WILLA, стр. 1

WILLA

WILLA

Jennifer Reynolds

Jennifer Reynolds using photos from Pixabay.com

Proofreading provided by Read by Rose.

Jennifer Reynolds asserts the moral and legal right to be identified as the author of this work. You may not reproduce this novella in any way, nor may you store it in a retrieval system, or transmit it in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of the owner. The owner is selling this book subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding other than that which it is published and without a similar condition, including this requirement being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Author’s Note

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or real places or events is purely coincidental.

***WARNING: ADULT CONTENT AND STRONG LANGUAGE***

WILLA

Jennifer Reynolds

Also, by Jennifer Reynolds:

Novels:

ALONE

Shifter, Supernaturals Book 1

Resistant

HIM

Outcast, Supernaturals Book 2

Captive, Supernaturals Book 3

Shore Haven

AWAKE

Novellas

Saying Goodbye

Marked, Valeterra Series, Book 1

Short Stories:

Charles Wallace’s Favorite Toy

In The Dark

Leaving Liberty: A Shore Haven Short Story

Hostage: A Shore Haven Short Story

Childhood’s End: A Shore Haven Short Story

Nowhere: A Shore Haven Short Story

Sweet Sixteen: An Awake Short Story

Welcome to Edge Burrow: A Shore Haven Short Story

Coming Soon:

Fated, Valeterra Series, Book 2

Dedication

I dedicate all of the Awake short stories and novellas to those who love the novel. If you, my loyal reader, hadn’t been so excited about Awake’s world, I wouldn’t have had the inspiration to dive back into it so many times.

I love you.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Epilogue

“Did you watch the clip I sent you?” my best friend, Lilly, asked.

Her full, expectant eyes looked up at me from my phone as she spoke. Lilly’s expression said that she was anxiously waiting to find out what I thought of the video.

“Not yet. I just woke up,” I said, throwing back the covers and sitting on the side of my bed.

“You’re not up yet? How could you still be asleep with what’s going on?” she asked, dumbfounded.

“What time is it?” I asked in response.

“Nine-thirty.”

“What? Mom was supposed to have gotten me up at eight. I needed to be ready by now for you and Katie to get me. Wait? Why aren’t you guys here already?” I asked, stumbling toward my bathroom.

“You seriously don’t know what’s happening?”

Lilly had never sounded as annoyed with me as she did at that moment.

I rubbed my eyes and focused on my friend’s face. She looked both terrified and excited at the same time. I could hear people talking loudly behind her and see a lot of movement.

“No. What...?” I asked, trying to make out what her brother, who crossed the screen, was holding.

“Lilly, get off that damned phone and help us pack,” I heard Lilly’s father yell from somewhere near the phone.

“Sorry. I have to go. Love you,” my best friend said and made kissing noises into the speaker.

“I love you, too,” I tried to say, but Lilly hung up before hearing me.

My friend wasn’t prone to dramatics. Yeah, she got a little overly excited sometimes, but nothing I would consider an overreaction. Something in the way her eyes looked and the franticness of her father’s voice, though, had me a bit worried.

The fact that Mom hadn’t woken me early, as she said she would, was worrisome as well. Mom was an early bird and relished the times she could wake me before noon, and I wouldn’t grumble and complain about it. More often than not, she’d wake me an hour or so before the time I asked her to so that she could spend time with me. That annoyed me some, but the knowledge of where I would be going later that day would dampen that.

Going to school was not a thing I willingly woke early for, and neither was church. A day at the river with my friends, on the other hand, was. I was excited because Nathan Summers was supposed to be coming on this trip, and he was so hot.

After peeing, I wanted to shower and get dressed to see Nathan. I mean, my friends. Instead, I decided to check on Mom. She rarely got sick—thank God for good genes—but when she did, it was always rough. I hoped she wasn’t ill because if she were, I’d have to miss the day with my friends. From the sound of things, Lilly wasn’t going to make it, and I hoped Ben, Nathan’s fraternal twin brother, and the others hadn’t bailed either.

I checked my phone for messages from the others. No one but Lilly had sent me a text.

I was at the bottom of the stairs, calling for Mom when I hit play on the video my best friend had sent.

Mom didn’t answer me, and the screams coming from the video on my phone stopped my forward motion.

“What the hell,” I said to no one and hit play again when the clip ended.

This had to be a prank or an excerpt from an upcoming movie. It just had to be.

Nothing at the start of the video claimed that. The scrolling bar at the bottom of the screen said it was news footage from a TV station in Florida. The actual clip looked like something straight out of The Walking Dead.

“Mom,” I called again and headed to the living room where I’d left my laptop to charge last night.

Most things I did on my phone, but I wanted to see the video on a bigger screen.

As I made my way through the house, I sent Lilly a quick text asking where she’d gotten the video.

Just as I was