Cursed Heart (Cursed #2.5)

Cursed Heart

The Cursed Series, #2.5

By t. h. snyder

© 2014 t. h. snyder (Tiffany Snyder)

Published by t. h. snyder

First published in 2014. All rights reserved. This book is copyright. Apart from the fair purpose of private study, research or review as permitted by the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced without written permission.

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people.  If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.  If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy.  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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

Image Copyright

Book Cover by Design: Kellie Dennis

Cover Photo: Michael Meadows

Acknowledgements

Cursed Heart is a surprise addition to the Cursed Series and one that I hope you all enjoy.

My FAMILY! Roberta M Rizzotto (Mom), Angela Minnich, Jim Minnich (Dad), and Marilyn Minnich. You guys are my rockstar cheering squad, thank you!!!

To my two wonderful KIDS, you are my world Raeghyn, and Mason. I love you both to infinity and beyond.

My BETA GIRLS! Barb Johnson, Karrie Puskas, Jennifer Maikis, Jamie Bourgeois, Mary Lou Moench, Ashley Blankenship, Chrissy Bise and Amy Concepcion. No matter what I throw at you…you pick it up and love it.

To the amazing BLOGS that support me and never flinch when I ask them to post my teasers and such. You’re all too good to be true.

The READERS, well hell I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. I adore the messages you send me and all of your kind words. Knowing that I’ve touched so many of you with my stories makes my heart happy. #teamdault vs #teamchrisitan all the way baby.

My STREET TEAM, t. h. snyder & the pimpettes we’ve come a long way in a short period of time. You ladies make me laugh and drool every day, love you.

A special shout out to an AUTHOR that holds a special place in my heart, my twin. Joanne you’re always there for me like no other…I’d be lost without our friendship. After you read Cursed Ecstasy you wanted to know more about Christian…this one is for you. Love you always and forever.

My ROCK and BFF, Christine Stanley you already know how much you mean to me, this journey wouldn’t be the same without you by my side. You’re not only a friend but a long lost sister. I love you lots poopsie.

Kellie Dennis, you are the most amazing COVER ARTIST a gal could ask for. This cover I threw at you last minute and BOOM you did it again…you kick ass and love you lots.

My EDITOR Tiffany Tillman thank you so much for making this story a part of your life. I couldn’t have done this without you. Love you!!!!

My PHOTOGRAPHER, Michael Meadows….we finally did it and have an amazing cover. Thank you for always trusting in me as an author, but more importantly a friend. I love you lots Boo Boo.

Last but certainly not least, my COVER MODEL, Ben McKee. So I know we just met and this is crazy, but here’s my number…so call me maybe. Haha!!!! Seeing that picture of you from Michael Meadows Photography, I knew I found my Christian. You’ve been a tremendous support in such a short time; I can’t say how much I appreciate you already. Big things are to come for us and I look forward to this wild and crazy journey with you.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I’m feeling…tired, sick, and as if I’ll never be able to break free from the emotional struggles I’ve been facing my entire life. Waiting for my last patient to be finished with their CT scan, I cross my arms against my chest and stare across the hallway into a bleak white wall. I’ve been working at the hospital as an orderly for the past few weeks, it’s a job—one that I enjoy and helps pay the bills—but I want so much more. After earning my degree in biology four years ago, I’ve finally decided to put out some med school applications. Working here is a start and perhaps a way to get my foot in the door. I want to be something bigger, someone better than the man I’ve been for far too long. My past has cursed my heart, mind, and soul. It’s time for me to make a change, one that can alter everything I’ve ever known. Taking a step off the ledge will be huge for me, but unless I take the risks, I’ll never know what possibilities are out there for me and my future.

I’ve been a loner, a man that has refused any emotional connection and attachment to another human being. After being tossed around in foster homes all my life, beaten, used, and abused, I’ve shut off all feelings of self worth. Rather than creating relationships, I’ve hurt everyone that was around me…
I need to make a change
. If only there was a signal, a light at the end of the tunnel shining into my eyes to tell me what direction to go, I’d move toward it and start fresh.  For now, I just live my life day by day in hopes that a ray of sunshine will wake me up from my darkness. 

I’m torn with my own thoughts and emotions.  I’m tired of hiding, yet I always feel lost. 

Maybe one day, I’ll have the strength to move on. Until then, I’ll continue working my ass off here at the hospital and start some counseling sessions. I saw a flyer posted in the employee lounge and it struck me…
I need to do this.
This could go one of two ways; it could help or just remind me of my past. Either way, it’s a step in the right direction; I just don’t know if it’s the right one. I’ve never sat down and told anyone my past or the feelings that rage inside of me. It’s so much easier to keep them bottled up…well, at least it
was
. I’m twenty-seven years old for Christ’s sake, if I want to have any type of a successful future I need to man up and do something…not just think about it.

Chapter 1

Today was another long twelve hour shift at the hospital and I’m exhausted. I enjoy my job, I really do, it’s just that today was busier than normal. The emergency room was slammed with patients that needed to be taken to various testing rooms. I felt like I was being pulled in a million different directions, not to mention that I’m still getting used to these damn meds the doctor prescribed. Thank God I have the next three days off; I sure as hell need them.

Driving down the highway, my stomach begins to growl and my mind immediately alerts me that there’s absolutely nothing to eat at my place.

Mental note, first thing tomorrow morning I need to get to the store.
Looking along the side of the road, I spot a diner and decide to pull in for a quick bite to eat.

Walking through the door, I scan the room. A woman in a short, black skirt greets me and asks me to follow her back to a booth along the far wall. There are not too many people in here, so my level of anxiety is at bare minimum. Letting out a puff of air, I take a seat and start to look over the menu as the waitress approaches the table.

“Hey there, what can I getcha?” she asks while taking a seat across from me. Letting out a heavy sigh, she sets her tablet down and rests her elbows upon the surface.

What the hell? She just made herself nice and cozy at my table.

My eyes scan over her appearance from head to…tabletop. She’s looking back at me with tired, grey eyes covered in too much makeup. Dark brown hair surrounds a sad expression, her cheekbones set high, and those penciled in eyebrows, geez, they just about reach her hairline. Batting her lashes, she smiles at me as the bells along the door ring. Turning my head, my attention is pulled to the other side of the diner.

My eyes are instantly set on a petite woman walking behind the hostess. Her bright green eyes meet mine and I can’t help but stare back at her. She looks to be distraught, but I can’t imagine why. Her blue hair is tousled on top of her head, bright colors of ink running along both of her arms, and those eyes…they’re amazing. I can’t help it, but I’m lost in her. She’s a complete stranger, yet all I can do it watch her every move. An ache begins to pull in my chest, and rubbing my hands together, I can feel the clamminess of my palms. I’m not sure what this feeling is that I’m experiencing. Is it a side effect from my medication, the fact that I’m starving, or that I feel a crazy connection to this green-eyed stranger?

“Er…hello?”

Fixing my gaze back on the waitress, I snap out of my fog. She’s looking back at me in confusion and turns her head in the direction I had been looking. She pauses for a moment before settling back in her seat and tossing me a wink.

Oh dear god, the thoughts that must be running wild through her mind right about now. Crazy weird guy walks into the diner and can’t help but stare at the blue-haired goddess. Great, now my fucking mind is running to places it shouldn’t.

Clearing my thoughts, I place my hands beneath the table and sit up straight. I need to pull myself together and focus on why I’m here…food.

“Oh…umm…yeah, sorry, just a water and a bowl of your Irish stew for now.”

“You got it, I’ll be right back,” she says as she gets up from the seat and walks away.

I look back to the woman that just entered; she’s sitting in a booth and it sounds as if the waitress is giving her a hard time. With a group of men sitting in front of her, the atmosphere in the diner just turned from peaceful to intense. I can hear bits and pieces of their conversation and it doesn’t sound like it’s going over too well. There’s a guy sitting on the end of the booth, talking some shit, and it’s taking all that I have not to get up and punch him in the face. I don’t know what it is about this girl, but I feel the need to protect her.

Wait…what am I thinking?
I’ve never wanted to help anyone. Who is this person and why do I feel so drawn to her?