The Prophecy of Tyalbrook - Never Let You Fall (First Five Chapters)

Prologue - Chapter Five

This is the Prologue and first five chapters of Never Let You Fall. The complete story is available for purchase now for only $0.99

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PROLOGUE

"Skye? Skye? Can you hear me?" The sound of my name being called out by a distinctly male voice caused me to stir. Warmth brushed against my cheek and I shrank away as I worked to pry my eyes open to see the owner of the voice that was yelling at me. "What are you trying to do to yourself, Skye?" the voice asked as I was lifted into a pair of strong arms. Unable to make myself respond, I rested my head on his chest as he carried me away.

"Skye?" he whispered again. His voice held a touch of fear as it spoke in my ear. It was gruff and firm, and laced with unmistakable panic.

"Stop shaking me," I groaned as I rolled over.

My head was groggy and I felt disoriented. Unable to tell up from down, my stomach flipped as though I'd been on a boat for weeks. The same warmth - a hand? - pressed against my ice-cold forehead again, and this time I pushed into it, seeking more. I was freezing, my teeth chattering so hard my jaw hurt. A worried curse escaped from my companion as I snuggled closer to his warmth.

"What did you do tonight?" he asked. Why did he sound familiar? I couldn't make out who he was, but my body reacted instinctively to his voice, moving toward him as he spoke. I attempted to pry my eyes open and found myself starting to retch. He cursed, panic no longer in his voice as he rolled me to my side while I emptied my stomach of yesterday's liquid diet.

Spent, I fell on my back and lay there, the smell of my vomit covered shirt so revolting it prompted me to undress. In my inebriated state, my arms failed to cooperate with my brain as I groped for the hem of my shirt. Or perhaps it was my brain not functioning properly? Nothing was making any sense.

"Hello?" I choked out, hoping for assistance from my rescuer, but he doesn't reply. Confused, I lifted my head to take in my surroundings through my tear-blurred and alcohol-induced hazy vision.

"C'mon." His voice startled me from behind. Helping me into a sitting position, he struggled to pull my shirt off for me as he spoke. "Let's get you cleaned up so you can sleep this off."

I made an effort to help, but all I succeeded in doing was rolling from one side to the other. Once my shirt was stripped away, his strong arms picked me up effortlessly and he carried me into a bathroom. He placed me in the shower as he stood behind me, holding me up under my arms. My heavy eyelids closed once more as the hot water streamed down my front.

Xander

I was sickened by her behavior, again, as I stood in the shower and held her in my arms. Her head hung low as the water hit her hair and flowed down in a waterfall, rinsing vomit from the long, dark brown strands. She was completely wasted; her entire body weight rested in my arms. I imagined if I were to let go of her, she'd collapse to the tile floor no stronger than a rag doll. I clenched my teeth as I thought about what she was doing to herself time after time, going to parties and drowning her sorrows. I'd been watching her from afar for so long, but tonight I couldn't help myself. I couldn't watch her self-destruct anymore. She's running from something she'll never be able to outrun, not on her own anyway; she just doesn't know it yet.

Now here we were, my interference had led to us standing in the shower with my arms wrapped around her waist. My fingers skimmed the soft skin of her ribs below her chest as I adjusted my grip. I fought to maintain my composure as I touched her; it's torture. Removing her shirt had been necessary since it'd been covered in vomit and liquor. It wasn't easy to keep my hands from roaming over her bare skin though. Her low rise jeans slipped down from the weight of the water, revealing more and more of the small of her trim back, and revealing more and more of my weakness for her. I needed to get away from her - and quickly - the longer I stood with her in my arms, the harder it would be for me to remain aloof.