Moonlight Cottage

Uncle Bill

Hi there! This is just the first few chapters of Moonlight Cottage. It is now for sale on Amazon. The link to purchase is after the sample chapters. I hope you love it and want to see more! Thanks for checking it out ☺️.

Today was just like any other day in this god forsaken town. I woke up slowly, groaning about the absolute unfairness of it all. Why must I get up from this bed, when all I want to do is dream forever? Is that really too much to ask? The answer was yes. While sleeping will always be my favorite activity, a girl has to eat sometime. Oh well...

I forced myself out of my comfortable cocoon of blankets and groggily sat on the edge of the bed. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I mentally prepared myself to do the unthinkable... adulting. First things first though, I needed sweet, sweet caffeine.

Doing a quick stretch, I forced myself to stand. I stomped towards my goal, like an angry toddler awoken early from their nap. Finally reaching the refrigerator, I practically ripped the door off of its hinges and reached for the ice cold energy drink that was waiting for me. Normally I'd prefer a nice hot cup of coffee drowned in sweet creamer, but I didn't want to wait for the machine to slowly drip drip drip to get it. Since I was impatient, a short cut to the living was preferable.

Popping the tab, I sipped at the overly sweet drink and made my way to the front window. Opening the brightly colored curtains, I hissed at the overbearing sunlight in disgust. Plopping down on the only couch, I grabbed my book off of the end table to pass the time while I let the caffeinated syrup slowly turn me into something slightly resembling a human. I didn't notice the time passing until I glanced at my phone and realized I would be late for work if I didn't start getting ready. Sighing, I marked my spot and faced the day ahead of me. I walked slowly to the shower hoping that today went fast. I liked my job for the most part, but the customers on the other hand...

Stripping off the tank top and boxers I'd slept in, I stared into the mirror above the sink, making weird faces while checking my pores and waiting for the water to heat up. It was obvious that I had not gone to bed in a timely fashion last night. Dark circles framed my greenish-blue eyes and my hair looked like a strawberry blonde bird's nest, sticking up all over the place. Winking and throwing finger guns at my sleep deprived reflection, I stepped into the steaming hot shower and purred in contentment.

My name is Emma Lynne Black. I am twenty-one years old and I'm all alone in this rotten world. Honestly, that's exactly how I prefer it. I find most people to be obnoxious and even worse, boring. I never knew my father, not even his name. My mother told me there was no point in talking about him, since he was never coming back. You would think that would bother me or cause some kind of complex, but it was whatever. Just one less person I had to deal with. One less person expecting things from me.

My mom died when I was just eight years old. She had complained about a headache that morning, before I left for school. I returned home to emergency vehicles on my lawn and police officers waiting for me with sympathy in their eyes. Later I was told it was a brain aneurysm. Since no one knew who my dad was or how to find him, I was handed over to my maternal grandmother. Guess my mom was wrong. Turns out there actually was a point in talking about him. The irony did not go over my head, even then.

My grandma was a stubborn, but loving woman. She was tough and even a little mean at times, but it all came from a place of caring. I wouldn't have changed a thing about her. Like me, she didn't care much for socializing and small talk. We knew our neighbors and I knew the kids from my school, but neither of us ever felt a draw to being around others. We preferred baking in our small kitchen together and reading silently in the same room. It was a quiet life and I loved every minute of it.