Save Me
Save Me
Saved Series (Book One)
Copyright © 2013 Laura L. Cline
Smashwords Edition
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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This
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWARD
I just wanted to take a minute before you begin
Save Me
. This book, this story, is a labor of love for me. I love the simple, but sometimes complicated world Jack and Carly live in and most importantly, I love them in it. I love every moment I sat hovering over the keyboard, slumped shouldered more often than not, and typed out their lives. They seem so real to me, so true to the people who first started coming into my head a year ago. I love them. Simply and completely.
An important aspect of this story is the music that stirs and moves Jack and Carly. I listened to
a lot
of music while writing
Save Me
, some of which found its way into the story. I’ve always been an auditory person; music is a part of all our stories, in one way or another. Here’s the list of the main songs that Jack and Carly listened or danced to:
Breathe-Pink Floyd
Sweet Nothing-Calvin Harris with Florence Welch
Shook Me All Night Long-AC/DC
I’ll Be-Edwin McCain
The Only Exception-Paramore
Something-The Beatles
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction-The Rolling Stones
Road to Nowhere-The Talking Heads
Dust to Dust-The Civil Wars
Wild Horses-The Rolling Stones
All music mentioned in
Save Me
is copyright to the artists.
Chapter 1
The half bathroom is a little cramped with both of us standing at the sink. Dove hand soap and hairspray linger in the air as we stare at the little white stick. "Why is it taking so long?" Claire asks, chewing her bottom lip. I continue to watch the little digital window, waiting for the test to develop. Finally, the dot turns blue as the words 'Not Pregnant' appear in the window. I look at Claire and prepare myself for her face.
"Again?" She falls down on the toilet and buries her head in her hands. I put the pregnancy test back in the little sleeve it came out of and drop it into the trash.
"I'm sorry, Claire," I say sincerely.
"What's wrong with me?" Her voice is so low, so sorrowful that I can't speak for a second.
"You don't know that there's anything
wrong
with you, or with Mark. Maybe what's wrong is the timing."
Claire's green eyes, brimming with tears and disappointment, look up at me. "I just want a baby, Carly."
I squat down in front of her and take her hands. "Sis, I know you want a baby. I want it so badly for you myself. I'm sorry it hasn't happened yet, but you can't lose hope."
"I should be pregnant by now, Carly. I mean, Mark and I have sex on schedule. We do it in the right positions. I eat all the right foods. I know something's wrong. I just know it." She coaxes the tears out of her eyes with her fingertips. "I don't know what else we can do."
"Let's go out to dinner. You can have a glass of wine and get your mind off it, at least for tonight. Besides, before you know it, your days of drinking wine will be over for a while."
She offers me a smile that says she knows I’m trying and she appreciates it. I wish there was something I could actually do to help.
Claire and Mark have been married for three years. They have a solid marriage, built on love and all the mushy stuff, and Mark has a great job as the Vice President at a local bank. Claire drives a Lincoln MKX and the big diamond on her finger is worth more than my car. They're in the perfect place to welcome a baby, but Mother Nature keeps sending the stork past their door.
§
Angelo's is always crowded on a Friday night, so after a short wait, we're seated at a booth in the back. The first thing that catches Claire's attention is the little baby girl nestled between her parents the next booth over. She keeps looking at Claire and smiling, her chubby cheeks smeared with spaghetti sauce. I silently wish we'd have gotten McDonald's; anything to keep her from being reminded of what she doesn't have.
"That'll be you soon," I say in an attempt to cheer her up. "Changing poopy diapers and wiping up drool. You and Mark will be lucky to cram in even a minute of boring sex before the little one wakes up squalling." I look over the menu, for absolutely no reason, before deciding on the same thing I always get.
"I hope so," Claire says, finally breaking the baby's gaze. She stares at her own menu for a minute before putting it down and turning her attention to me. "Speaking of sex, are you and Nick still doing whatever it is you're doing?"
I pretend to study the menu intently to avoid Claire's question. She reaches her finger out and pulls the menu away from me. "Well?" Her pretty face wears a mask of disapproving curiosity.
"Claire, I know you don't like it, but what Nick and I do is between us."
"He's using you, Carly."
I sigh heavily and with exaggeration. "I do
not
want to talk about this again. Please, Claire. Can we just have dinner?"
"As much as you want me to be happy, I want the same for you. Can you at least admit that he's not right for you? That he's an asshole?"
I lean my head back in frustration. "Excuse me!" I wave for the server. He comes over and Claire knots her fingers underneath her chin. "Can I cancel the glass of Merlot and order a double Jack on the rocks?" He nods and disappears around the corner.
"You want to avoid talking about him that badly, huh?" She narrows her eyes and purses her lips as if my avoidance confirms her statement.
"Claire, I don't want anything serious and neither does Nick. It's a mutual decision between two consenting adults. If he acts like a dick and gets on my nerves, I can kick his ass out of my apartment."
"When are you going to find someone
real
, Carly? Someone who makes you happy?"
"What the hell is happiness anyway, Claire?" I sigh. "It's all relative."
The server arrives with Claire's wine and my pretty Jack Daniels. He takes our orders, Ravioli for me and Chicken Parmesan for Claire, and is gone again.
"I don't want to sleep around, but I do have needs. Nick wants someone who won't hound him for a relationship, which I don't. Seems like happiness to me." I turn the Jack up and take a drink, the amber liquid burning a path to my belly.
"As long as you can make yourself believe that," Claire says, sipping her blush wine.
"I don't need anything else. I don't
want
anything else."
Claire looks at me before raising her eyebrows as if to say, 'whatever you say'.
The fact is, as much as Claire wants the American Dream; I want to run from it. My heart doesn't ache out of desperation and my biological clock can get bent. I'm only twenty-four. Why should I rush into marriage and kids and all that when I want none of it?
The food comes out quickly and is as tasty as always. I have two more glasses of Jack Daniels despite disapproving glances from Claire. She's driving tonight, not me. Claire and I split the check, even though she attempts to pay for both our meals like always. I have a nice warm feeling from the whiskey and my face is hot as we leave the restaurant.