They never did the things Nick and I have done. They did things the right way. Or at least, the way I learned as right. I looked at them and knew that they represented what my marriage should look like, should function as.
And yet, marriage seems to be the worst thing to happen to me. Though there are days I would argue that that wasn’t true at all, and that the worst thing to happen to me is Nick Hudson. Not that picking one definitive answer would change the outcome. Nothing can change that now. Nothing dead can be brought back to life, literally or otherwise.
Not the death of my marriage.
Not the death of my love.
Not the death of my child.
The very worst moments of my life, the most pain I have ever suffered, and the darkest days I have ever known, all have one thing in common. Nick.
When I see his name appear like a long forgotten ghost on the incoming call screen of my phone my stomach turns inwards, roiling on itself in a mutilated wave of nausea and contempt. It’s been years. I’d finally put myself back into something resembling an actual life and there his name is, drawing me back into the dark place I fought and clawed my way out of in the years following the aftermath.
I make no move to acknowledge the call, but stare at it anyway, allowing myself to feel every awful sensation that twists inside me until the phone stops ringing and the screen goes dark again. I breathe in and breathe out, and the dark place begins to fade. My stomach calms and my heart steadies. The ghost is gone.
And just when I think I’ve survived the onslaught of my painful past, the phone lights up again.
Nick Hudson Calling.
Also by Crystal Cierlak
Zoe Thanatos
What if you decided to end your life, only to find out it wasn't yours to begin with?
What if there is a life you were meant to live... in another world?
On her 25th birthday Zoe Thanatos is ready to end her short and unhappy life by jumping off a cliff into the Pacific. But her plans irrevocably change when a stranger intervenes, preventing her death while seemingly cheating his own. She demands answers but unearths a whole new world of questions when her savior confesses his true identity - that he isn't from her world - and leads her down a path of discovery that reveals truths about the life she was meant to live and those responsible for taking it from her.
Available on Amazon.com in e-book and paperback.
About Crystal Cierlak
Crystal Cierlak (1983-present) was born and raised along the central coast of California. She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Art in Art in May of 2009, and completed her Master’s of Art in Media Psychology in September of 2013. When not writing she freelances as a social media manager and designer, and takes pride in designing her own book covers.
In May of 2014 she will marry the love of her life.
For more information, please visit
www.crystalcierlak.com
www.Facebook.com/CrystalCierlak
Twitter @CrystalCierlak
The Romance of Nick and Layla (Parts 1-3) Page 28