Straightening my body, my eyes met Momma’s. The tears from just a second before had been replaced with pride as she continued to watch Annie. Tapping me on the shoulder again, she pushed off the hammock, “You all have filled me with renewed hope. I’m sorry for the events that brought us here, but I’m not sorry for the results.” Sniffling, she wiped the moisture on her cheeks before turning to walk away to help Daddy with the food.
Laying back down on the hammock, I smiled as the sound of children’s laughter heightened my spirit. I was taken back to a day when that sound had been made by a boy and a girl who would eventually have to fight to come back together. My eyes scanned over the water line and I smiled when I saw Annie running through the grasses. Her face was covered by a broad smile and she held herself up, strong and determined. She’d changed in the last year, but I knew her life would continue to improve. She’d once said that she would compete against me as the toughest woman around here. Little did she know that she’d left me in the dust a long time ago. I could only hope to be as strong as her if faced with the circumstances of her life. My eyes continued to follow her as she walked out across the yard, her head turning to look back every once in a while in search of something. Eventually, Logan came running out of the woods, causing Annie to shriek as he chased her through the yard. They were only friends at this point, but everybody could see the love in their eyes when they looked at each other. Annie had called him out of the blue about a month after Chris had died and he had been her rock ever since.
I closed my eyes, completely satisfied while I laid in the warm light of the sun. When the hammock suddenly swung, my arms shot out in an attempt to steady myself. Soft, melodic laughter caught my attention and I opened my eyes to two sparkling emeralds. The corners of Annie’s eyes crinkled from her smile; her breathing was heavy from running.
“Hey, gorgeous. Sorry to disturb you, but you looked way too peaceful relaxing over here all by yourself.” Annie’s amusement was evident in her voice. I smiled instantly in response, before reaching up to pull her down with me. Her feet barely extended to the bottom of my calves; her short stature made more apparent as we laid side by side. Despite her small size, I knew I was hugging onto a girl that had the spirit of a giant.
“Having fun with Logan?” I moved to nudge her shoulder with mine, just as laughter escaped her.
Her eyes softened while she watched Logan talking to Alex and Ava down by the water line. “He makes it difficult to takes things slow, I can tell you that. It’s like a small ball of sunshine was placed inside him and you just want to curl up within its warmth.” Her head turned as her eyes shot to mine. “I always have fun with him. He doesn’t push things and he stays right by me when I slip backwards. I swear, sometimes it’s like he’s holding out his hand, pulling me through my darkest memories; kind of like a life preserver, you know?”
My body shifted and I found myself staring up into the clouds that rolled above us. “I know what you mean.” My thoughts drifted to Daemon, to the image of the two of us pulling each other through the storm. “In all honesty, though, I know you would have pulled through with or without him. You are one tough chick, Annie.” I grabbed her hand with mine and squeezed. “I think you won our contest. You are definitely more impressive than I could ever be. Shit! You saved our lives. All three of us.” I paused for a moment and my voice was barely a whisper as I asked, “Are you okay…you know…with what you had to do?”
I rolled over to rest my head on my hand, so I could look down at her. Annie smiled up at me. “I like to think of it as we saved each other.” Her eyes darkened momentarily; but then it was gone, replaced with resolve and determination. “Your Momma is right when she teaches about how we need to help each other, about how we need to stand together against those that hurt us. I’m not sorry for what I did…not one bit. I know I should be, taking a life and all…but I just don’t care. You saved me in our apartment that night; you and Daemon both. I was just returning the favor. Would you have felt bad if you were the one who killed him?”
I instantly responded, “Hell no!”
She nodded. “Exactly; so then you know there’s no need to be worrying about me.”
My smile traveled ear to ear at her words. “Fine; but I have to ask…how in the hell did you pull that shot off?”
Annie grinned and shrugged a shoulder. “You don’t get named after a woman like Annie Oakley and not get taught to shoot as you’re growing up. I guess that’s one of those things you didn’t know about me. My parents were gun nuts, they made sure that I knew how to handle a weapon.”
My jaw dropped, but then I shook my head in amazement before laying back down beside her. We swung for a while, laughing and talking as we tried to make out shapes in the clouds above us. Eventually, Logan approached, pulling Annie up and to his side.
“If you’ll excuse us, Paige, I need to borrow Annie for a moment. Ava wanted to get some pictures of us before dinner.”
I saluted my approval and watched as they walked out to pose for Ava. My eyes were heavy as I started to doze off in the warmth of the Florida summer. The sound of the breeze was my lullaby as a blanket of contentment covered me. The added sound of laughter comforted me into a blissful sleep. I awoke to Daemon’s hand on my cheek, his dimples poking out from the smile that graced his handsome face.
“Rise and shine, beautiful. The food’s ready and you need to eat.”
My eyes peaked open and I squinted against the sunlight that backlit Daemon’s face. Memories surged forth of a small blond boy who smiled down at me years before. Pushing myself up, I stretched before taking Daemon’s hand to follow him to sit down at the tables my parents had set up within the veranda.
Eventually we were all seated, laughing at jokes being told, small bits of food being thrown across the table at each other. Every face was lit up with a smile, every person was strengthened by the family we had become.
Just like any story, ours wasn’t perfect. We weren’t all born into lives of comfort and happiness. We had to fight to find that joy that we’d gained. Our lives had been bent up and altered by the circumstances and events that plagued us, but, more importantly, we’d endured and survived the battles that we’d fought. Hatred, anger, abuse; those three things had spread out into each of our lives, like a disease that slowly infected every person it contacted. Some of us were the recipients of the abuse…Daemon and Chris especially. I often wondered if someone had taken the time to love Chris like Frank had loved Daemon, if his life would have turned out differently. But there was no one to stick up for Chris, no one to finally reach out and stop what was being done to him. Despite his actions, my heart broke for him as I wondered about the person he could have become had his circumstances been different.
However, the effects of the actions of both Chris’ and Daemon’s parents had continued to spread beyond the children they were enacted against. I was affected, my parents, Alex and Annie; on and on down the line of lives until even strangers weren’t immune to it. I thought about Amanda Cleary, about her parents and loved ones, about the people at Tomb who’d almost lost their lives when the building caught fire. Those people would never understand the truth about why they were hurt and why their lives were forever changed.
I looked up at Alex as he tormented David about, once again, being sucked into the swamp. Even though his words were directed at David, Alex’ eyes never left Ava. A smile peaked out from my lips to realize that he’d found love, regardless of what it had been done to him in his relationship with me, he’d found it again. I was damaged when he met me, and I left him a damaged person when we parted. Ava had no idea how much I appreciated her at this moment. She’d mended the broken heart I’d left in my wake.
A knee brushed against mine and I turned to look up into the smiling eyes of Daemon. His brow arched above his eye as his hand wrapped around mine. He’d noticed my distant thoughts and silently questioned whether I was alright. I smiled up at him in response when I realized I was bet
ter than alright. I was strong, I was happy, and once again, the empty space within my soul had been filled by a blue eyed boy, in a magical yard, surrounded by the people who loved us.
We were finally free. We could breathe again. Above all, we had prevailed in the face of adversity and, together, we had conquered the demons that haunted us.
The End
Future books in this series will be:
“Captured” – Alex and Ava’s story
and
“Changed” – Annie and Logan’s story
Anticipated release: early 2014
M.S. Willis
If you are interested in reading additional books by M.S. Willis or would like to know when new books are being released, M.S. Willis can be found at:
Website: http://www.mswillisbooks.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mswillisbooks
M. S. Willis, Conquer
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