Summer Demons
by Mia Hoddell
A YA Romance Novella
(Published 26th February 2014)
Jenna Shaw ran away to escape her past. In fact, she jumped on a plane and flew to Portugal to try and forget it. However, it turns out leaving everything behind isn’t as easy as it sounds.
She thought she could move on and break free of her fears—that if she had some space the pain would stop. But as memories resurface due to an ill-timed joke, the past crashes into her present once more and she didn’t see it coming.
Jenna’s plans for normality are derailed by the charismatic Ethan Brooks. She sees him as an annoyance; he sees her as a challenge. But as he tries every trick known to him to impress her, they only serve to push her further away. He’s never faced this problem before and Ethan has to work harder than he ever has if he wants to win over and help his mysterious girl.
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Excerpt:
She saw
red. Seeping into the crystal clear water it spread, bleeding and merging as
the ripples around her pushed it closer towards her feet. The deep crimson only
grew darker as it surrounded her.
She could
feel her breathing quicken, coming in short, sharp rasps as she started to
panic. Her chest constricted, an unbearable pressure tightening like a boa
constrictor refusing to release her from its clutches. Her throat felt dry, her
increased breathing doing nothing to help the situation as she forced herself
to swallow in the hope of dislodging the lump that had formed there.
This isn’t
happening. This isn’t real. I came here to escape this, she told herself repeatedly
as she laid there, her turquoise bikini embellished with golden sequins shining
in the sun as her back tanned slowly. Bringing up an arm to adjust her
chestnut-brown hair that was dangling in the water, she tried to pull away
before the colour reached her and tainted the beautiful locks. The damage done
would be irreparable if it touched her.
Moving it
just in time, she threw it over her shoulder so it rested between her shoulder
blades, the damp tips feeling nice as they cooled her back by trailing droplets
of water down either side. She tried not to flinch as her gaze returned to the
bloodied water that lapped at the li-lo beneath her chin. With every wave it
seemed to grow closer, making its way further up the yellow plastic to try and
touch her. The tapping that was normally so soothing tormented her now, like a
crowd clapping and cheering her sanity on as it fled for safety.
Rather
than listen to the logical side of her brain, her body had other ideas.
Shuffling back, she put a bigger distance between her face and the abnormal
pool beneath her. As her toes dipped into the cool water behind her though, she
flinched, automatically drawing herself up so that no part of her body was near
the edge. No matter how disgusted she was, she couldn’t stop staring; her eyes
were hypnotised by the gentle movements that swirled the colour into the water
even more. The red had become so thick that not one tile beneath the surface
was visible.
The more
she stared, the more she remembered.
The more
she remembered, the more she was pulled into her memory.
It might
not have been real at that moment in time, but it had been, and Jenna was once
again pulled into the unbearable memory.
About the Author:
Mia Hoddell lives in the UK with her family and two
cats. She spends most of her time writing or reading, loves anything paranormal
and has an overactive imagination that keeps her up until the early hours of
the morning.
With three poems published before the age of
sixteen, Mia moved on to short stories but finding she had too much to tell
with too little space, Mia progressed to novels. She started her first series (The Wanderer Trilogy) at the age of
fourteen and since then hasn’t stopped writing. Elemental Killers is her second series and with an ever growing
list of ideas, Mia is trying to keep up with the speed at which her imagination
generates them.
Connect with Mia:
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Rory Miller thought her life was over when a serial killer set his sights on her and forced her into witness protection. But a fresh start on Juniper Landing Island was exactly what she and her family needed. For the first time in years she and her sister hang out at the beach, gossip about boys, and party together. She's also made friends with a local clique--including a magnetic and mysterious boy named Tristan. 
