Finding Forever (Living Again #4)
Read Finding Forever (Living Again #4) Online
Authors: L. L. Collins
Finding Forever
Copyright © LL Collins 2014
All Rights Reserved
Cover Design by Kari Ayasha at Cover to Cover Designs
Interior Design by Angela McLaurin, Fictional Formats
https://www.facebook.com/FictionalFormats
Cover Models: Leland and Brittany Hertig
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Contact Author LL Collins
Twitter: @authorllcollins
Facebook:
https//www.facebook.com/llcollinsauthor
To D.K.
I’m so blessed to be your friend. This is for you, love. You’re a real life miracle and an inspiration to so many.
This book is based on true events. If you’ve met someone that has gone through this, then you’ve met
one
person that has taken this journey. Every story is different, just like every person is different. Every aspect has been told by someone that has lived it and survived to share it. The facts, as presented in this story, were true. Please know that it might not be the same journey as one that you have heard of or have lived through. That doesn’t make it untrue or not factual. Thank you for keeping this in mind while reading.
This is a highly emotional story. If this isn’t your cup of tea, please don’t read it.
If you purchased this book, thank you for your support. Please consider leaving a review at your point of purchase. All authors depend on their readers.
If you received this book for free from a website that gives away author’s hard earned books, shame on you. It’s no different than pirating music or movies. If someone’s not getting paid, it was stolen. If you like getting your paycheck, then don’t take mine from me. Buy your books from an honest retailer, or check out your local library.
Reading order for books: While each is a standalone novel, reading the others in the series is always recommended:
#1-
Living Again
#2-
Reaching Rachel
#3-
Guarding Hearts
Coming Fall 2014
Breaking Free
: A Living Again Novella (Living Again #4.5)
Look for a sneak peek in the back of this book
~Author LL Collins
Lacey sat next to the bed, listening to the rhythmic beeping of the machine that was keeping track of her mom’s heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen level. She only knew what it was because the nice nurse had told her what all of it meant. She didn’t even know how long she had been sitting there, but she couldn’t move. If she got up, even just to go to the cafeteria with her dad, she might not be here when it happened. If she wasn’t here, she’d never forgive herself. She knew they’d been here for a long time, but the days all blended together. The date was written on her mom’s white board every day, along with the doctor and nurse’s information, and that’s the only reason Lacey even knew what day it was. She had no idea how long it had been since she’d gone to school, but she had taken to teaching herself and Aubrey. She could do it better anyway. They had always said she had a photographic memory and she knew most of the information school had ever ‘taught’ her.
Any time now, they had said to her dad. He hadn’t known she was listening, but she had been outside the door with her ear pressed up against it. She hadn’t let her little sister Aubrey listen. She was only eight and didn’t need to know what they were saying. But Lacey did. She was twelve today, after all. It was her birthday; not that it mattered.
She had been the one that had gotten her mom a cold washcloth for her head, some ginger ale for her upset stomach, and her medicine when she was too weak to walk. This had been her life since she was ten years old. But if the doctors were correct, and she knew that they were, her job of taking care of her mom was almost over. That made her tummy feel funny and her eyes well with tears. She tried not to cry around her mom because it made her even sadder than she already was. But her mom’s eyes were shut. She hadn’t opened them in a few days.
Lacey remembered the day that her mom and dad sat her and Aubrey down to tell them that they had some bad news. It had been at the end of her fourth grade year. She had been ready for summer and all of the fun that came along with it. She had heard of cancer, knew that it could be deadly. At her age, she had never known anyone close to her that had died or been really sick. Even her grandparents were still healthy.
When her mom had said the words ‘breast cancer’, Lacey remembered looking at her mom’s crumpled face, then the tears dripping from her dad’s eyes. Aubrey had only been six and didn’t really understand, only that her parents were crying. Their eyes had been trained on Lacey, watching her. She had jumped up and flung herself into her mom’s arms, sobbing so hard and so loud that she didn’t even know that it was herself.
That day seemed like a lifetime ago. Her mom had gone through so many treatments, first a surgery to do a single side mastectomy and remove some lymph nodes, then chemotherapy, followed by radiation. After they had thought she had beat it and was going to recover, it had come back with a vengeance. Not only was it in her remaining breast, but also in her chest cavity. At that point there had been nothing they could do for her but try to make her last few months as comfortable as possible.
Lacey and her family had spent as much time together as they could over the last two months. She had always been very close to her mom, and there were days she didn’t leave her side for more than a few minutes.
A small movement broke Lacey out of her reverie. She stood, gripping her mom’s hand as she noticed her eyes fluttering open. That was a good sign, right? Maybe she would fool all of the doctors. Her mom would be a miracle.
“Mom?” She hated how scared her voice sounded. She had to be brave. Her mom needed her.
Her mom’s blue eyes, identical to hers, focused in on her, and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from crying. She had to be strong. Aubrey and her dad were in the cafeteria. She needed to tell him.
Her eyes flitted to the phone at the bedside, then looked back at her mom before she shut her eyes again. The phone would have to wait.
“Are you okay, Mom? Are you in pain?”
Tears filled her mom’s eyes and she shook her head just enough that Lacey could see it. Lacey took her hand. She was always so cold now. Her mom sucked in a breath, the oxygen in her nose assisting her breathing.
