Another New Life
Page 22
"Your little worry lines are flexing again," Troy said as he rubbed the side of my face.
"I know," I said. "I'm not ready to go back."
"Why?"
“Because I’m not ready to deal with everything.”
“Deal with what?” he asked.
“Oh, I don’t know, but headlines like UT football star player arrested in altercation at his home, his career in jeopardy. His mentally unstable girlfriend could derail the future of UT Football keep streaming in my mind. ”
“You just made that up,” Troy said, shaking his head.
“Oh, no, that’s pretty tame compared the others I’ve come up with.”
“Miranda, don’t worry. They dropped the charges after they heard about what really happened. My hand is healing fine. You’re in therapy and as far as the future of UT football, well, some things are out of our control.”
I sighed and squeezed his arm.
***
We made it back to campus with a few minutes to spare.
"What class do you have this morning?" Troy asked.
"I have no clue. My schedule’s on my computer."
"Where's your computer?"
"In my room, I hope. I left it with Darcy when she dropped me off."
"You want me to come with you?"
"No, go ahead. I'll text you when I find out," I said.
"Okay." Troy leaned over and kissed me. "And try not to freak yourself out. We're going to be fine. Look how far we've come so far."
"Yeah," I said, but I wasn't convinced.
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
***
I found my computer and arrived a class just in time. A sea of people all stared at me. I lowered my head and started up the aisle.
When I reached halfway, I heard a familiar giggle. Then, three distinct laughs caught my attention, and I looked up. First, I saw Darcy and her blond curls bouncing as she tried to control herself. Ryan sat in front of her. He didn't even try to hide his amusement. I looked to Ryan's right, and Troy’s goofy grin completed the déjà vu moment.
I stopped in the aisle next to Ryan and Troy.
"How did we come so far and end up exactly where we started?" I asked.
Troy hit Ryan on the arm, and they got up. Ryan hugged me as he passed; Troy kissed me on the cheek, and they headed up a row.
"Darcy, you mind?" Ryan asked.
Darcy stood up and moved down a row, hugging me on her way to taking Troy's seat.
"See, look how far we've come," Troy said, and we all cracked up. The whole class turned to find out what was so funny as the professor attempted to get control of his class.
I’ve been looking forward to writing this part. Acknowledging all those who have contributed to making this happen.
I have to thank God for his grace. It took me a long time to find my gift and I owe it all to him.
Pk Hrezo, Tianna Doyle, Emily Robertson & Vanessa Aapiah. The most honest, supportive and enthusiastic beta readers I’ve had the pleasure of working with.
I would like to think Jade at Black Firefly who answered all my questions and guided me in the whole production process and turned my new release into the beautiful book you see before you.
Huge thank you to Rachel Marks and the team at Mark My Words Book Publicity. They took on my book like it was their own and helped me navigate the world of marketing.
Thanks to Allyson Whipple and her editing assistance.
A special shout out to Jenny Sims at Editing 4 Indies for her proofreading skills. Thank you for helping with that whole lay, lie, laid conundrum and for the comma lesson.
Another special shout out to Arijana Karčić at Cover It! Designs. She is a vision personifier (is that a word). She made my characters come to life in the form of book cover genius.
An enormous amount of gratitude goes to Suzanne Van Rooyen for being my musical guru. She shared her extensive knowledge in piano and musical performance and helped me make Miranda a true musical prodigy.
I hold a special place in my heart and a huge hug for all the authors who share their knowledge, wisdom, triumphs, pitfalls, laughter, and tears on blog posts, Facebook posts and tweets all over the web.
Finally, I want to thank the members of three amazing groups who made this lonely process, not so lonely.
All the members of the New Adult Authors Unite! Facebook Group
All the members of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group
All the members of the New Adult Group on Goodreads
Sydney Aaliyah Michelle is a New Adult Contemporary Romance writer, a voracious reader and movie fanatic who hails from Texas.
After surviving 5 1/2 years living in China, she had the courage to finally pursue her passion and become a writer.
Sydney has been blogging at sydneyaaliyah.com for three years, where she interviews people about their tattoos, discusses her favorite movie quotes, reviews books (New Adult & only the ones she loves) and journals about her writing and editing process.
An active tweeter, she is also a JuNoWriMo (2x) and NaNoWriMo (2x) winners who notes the sci-fi action flick “The Matrix” as the best representation of her life in the past. She is blessed to be awake now and doing what she loves.
She can recite the entire script for the 80’s teen comedy/drama “The Breakfast Club” and loves any and everything associated with the Avengers Movie, especially Tony Stark.
When it come to books, Sydney reads many different genres, but some of her favorite writers are Stephen King, Cora Carmack, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Cassie Mae & Emily Bronte. The Great Gatsby, Under the Dome, Losing It, CassaStorm, Switched, & Wuthering Heights are her favorite books.
Find Sydney Aaliyah Michelle online:
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Feel free to contact Sydney Aaliyah Michelle at sydliyah@hotmail.com.