Heart (42 page)

Thankfully, we were starting our freshman
year of college in another week. We were coming in second semester,
since both of us had to finish our senior year of high school
first. But we were going to room together and I couldn’t be more
excited.

We were also going to the University of
Nebraska at Lincoln, where Phoenix and Ryder had been enrolled
since August.

The bad news was that I had decided to make
something of my life and so I had at least six years of school in
my future. I wanted to be a psychologist. I wanted to help teens
recover from sexual and physical abuse. I knew I had a lot to
offer, but it would take me so long to get there. Ugh.

The good news was that the band didn’t have
to break up. Ryder got to continue his dream of becoming a rock
star and I got to stand by his side the whole time.

“When are you ladies moving?” Phoenix asked
around a huge bite of scone.

“Next weekend,” I told him.

He swallowed and gulped some strawberry
smoothie before asking, “You’re on campus?”

“Yes,” Sloane answered.

“Maybe,” I shrugged.

Sloane turned to me with her dark eyebrows
raised. There was some light in her pretty brown eyes, but not
enough. I couldn’t get her out of her mom’s house soon enough.

“I might be coming into some money,” I
explained casually. “Maybe we should upgrade from the dorms to
something we actually want to spend time in.”

“Where is this money coming from?” Her words
were carefully spoken and I could see emotions shifting beneath her
controlled mask. Any reminder of our old life sent her spiraling. I
should have thought of that before I blurted out our change of
plans.

“From my dad,” I said quickly. “My real one.
Max. The lawyer just called to say that she’s working on getting
the trust moved to my account. I should have access to it in the
next couple weeks.”

Sloane’s shoulders relaxed and her shaking
hand reached for her coffee. “Maybe it would be better for us to
have some privacy.”

Both Thalia and Ava had lost almost all of
their money in the wake of Nix’s death. My mom had enough to last
her several months and she hoped she wouldn’t have to move now that
she had a good job, but Thalia’s mom was slowly sliding into
destitution.

I knew the second Mallory explained about the
trust that I would eventually help Sloane’s family and Sloane go to
college. Right now both of us had used student loans and meager
scholarships to cover our first year. But this was much better.

Now we could go to college without worrying
about money or how we would pay for living.

I couldn’t tell Sloane about my plans to be
her sugar mama though, because she would think I pitied her and she
would hate it. So I would have to be sneaky about it.

But she wouldn’t be able to argue with me
about the apartment. Neither of us was cut out for communal living.
The ghosts of our pasts were still too fresh. Both of us suffered
from nightmares, sometimes night terrors; and then there were all
those times we would just break down and start sobbing… Sometimes
the depression would last an hour, sometimes it would last
days.

College was a step in the right direction,
but we needed time.

Sloane needed a lot of time.

Phoenix pulled Sloane into a conversation
about good apartments near the downtown Lincoln campus. Phoenix’s
hand gestures sometimes scared Sloane, but she was learning how to
handle him.

He had been devastated about Exie. Nothing
about her death or what I had shared with him about our lives made
sense to him, but he was a good enough friend that none of it
mattered. He supported Sloane and me in the way he did everything,
with all of him. And even though he hadn’t loved Exie, he still
mourned her with us, her death still cost him something.

He was the best kind of friend and I was so
lucky to have him in my life.

Ryder’s hand rubbed my back and he leaned in
again. “You okay?” he asked with a kiss to my temple.

I turned my head so he could drop a kiss on
my lips. “I am,” I told him honestly. “I’m really okay.”

His answering smile caused a riot of
butterflies in my stomach. Ryder was everything he had always been,
attentive, loving, intuitive and… just him. I wouldn’t have gotten
through any of this without him by my side.

He was always there to let me cry on him, to
talk me through some of my darkest memories and to remind me that
nothing that happened had been my fault.

I loved him more than ever… more than I had
ever loved anything.

And I knew, without any doubts or fears, that
he felt the same way about me.

His dad and uncle were thrilled when we came
back and announced we would be staying. They were part of my family
too these days. They loved and accepted me, they approved of my
relationship with Ryder and they wanted the best for both of
us.

I had never been loved like I was today. I
had never had this kind of family or acceptance.

For the first time in my life, I had people I
could trust and rely on. Once upon a time, I believed that I would
be alone or lonely every single day of my life. And now I had
this.

I didn’t always believe I was deserving of
these gifts, but I wouldn’t give them up for anything.

“I love you,” I told Ryder just because, just
because he was sitting here and I was close to him and because I
couldn’t help it.

“I love you too, Red.” He wrapped me in his
arms and held me against his chest where I felt the strong beat of
his heart thump against my own… my heart that wasn’t broken… that
wasn’t split or shattering or empty… my heart that was filled to
the brim with love, that was whole and full and solid. His words
wrapped around that same heart and his promises filled my lungs
with the sweetest air.

I wasn’t just living anymore.

I was breathing too.

Thank you for reading The Heart and staying
with me through the Siren Series. I truly hope you enjoyed Ivy’s
journey. Ryder and Ivy are one of my favorite couples and I loved
writing every minute of them.

Keep reading for a sneak peek of Rachel’s
newest adult contemporary, Every Wrong Reason coming September
22
^nd
, 2015 and the first chapter of Love and Decay,
Episode One. There’s also a fabulous excerpt from The Fate Series
by Heather Lyons.

Acknowledgments

The longer I write, the more I realize how
desperately I need God in my life. He is with me always, helping me
up this mountain, walking by my side, holding me in His hands.

My husband is the best man I know and without
his support, I would not be the person I am today. For all of the
late nights where I make you get me Five Hour Energy, for all of
the fast food dinners you didn’t complain about and the piles of
laundry that went unwashed. You are the reason I write love
stories, the reason my heroes are heroic and my heroines are
independent yet cherished. You are the love of my life and my very
best friend. I pick you above everything else.

To my mom, thank you for supporting me, for
encouraging me and for babysitting!!! You are the opposite of Ava.
You have always been there for me. You have always proved how loved
I am. You have been an example of a strong woman and a wonderful
mother. And I thank you for that.

To Carolyn, thank you for working so hard to
make this book come together. You’re editing and advice is
invaluable to me. I so appreciate your patience and flexibility.
Even more, I appreciate your belief in me. Thank you.

Caedus Design Co., once again, this is a
phenomenal cover. Thank you for being more talented than me.

Rachel Marks, you are a godsend. I don’t know
what I would have done if you hadn’t stepped into my life and taken
over! Thank you for your endless hours and patience with me. This
book kept getting delayed and then delayed again and you stuck with
me the whole time! You are truly gifted at what you do and how you
do it. Thank you so much for believing in me and working with me.
Even if I drive you a little crazy!

To my Rebel Panel and Reckless Rebels, thank
you so very much for loving my characters as much as I do. You are
the greatest girls and I am so blessed to call you friends. I
cannot say enough of what you’re support and encouragement means to
me. Thank you for always being there for me, for spreading the word
to everyone you know and for loving Ryder and Ivy with your whole
hearts.

A special thanks to my friend, the celebrity
reader, Lenore. You are the most fabulous beta reader in the
history of beta readers. I love you to pieces. May I never write
“gravely” again.

To Georgia Cates, Samantha Young, Shelly
Crane, Amy Bartol and Lila Felix, you girls are my soul sisters.
You are the reason I can stay sane(sane-ish). I honestly don’t know
where I would be without you. You give me advice when I’m lost,
courage when I’m afraid and friendship when this job feels so
lonely. Thank you for being so amazing and for letting me into your
lives.

And finally, to the reader. Thank you so much
for falling in love with Ivy and Ryder. Thank you for sticking with
me while I struggled to finish. Thank you for being patient with me
while you waited. Ivy took me on a journey that was difficult to
write the entire way through and almost impossible at times because
my heart was completely broken. The kind of abuse and mistreatment
she and her friends suffered through is real in our world, even if
her supernatural origins are not. It is not easy to write, nor is
it easy to read. I thank you for diving into this world with me and
taking on the hard feelings and emotions this story required in
order to reach Ivy’s happily ever after. I hope by shedding some
light on the ugliness that women in our world face, we can work
together to eradicate the sex slave industry and give these victims
the freedom and liberty they deserve.

About the Author

Rachel Higginson was born and raised in
Nebraska, but spent her college years traveling the world. She fell
in love with Eastern Europe, Paris, Indian Food and the beautiful
beaches of Sri Lanka, but came back home to marry her high school
sweetheart. Now she spends her days raising their growing family.
She is obsessed with bad reality TV and any and all Young Adult
Fiction.

Look for more from Rachel in 2015.

Other books by Rachel to be released in 2015
are Every Wrong Reason, an Adult Contemporary Romance, Bet on Me,
an NA Contemporary Romance and Love and Decay, Season Four, a
Dystopian Novella Series about Zombies, the end of the world and
finding someone to share it with.

Other Books out Now by Rachel Higginson:

Love and Decay, Season One

Love and Decay, Volume One (Episodes One-Six,
Season One)

Love and Decay, Volume Two (Episodes
Seven-Twelve, Season One)

Love and Decay, Season Two

Love and Decay, Volume Three (Episodes
One-Four, Season Two)

Love and Decay, Volume Four (Episodes
Five-Eight, Season Two)

Love and Decay, Volume Five (Episodes
Nine-Twelve, Season Two)

Love and Decay, Season Three

Love and Decay, Volume Six (Episodes
One-Four, Season Three)

Love and Decay, Volume Seven (Episodes
Five-Eight, Season Three)

Love and Decay, Volume Eight (Episodes
Nine-Twelve, Season Three)

Reckless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book
1)

Hopeless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book
2)

Fearless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book
3)

Endless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book
4)

The Reluctant King (The Star-Crossed Series,
Book 5)

The Relentless Warrior (The Star-Crossed
Series, Book 6)

Breathless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series,
Book 6.5)

Fateful Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book
6.75)

The Redeemable Prince (The Star-Crossed
Series, Book 7)

Heir of Skies (The Starbright Series, Book
1)

Heir of Darkness (The Starbright Series, Book
2)

Heir of Secrets (The Starbright Series, Book
3)

The Rush (The Siren Series, Book 1)

The Fall (The Siren Series, Book 2)

The Heart (The Siren Series, Book 3)

Bet on Us (An NA Contemporary Romance)

Bet on Me (An NA Contemporary Romance) coming
2015

The Five Stages of Falling in Love, an Adult Contemporary
Romance

Every Wrong Reason, an Adult Contemporary
Romance

Follow Rachel on her blog at:

http://www.rachelhigginson.com/

Or on Twitter:

@mywritesdntbite

Or on her Facebook page:

Rachel
Higginson

Or sign up for her newsletter:

Newsletter

Please enjoy an excerpt from Every Wrong
Reason, available now!

Chapter One

1. My life will be better without him.
   

The bell rang and my stomach growled. I
looked at my classroom, at the kids shoving papers and notebooks
into their backpacks and the energetic chatter that warred with the
high-pitched ringing of the fourth period bell, and wondered if I
had some Pavlovian response to that sound.

I had been conditioned to know hunger, but I
hadn’t felt it in months.

I smiled at my students as they filtered from
the room and reminded some of them about homework they owed me, but
I barely heard the words that fell from my lips or acknowledged the
concise instructions I was notorious for.