This is the Prologue for A Family For Christmas II. I would suggest reading the first one before you get into this one.
August 5th, 2014
"So, what do you think?" I asked my soon to be husband, Spencer Carlson.
He smiled at me, it was the kind of smile I had grown to love. He leaned down and kissed me, pulling my body towards him. Sketch, that was all I ever really called him, wrapped his large arms around me.
"You have no idea how happy I feel right now, Annella Grange, my soon to be wife."
"Well, my soon to be husband, how about we go out and celebrate. You can drink for me." I said hooking my thumbs in his back pockets.
Everything was going great, my life that was. For the years prior to that moment, I worked hard just to get everything under control but it still didn't matter. I left the one family I had behind, I lost contact with the Anoa'i family some twelve years prior. I lost contact with them, I had not really seen any of them since I was eighteen, loosing contact with Solofa's twin sons after high school. Joe, I had not talked to since then.
Sketch tied his hair back into a loose ponytail. At least he was being presentable. I slipped into a nice little black dress, in heels no less and my own hair pulled back. I hated earrings, I even hated makeup. It was a hold over from my childhood. It was hard to believe that I would become something like I was, something that I loved to do. Writing.
"When is the deadline for the next Perry Miser book supposed to come out?"
"The publishers want another book for a pre Christmas release." I answered as we walked down the steps of the apartment building.
The car Spencer owned was still the one he had back in high school, the one he had through college. A jeep. And I really liked the Jeep. It was comfortable, it was the only thing that never changed in the course of twelve years. And it was reliable, kind of like Sketch was to me.
As we got to the bottom of the stairs someone stepped out of the shadows of the building.
"Annella." I heard the woman that ruined my life.
Sarah, Sarah Grange, she had made it very impossible to care about her. Hate was a strong word, hate was a thing that I tried not to ever have for anyone. But it was hard for me to accept the fact that she was my mother, by blood.
"Annie." She smiled at me.
The teeth she had was bad, having lost most of them to the drugs she had found herself involved with again. Drugs were the reason why she abandoned me when I was younger, they were more important to her than I was. I still didn't know who my biological father was.
"What do you want, Sarah?" I asked stopping Sketch from putting himself between her and me. "We were on our way out."
"I can see that. It's so good to see you. You're so beautiful."
"What do you want, Sarah?" Sketch asked.
She fiddled with her hands in her black hoodie jacket. "I wanted to know if you could loan me some money, Annie."
"Annella," I corrected her. "I already gave you money this month. Less than a week ago. You only come over when you need money."
"That's not true, sweetie." She stepped closer into the light. Good because there was a security camera up on the eve of the roof looking into the parking lot.
I was starting to get nervous. I put my hand on Sketch's arm, trying to calm him down and myself for that matter.
"You were always a good girl. You deserved better than me."
"So why did you take me from Florida."
"You didn't belong to them. You belonged to me. I am your mother." Her voice rose near frantically. "And they wanted to adopt you, those weird people. Those wrestlers."
"Sarah, you're scaring me." I said.
"Look, all I want is the money."
"And you're not getting it." Sketch spoke up, coming to stand between her and me. "You need to leave before I call the cops. Leave, Sarah."
"You don't tell me what to do." She nearly yelled pulling whatever it was out of her hoodie.
The pop that I heard was deafening. It wasn't so much a pop, it was a crack. Like thunder in a storm. The sound reverberated through the parking lot. And soon after Sketch fell to the ground with a sickening thump.
"Spencer!" I yelled dropping down on the ground next to him. "What did you do!" I yelled looking up at the deranged woman.
"He came after me." She said, still holding the gun up, pointing it at me. "He, he came after me."
"Go away." I pressed my hands to Sketch's chest. And when I pulled them back there was the blood. I saw the blood. She'd shot him. "Oh God you shot him!"
I reached for my small purse to pull out my phone. I didn't know if he was dead, I didn't see him breathing, all that I was focused on was getting help.
"What are you doing?" Sarah came up, hands gripping the gun.
"I'm calling for help. He's dying."
"But they'll arrest me." She said in a voice that sounded like she was scared. Good she should be. "You won't call them." She pointed that gun at my head.
"Sarah, he's dying! The father of my baby is dying." I started crying at this point, trying to keep the life essential blood from getting out of his body. "I don't my husband to die."
"He's not your husband."
"I'm his!" I yelled, on to have the barrel of the gun pressed against my head. "This is all your fault. This is your fault. It was always your fault!"
I didn't care that she was pointing a gun at my head. I didn't care. My love, the love of my life was dying and she was the reason for it.
That was when she pulled the trigger.
So, what do you think so far? Do you guys like it? This is the adult version of last year's story that so many people wanted me to revive. I had to rewrite it over and over again and this is sort of the best that I could come up with so far. More is definitely coming.