Only You by Stephanie Rose
Copyright © 2015 by Stephanie Rose
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted on any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without 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 are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locals is entirely coincidental.
Except the original material written by the author, all songs, song titles, and lyrics contained in the book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.
Cover Design:
Najla Qamber Designs
www.najlaqamberdesigns.com
Interior Design and Formatting:
Christine Borgford at Perfectly Publishable
www.perfectlypublishable.com
Editing:
Brenda Letendre at Write Girl Editing Services
Table of Contents
Only You
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Acknowledgements
About the Author
To Mom and James
You came with me to hell and back, and I know you’d do it again in a heartbeat. Thank you for being my strength and my voice when I had none.
My eyelids were weak and heavy. All I did now was sleep, but I was still too tired to wake up. I didn’t even remember how I got here.
It took a pathetic amount of strength to lift my head and glance over the tray of food. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but pretty sure it was late. Why they thought I wanted crackers now was beyond me. They can’t really expect me to eat, can they? Swallowing anything was torturous thanks to the deep open sores that trailed down my throat. Water burned, so the thought of eating anything was as appealing as chowing down on sandpaper—and would probably feel the same going down.
I curled into the fetal position as I shivered and rubbed at my skin to get warm, and felt the pointy bone through the flesh of my arms. I reached for the covers and winced at the pain in my fingers as I gathered up the scratchy fabric and pulled it over my aching shoulders.
It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. Most of all, it hurt to think.
The life I wanted, with the man I wanted, haunted my dreams.
You own me. Can’t you see that?
You’re mine. You’re everything.
I . . . can’t see my future with anyone else but you.
I finally found what I’d been looking for my entire life, but I couldn’t keep it.
The sound of voices yelling outside my hospital room snatched me out of my thoughts. I pushed myself up, panting at the exertion it took to sit upright. I leaned back on my elbows and pushed myself up. My heart leaped in my heavy chest when I recognized the voice causing the commotion outside—the voice I’d know anywhere.
“I need to see her, please.”
Evan? No, no, no. I didn’t want him to see me like this. How did he find out I was here?
“I’m sorry, sir. Immediate family only. This is the ICU.”