Love Turns With Twisted Fates 2 (16 page)

December 2006

Diego

I see the image on the screen. The one I never wanted Izzy
to see…there, on her computer monitor. She’s just staring at the screen, she
doesn’t even notice me.

FUUUUUCK!

Hindsight is always fucking twenty-twenty, but damn if I
thought I did the right thing. I go over the multiple times I could have said
something, but I was more concerned with what I’d lose if she saw this, than
what it would do to her if I wasn’t the one that showed her.

I watch her. Waiting for something. A sign. A reaction. But
she’s so still. And then I see it, the heave in her chest tells me she’s
holding it in, trying not to break. I suck in a quick breath at the sight.

She turns to look at me. She heard my gasp. Like she did
with the monitor, she just stares.

“I’m so sorry, Izzy,” I plead. Not finding the words to
explain. To make this better.
Who the fuck am I kidding? How the fuck do I
make
that better?

“GOOOO!” The pain resonating in her voice and ripping my
soul to shreds.

Fuck if that sight doesn’t kill me. That’s my fault right
there. I did that. I refuse to look away at my wife losing her mind, because I…

Because I what?

I deserve this. I made the strongest woman I’ve ever known
break. While she sits there and screams for me to go, buried beneath her arms
and into her tucked up knees, I resist the urge to go to her.

I did this.

I don’t deserve the right to ease my guilt by easing the
pain I caused her. So, I do what she told me to do. I go.

Out the door to the office and down the stairs to the
kitchen, I grab the tablet of paper sitting on the counter and put fucking pen
to paper.

Even if she won’t listen now, I have to tell her something.
I can’t erase what’s done, but I sure as hell can make things close to right.

I stumble over the words I want to say. Scribbling over the
wrong ones and making a mess of the paper and my note.

Most of what needs to be said, can’t be written in a note.
No. She has to hear it from me. She has to see that I’m telling the truth, that
I’m not
that
man anymore. That…

Fuck.

The shrill sound of my phone ringing startles me. The caller
ID alerts me that it’s Sebastian, “Fuck.”
He’s gonna kick my ass
.
What
the fuck was I thinking?

“Baz,” I answer. I can hear the void in my voice, I don’t
doubt he does, too.

“D, what’s going on?” his tone serious and laced with concern.

“I fucked up, Baz. I have to get out of the house. Can you
come stay with Izzy?”

He knows not to ask questions. A lifetime and a brotherhood
together, he knows that I’ll tell him, but if I’m not offering it up now, now’s
not the time. He agrees to come. I told him I’d wait until he got here.

After hanging up, I rush to pour what words I can find onto
the tiny paper. Hoping that with every word, I’m not making it worse. I keep
reading what I’ve written.

I’m on my millionth reread when I hear Baz come in. Folding
the note, I write Izzy’s name on the front of it. With a sigh, I push myself
back from the counter. I’m trying to find the strength to go past the sight of
my wife crumbling, to walk out the door and give her the space I know she
needs.

Meeting Baz at the top of the stairs, I chicken out and have
Baz deliver the note to our bedroom. Directing him to place it on the
nightstand and to turn on the bedside lamp.

We exchange a look and he gives me a hug and some advice,
“Whatever it is D, you better fucking fix it.”

I’ve gone up against giants among men on the field too many
times to count, but the hardest thing I’ve ever done is to walk out this door.

My Dearest Izzy,

It killed me to leave. To see you there, lying on the floor.
To know that I did that. I left because maybe you won't hurt so much if I'm not
there.

Please know that no explanation of the truth will fix this,
that in some fucked up way, everything I did was to protect you and that
nothing is what it seems.

I'm not that man anymore,
bella
. No matter what, you
are it for me. You and you alone.

I should've trusted you with the truth. You've always seen
the best in me and I let my fear of losing the most important person in my life
keep me from being honest.

With all that we've faced these last couple of months, I
just hope I haven't broken you or us. I hope that no matter how twisted our
fates are that they begin and end with us together.

Forever yours,

Your Saint

Dear Reader,

I realize that you’re probably reeling from the way
Love Turns With Twisted Fates
has ended. I offer an almost apology. #SorryNotSorry

When I plotted out this series, I knew what I wanted to include but I had no idea where each chunk of Izzy and Diego’s story would end and the next chunk would begin. These breaks, if you will, kinda happen naturally. In LTYBA, I had almost 10k more words (that I completely trashed and will never ever be read again; awful doesn’t begin to describe them) written after the end you got, but after a half dozen rereads, I kept going back to the chapter where Izzy passes out. The cliffhanger wasn’t intentional, but it worked. Like LTYBA, LTWTF’s original ending isn’t what you got. I reached the plotted ending and it lacked the punch to the gut I was looking for. I decided to reword the ending and go back and fill in the missing pieces. That’s what you read. Without apologizing for the cliffhanger, I offer you this:

Diego and Izzy’s story is nowhere near over. There’s a lot to cover in their story and these two books are literally just the beginning. I like cliffhangers, chances are most of my books will probably have a cliffhanger of some sort. I joke that Caleigh Hernandez and Cliff Hangers are synonymous. We do share the same initials.

But I digress: don’t let a good cliffhanger ruin your experience. Like real life, sometimes the end of a chapter isn’t so neatly tied up. I’m not threatening an unhappily ever after, I’m just saying that sometimes being left with that “I need more” feeling is exactly what you should be feeling.

Thank you so much, so much,
Caleigh Hernandez

 When I
pushed publish in December 2014, I had no idea the ride I was in for. There
have been some ups, lots of downs, but through it all there have been some
amazing persons that help me to keep my eye on the dream. I’d been inspired by
a song with a need to tell a story when I set out to write
Love Takes Your
Breath Away
. With
Love Turns With Twisted Fates
, my cheerleaders
were the reason you have more of Izzy and Diego’s story and will continue to
get the rest of their story. 

To my amazing
husband, thanks for everything. Today, you wrote some amazing words and posted
them on your Facebook. These words reached into my soul and I’m speechless.
Yeah, yeah, it’s hard to believe that I am without words, but I’ve sat here
trying to think of an appropriate response and nothing seems appropriate.
Thanks for being you. Thanks for making sure the girls get to Kajukenbo
practice, for making sure we get fed, and for taking care of house and home
when I can’t manage my time well enough to do it myself. Thanks for believing
in me so much that you can’t find it in your heart to ask me to put it on hold
because we could
really
use the money. Thank you for continuing to be
the man they write stories about. I love you so much, so much. #LYSMSM

To my
daughters, never stop dreaming. With hard work, perseverance, and a few good
friends, anything is possible…but in the meantime, live, laugh, love, and
unicorns.

To my forever
friends and besties thanks for being the wind beneath my wings…Misty, without a
doubt you have been one of my biggest cheerleaders and supporters. Thanx for
always being there with mani/pedi, coffee, a hike or just a much needed break
from life. You’re unwavering support of me chasing my dreams is beyond words. I
love you. Kelley, my Supernatural Siren, my fellow Book Vamp…thanx for getting
on the crazy train that is the book world with me. Love you. To my AliCat,
AliGator and BritSis…you rock my world and spoil me to bits. Who’d have thunk
it? You continue to give me the can do attitude necessary to get shit done and
you’re always there when I need to vent. I’m looking forward to getting to
squeeze you in person. Love you. To my HotDonna…I can’t remember when it all
started, but we went from zero to sixty and tears and hugs in Vegas. Truly an
epic time in my life. Thank you for your relentless support and ego-boosting.
#HotForFootballers

To my
#bookstar, she knows who she is. This book would not have been possible without
your friendship and continued support. Your first book rocked my world and
shifted my foundation. Your words encouraged me to reach for my own dreams. I
thought to myself, I want to be her when I grow up. It brought me into a world
that I never knew existed and introduced me to some incredible friends. Here’s
to epic book hangovers and filthy-mouthed Alphas. I book you.

To my Sweet
& Spicy Writer Chicks, Sauce, Rexy, Creeper, Woody and KittyHo...the life
of this would-be author changed the day Rexy decided we needed to band
together. This has been a hell of an adventure and with you crazy, kinky chicks
by my side, I’ve officially published two books. Love you writer bitches.

To my betas and
proofreaders: Y’all made this dreamer girl feel like she could actually write.
LOL…Michele my #ViolentBeta, your relentless nagging and constant support
helped me to type “The End.” Your feedback was priceless and I’m so excited to
continue this journey with you by my side. Ashley, thanks for pushing me.
Thanks for telling me when something “just wasn’t good enough.” Robin and
MaryLee, thank you. I know you weren’t a fan of the way this one ended. Sorry I
couldn’t change it. Stephanie, my Wheezy (teeheehee)—thanx for being another
pair of eyes and loving me enough to not completely hate me. Jill & Ninfa,
my clean-up crew. You two will always need to read together. It was so much
fun.

To my mom who
has always supported and encouraged my reading habits. My love affair with
books began with Are You My Mother and Dr. Seuss books, but it was my first
Nancy Drew book that truly triggered my incessant need for more words, more
stories. Have I ever told you how much I love you?

To my friends
and inspirations: Mindi Lou Who, Ashley “BBB” Truelove, Faith Andrews, Adriana
Locke, K. Langston, VPTejas Girl Steph, Laurelin Paige, Cara Arthur, Mary
Baird, Thaty Bastos…Thank you.

Caleigh Hernandez is a not-so-perfect mom of 2 beautiful
daughters, a terrible housekeeper, and sometimes, a doting wife. A few years
ago, she decided to take life by the horns and throw caution to the wind. She
went back to school, earning a degree in Web & Multimedia Design where her
long-time passion for writing was reignited with a creative writing class. It
was during her final term when she conceived a story she just had to tell.

When not buried in the ridiculousness of everyday life, you
can find Caleigh curled up with her Kindle devouring a book, watching crime
dramas (she's obsessed), screaming at the TV while watching her SJ Sharks,
Oakland Raiders or Oakland A's, getting cozy with a good superhero flick, or
getting her adrenaline fix on a roller coaster. She hates cleaning and loathes
laundry. She's a shoe whore that lives in flip flops and loves to be barefoot.

In the immortal words of her husband, "Caleigh
Hernandez is a bad ass bitch."

Love Takes Your Breath Away is the first novella in the Truth
About Love Series.

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents are the product of author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or
dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2015 Caleigh Hernandez

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S.
Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any
part of this book without the permission of the publisher or author constitute
unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would
like to use material from this book (other than for review purposes), prior
written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at
[email protected]
. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

FBI Anti-Piracy Warning: The unauthorized reproduction
or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright
infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is
punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Cover art created by
Christina
Leigh Designs

with Shutterstock image #
161297273

Except for the original material written by the author,
all songs, song titles, and lyrics mentioned in the novel Love Turns With
Twisted Fates are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright
holders.