Page 1 of Pushed Through The Dark
Prologue
Aubrey
Ionce thought thatthe world had a plan for all of us, that a divine entity, one greater than any single person could wrap their mind around, stood above us and made things happen.
But that isn't possible, it isn't how this thing we call life actually works.
Because I'm here, right here, in this place that knows only how to take and never give. In a world that never shares, only holding for themselves. In a hell that has sprouted from the earth around me, and taken claim where it isn't welcome.
My father once said that the world is a flower, constantly blooming, shedding its petals to make room for new ones. He used to tell me that we're all given one petal, one petal to call our own, to do what we want with.
'This petal is your only shot, Aubrey, that's it. You don't get another one, so make your petal shine.' His words sat in my heart, making each beat painful.
Nothing is shining for me now, and it won't shine ever again. All I'll ever be is a single tear on the petal I once called life.
I'm slowly crumbling, falling away piece by piece like brittle porcelain. Fading, that's what I'm doing. My heart is crying and my brain's a heaping pile of fucked up.
And as I fall, as I get torn to bits and thrown aside like I mean nothing, I wait for the savior who isn't coming.
A dream isn't always just a dream, it's a nightmare, it's a soul with mass and weight and shape.
We all dream. . . Even when we don't want to.
And there's nothing you can do to stop it.
So what do you do when that dream is your reality?
* * * *
"Where are we going?" I asked, folding down the visor and running my fingers around the thin edge of my lips, wiping away any lipstick that was out of place.
"It's a surprise."
The way he said it. . . Fuck I should have known right then and there that something wasn't right. But I didn't hear it, the soft waiver in his voice, the richness that should have screamed for me to pay more attention. The glint in his eyes. Sinister. Cold.
I ignored it all. Every sign. Every instinct. It was a meek silhouette in the darkness.
Instead, my stomach tumbled with excitement, and my heart fluttered like the quick wings of a hummingbird.
I was blinded, infatuated by a man, and unable to see the motives he held in his pocket.
"A surprise?" Keeping my eyes on the mirror, I fluffed and fixed my hair, making sure it was perfect. "This is new, you're not one for surprises."
"What?"Giving me a sly eye, he smirked. "I'm not allowed to surprise you with something special?"
Flipping the visor back up, I ran my hands down over my lap, straightening the creases in my skirt. I hated wrinkles, they drove me crazy.
"I've known you for years, and you're a man who likes consistency. You only get your coffee from one cafe, and you freak if it doesn't have two sugars, and non-dairy creamer. I know you get up every Thursday to buy the paper from the corner store, and you have to have the very bottom copy because you think less people touched it. Even your lunches revolve around what day of the week it is."
"What's your point?"
"My point, Napal, is that you're a man who doesn't change, and thrives on routine."
"You're right, but here's the thing—you've known me as your boss for years, not as a boyfriend. Boyfriend Napal is different, he gives surprises and is unpredictable. I'm sorry, Aubrey, but you don't know me as well as you think you do."
"I've spent the last two years as your secretary, practically throwing myself at you almost every day. I think I know you better than you're giving me credit for." Shifting in my seat, I smirked. "I've watched you from a distance, and it wasn't until a few days ago that you finally showed any interest. What changed, what made you finally see me as more than just a filing cabinet for your paperwork? What made you see me?"
It took so long to get this man to notice me, and I know I should be over the moon about it, I just couldn't help but think,'Why now?'What had changed?
