needed it. She had to see the face that would soon be starring in her dreams. And as if her prayer had been answered he turned slowly and as he did, her mouth parted as air quickly expelled from her lungs.
“My God! He’s so... beautiful.”
Andrew had heard the trailer door open and close but he couldn’t bring himself to turn around. He had felt her eyes on him and he could sense the desire emanating from her presence. After he changed the tire he knew he would need to talk to her but he lacked the courage to do so. He had lit his cigarette, taking long slow drags, hoping that it would calm his rapidly beating heart. After a few hits, he turned around and was taken aback by her breathtaking beauty. He had wanted to see her up close since he had caught sight of her a few weeks ago but now that he was here he was left spellbound. She was wearing the shortest shorts he had ever seen, paired with some leather boots that made her legs seem to go on for days. His eyes followed up the milky white skin of her thighs to her see-through blouse which was starting to stick to her skin, exposing the dark bikini top she was wearing underneath it. Her long chestnut hair flowed way past her shoulders and as he walked closer to her he could make out the tiny freckles on her cheeks. He was at a loss for words as his body drew nearer to her. He wondered what he could possibly say that would not make him sound like he was some sort of a simpleton living in a trailer park with his aunt and uncle because no one else would take him in, not with his record. Andrew noticed the cooler sitting by her side, the one she was most likely bringing with her to the lake. He nodded in its direction, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.
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