PiiXIE Dust Magazine: Issue 3

Sneakpeaks

Pixie magazine sneak peak entry

The Book:  Love You Forever (A Sequel to Stolen Hearts) by @KatherineArlene

http://www.wattpad.com/story/2125444-love-you-forever-a-sequel-to-stolen-hearts

This is the beginning of the epilogue:

It was so quiet, the sound of gravel crunching under my feet as I walked drowned out the few birds that were singing.  I watched my sneakers, fascinated by the different sounds that were echoing off the high brick walls covered in green leafy vines on either side of me, trying to match them to my steps.  It was hard to decide which echoes belonged to my feet, and which ones belonged to Uncle Alfred. 

I looked up through the misty fog that surrounded us to watch him walking ahead of me.  His broad back was hunched and he looked like a bear, the way his whole body swayed back and forth with each step.  For once he’d dressed nice, in a suit and tie, but it didn’t fit him well, I think because he’d gained weight since the last time he wore it.  His large neck stood out bright red, bulging above his dark suit jacket and below his short white blonde hair.  Since the air was cool from the mist, I didn’t think it was because he was too hot, I think it was probably because he was still mad.

When our taxi arrived at the gate at the beginning of the gravel driveway, Uncle got out to talk into an intercom on top of a pole.  I didn’t hear what was said because the windows were closed, but when he turned around he was swearing and yanked open the car door.

“Get out!” he growled at me.  “We’re walking the rest of the way!”

“Yes, sir,” I said, and climbed out of the back seat as quickly as I could, while he told the taxi driver to leave our luggage by the gate.  I’d been living with him for over two months now and I’d learned when he gets like that, it was best to just do whatever he said as fast as I could and don’t look in his eyes so he didn’t get even more mad than he already was.   

When I’d first come to live with him, he was sort of nice for a few days.  But after that it was like he stopped trying, and then he was mad at me all the time for some stupid reason or other.  Most of the time, I tried to stay out of his way, which wasn’t hard since his house was so big.  I spent hours every day exploring the different rooms, or hiding away somewhere with a book.  I could tell at one time it had been a nice house, but not anymore.  For some reason he’d stopped taking care of it.  He didn’t even bother cleaning it.

I hated being there.  It wasn’t like back home where there were houses up and down the street filled with kids to hang out with.  Uncle’s house was in the country, far from the nearest town.  And it was so quiet all the time with just the two of us living there.  That was the worst part about it – how lonely I was.  I missed all my friends, but even more, I missed Grandma May.  I’d written to her every day but she hadn’t written back to me once and I couldn’t understand why.  I knew she loved me.  She wouldn’t forget about me already, would she?  Sometimes I’d feel so sad, I’d cry about it, especially at night.

When Uncle said we were going on a trip back to America , I was really excited.  I hoped we were going back to Chicago , but instead we went to Oregon .  I didn’t want to make Uncle mad at me by asking if we could see her, and now I know for sure we’re so far from Illinois we’re probably not going to.  But I decided while we were riding in the taxi that as soon as I’m alone in a hotel room, I’m going to call her.  I want to tell her how much I’ve missed her and that it’s okay she hasn’t written back to me. 

The gravel driveway ahead of us started to curve, and when we came around the corner I stopped walking, hardly believing my eyes.  In front of us, surrounded by the mist, was a beautiful castle.  Or at least it looked like a castle with stone walls and towers and lots of windows.  I knew it couldn’t be a real castle because there aren’t any in America like there are in England , but I suddenly felt excited.  If we were staying here, I’d have so much fun exploring. 

“Oi!  Hurry up, you stupid cow!” Uncle yelled, immediately taking away my happy feeling. 

“Yes, sir,” I said to the gravel driveway as I jogged to catch up to where he was standing. 

“You stay by my side!  D’you understand?” he barked when I reached him.

“Yes, sir,” I said, not looking at him so he wouldn’t see how much I hated him at that moment. 

“And don’t say anything either!  You keep your gob shut while we’re in there!”

“Yes, sir.”

“If you’re a good girl,” he said more quietly.  “I’ll take you for ice cream after.”  

He sounded like he was trying to be nice, and I looked up at him with surprise.  He was smiling, but it was more like a mean smile, as if he’d been playing a joke to trick me.  I should’ve known he didn’t mean it.

“Yes, sir,” I said to the gravel again.

“Now, move along!” he barked, grabbing my upper arm and shoving me forward a few steps before he let go of me. 

****

As you can see, the epilogue is written a bit differently from the story you’ve been reading so far – and this final chapter is going to resolve another mystery. 

For the second part of this sneak peek, I am going answer some of your burning questions:  What were the exact intentions behind the kidnapping?  What was the real reason why the tape was made?  Why was Robert let go?  And why was Georgie let go?  So here goes:

LeBlanc and Moreau were acquaintances in the French criminal world but not business associates, meaning Moreau was not involved in drug smuggling.  LeBlanc made the decision to let Robert live and handed him over to Moreau since Moreau had a convenient place to hold him.  The plan was to keep him imprisoned and then release him at the conclusion of the trial, nothing more.  What Moreau was hoping to get out of it was Robert giving Georgie a hard time since that’s how he got his kicks.

When Robert approached Moreau with his request to be allowed to take Georgie home, it was entirely unexpected.  If you reread the chapter with the meeting, Moreau’s reactions are genuine.  By the end of that meeting, Robert was far more successful than he’d realized.  Moreau had been convinced to let Georgie go. 

Moreau structured the bargain in a way that he hoped would be impossible for Robert to refuse, but of course it was a trap.  He was hoping that making the tape would destroy Robert and Georgie’s future together, just as Robert feared.  When things didn’t go according to plan, Moreau took his anger out on Robert before releasing them. 

Robert had to be released because it’s what LeBlanc wanted.  Georgie was released because Moreau had already made arrangements to find another occupant for the flat.  He could have killed her instead of letting her go, but he hoped he’d damaged them enough on that day that their future was destroyed anyway, therefore getting even more revenge on Robert.

Give a big around of applause to @KatherineArlene and her book Love You Forever (A Sequel to Stolen Hearts) *Audience applauds*