Finding Her Love

FINDING HER LOVE ETERNALLY HERS DUET BOOK ONE LYRIC NICOLE CONTENTS Trigger Warning 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 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Author’s Note Also by Lyric Nicole Acknowledgments About the Author All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review. For more information, contact [email protected] Copyright © 2023 by Lyric Nicole This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locations, and incidents are used fictitiously, or a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Cover Design/Editing/Interior Formatting: CPR Editing and Designs Proofreading: Debra Steinkirchner & Pickles TRIGGER WARNING This book contains the following: Parental Abuse/Domestic Violence Teenage Bullying Attempted Sexual Assault Mention of Heroine’s Past Childhood Sexual Abuse Gun Violence To my mini man, Chonk, my sidekick-in-training, Chonkasaurus…but really, the best title I can give you is son. Without you, I truly don’t know where I would be today. You changed my life for the better. And I hope I can always make your life better. PLAYLIST Listen on Spotify! “She’s My Kind of Rain” - Tim McGraw “Maniac” - Stray Kids “Anyone” - Justin Bieber “Rolex” - Iggy Azalea “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” - Peyton Parrish “Why Don’t You Love Me” - Hot Chelle Rae feat. Demi Lovato “Bottled Up” - Dinah Jane feat. Ty Dolla $ign and Marc E. Bassy “Beautiful Soul” - Jesse McCartney “Never Been in Love” - Haley Mae Campbell “The Kind of Love We Make” - Luke Combs “Fire Away” - Chris Stapleton “She’s With Me” - High Valley “Running Up That Hill” - Kate Bush “Because of You” - Kelly Clarkson “Let Me Love You” - Mario “Just The Way” - Parmalee feat. Blanco Brown “This Is It” - Scotty McCreery “Lavender Haze” - Taylor Swift “Stay” - Kid Laroi feat. Justin Bieber “Drowning” - Backstreet Boys “Call Me Maybe” - Carly Rae Jepsen “Say You Won’t Let Go” - James Arthur “Unstoppable” - Sia “I Think I’m in Love With You” - Jessica Simpson “On Your Side” - The Veronicas CHAPTER 1 PAISLEY “GET DOWN HERE NOW!!!” Mommy yells. I hurriedly put away my dollies before she comes up to take them away again. I just got them back this time. I head down the stairs, into the kitchen, and sit across from Mommy for dinner. “Did you do your chores yet?” asks Mommy. “Not yet. I was playing with my dollies, since I just got th—” Mommy throws her plate against the wall, barely missing my head, and starts screaming at me. “Why can’t you do anything right?! I didn’t raise a lazy-ass child. Stop eating! Lazy children don’t get to eat! Go do your chores now! Maybe if I feel like you deserve it, you can have your food after you are done.” I run up the stairs to my bedroom with tear-stained eyes. Having so many chores, I almost never get them done. I’ve told Mommy that it’s hard for me to do some of them and she just slaps me across the face. That was when I knew to keep my mouth shut unless she asked a question. * * * I shudder at that flashback as I walk through the doors of the high school. One more year. Just one more year. I slowly walk past everyone. Everyone who ignores me day in and day out. The people who knew what happened, but turned a blind eye to it all. Even after all my pleas for help. Why did I think this year would be any different? Sighing, I head to AP English. When I arrive, the classroom is empty, so I just pick a seat somewhere in the middle. This is my final year, and then I can finally leave. Leave this godforsaken hellhole that has done nothing but cause me torment and pain my whole life. A few minutes later, the warning bell goes off and in walks Mr. Thames. The rest of the students stumble into the classroom right before the tardy bell. The last students piling in are four new guys who I’ve never seen before. I try to divert my gaze from them before they notice me, but it’s too late as I lock eyes with one of them, causing heat to rush to my cheeks. I look down quickly before anyone else notices, gluing my eyes to my notebook. Mr. Thames starts teaching class, and the whole period, I feel like eyes are boring holes into me. Halfway through the class period, I drop my pencil and before I can even get to it, the guy behind me grabs it and hands it to me. I touch the tips of my fingers to my mouth, then lower them toward him, signing “thank you” without even realizing I did it at first. I don’t realize when I use simple signs like “thank you” or “you’re welcome.” The thought scares me, but then I think on it and shake it off. No way he recognizes what I did. No one does. When the bell rings, I grab my stuff and hightail it out of the room as fast as possible, avoiding everyone in the process, especially the new guys. Walking to second period, I feel eyes on me like I’m a spectacle, so I walk faster to my next class