Prologue
Miami, Florida
Summer of 2010
Sunlight was seeping through the white gauze window covers as a lone figure rolled over, tugging the cream colored sheets over her head of honey colored hair as she went. It was too early to be awake, and nineteen-year-old Jessica Turner didn't want to rise out of her slumber. Groaning, the honey haired teen blinked her eyes open, looking at the inside of her sheet cocoon before she shoved the covers off to see her German Shepard, Jack, looking over the edge of her Full sized bed, his front paws on the sheets and his head resting on them, his brightly colored leash in his maw. Sighing, the brunette reached up and scratched his head as she said, "I bet Toby sent you up here," speaking of the gardener that she had been friends with since she was a little girl. He was like a second father to her, and she was grateful that he was looking out for her.
Jack released the leash into her hand and moved away from the bed, his tail wagging behind him as he left Jessica to get dressed. Shaking her head, the teen muttered, "Since when do I take orders from my dog?" Hearing the resounding bark from the hallway, Jessica chuckled as she sat up. He just wanted to go for a walk, and the last time he had gone by himself, Jess had found herself at the dog pound, picking him up because he didn't have a leash OR owner with him. Stepping onto the plush carpeting, Jessica stretched, feeling her bones and muscles popping and moving as she looked at the clock. It was ten until noon and Jess thanked her lucky stars that Jack had waited as long as he had to come and wake her up. She'd had a late night and probably wouldn't have been able to function if she had woken up at eight like normal.
Pulling her t-shirt on, Jessica debated for a hot moment as to whether or not she wanted to pull her hair up before she decided that it would be best to pull it up into a high ponytail before she went and battled the wind on the beach. "Jack!" She called, grabbing the leash off of the bed before she grabbed her wallet and walked out of the bedroom. Walking down the hallway that lead to the staircase, Jess stood in front of her parent's portrait for a moment before she kissed her fingertips and then placed her hand on the plaque that read William Turner VI and his bride, Rebecca Taylor that was drilled into the wall underneath it. It had been two years since they were killed in a car accident on their way to see her perform at Miami U, and not a day went by that Jessica didn't regret her decision to play at that stupid charity auction.
Feeling the tears sting the back of her eyes as she blinked, Jessica quickly wiped her eyes as she called, "C'mon dude! You got me up! Now let's go!" to Jack. Walking down the grand staircase, Jessica smiled at the house cleaner as she walked by and met Jack at the foot of the stairs, where he was chewing on his favorite chew toy. Snorting slightly, Jessica walked past her only living "relative" and through the entrance hall and into the kitchen, where she grabbed a Granny Smith apple on the island and looked through the mail as she did took the first bite. She'd been living on her own since her parent's deaths, and had finally grown accustomed to seeing her parents' names on the mail that was supposed to be handled by her retainer, Thaddeus Anderson. Crunching on the tart apple, Jessica smiled at the familiar handwriting of her best friend, Lin Anderson, on one of the pieces of mail. Using her left hand, Jessica ripped the envelope open with some difficulty before she smiled at the card. It was just like Lin to send an invite instead of a mass text for one of her summer bashes.
Hearing the sound of whining at her feet, Jessica looked down to see Jack looking up at her with sad brown eyes. "Alright, alright! Let's go!" Jessica said, dropping her apple core into the trash bin before she hooked the leash onto Jack's collar and wiped her hands off before her pooch dragged her out of the door. However, it was a small box that caught her attention before Jack could fully get her out of the door. Dropping the leash knowing that he wouldn't get far, Jessica let Jack go as she made her way back over to the island to find a package labeled Miss Jessica Amanda Turner in elegant script. Her left eyebrow quirking upwards, Jessica managed to get the paper off with just her fingernails before a small, simple wooden box sat before her on the granite counter top. Her hands were shaking slightly from the anticipation when she finally managed to open the box, and revealed a startling gold chain with three Greek coins hanging from it, Picking it up, Jessica felt the air around her ripple in some sort of power surge before it stopped and the sound of the ocean could be heard once more. Shrugging it off, Jessica slipped the necklace on before turning to see Jack looking up at her with his head cocked to one side.
Smiling, Jessica reached over and grabbed his leash before heading towards the back door.
Walking along the beach, Jessica smiled at all of the little kids that insisted on petting Jack, who was woefully enjoying the attention. He didn't really take to strange adults but, kids… That was an entirely different story. He pretended not to like it, but Jessica knew better. He was always more perky after a petting from a kid than from one from their parents. Chuckling as he picked a stick up, Jessica knew that it was going to be fetch time once she found a place to sit down and wait for Lin and Alex to join them. Locating a spot closer to the water, Jessica plopped down in the sand and took the stick from Jack before she threw it with all of her might into the crashing waves.
Fifteen minutes of this went by before Jack collapsed in a tired heap at Jessica's side. Smiling down as she petted him, Jessica's ear quirked up at the sound of her best friend's broken Chinese coming over the sound of the laughter surrounding her. Looking up in the direction of the voice, Jess laughed out loud. Lin was strung over her older (adoptive) brother's shoulder like a sack of potatoes and was trying to curse up a storm in her "native" language. Following behind them with a picnic basket and shaking his head was Evan Jameson, Jessica's cousin. Watching with a smile on her face as Alex Anderson plopped his little sister on the sand with a laugh, Jessica couldn't help but fall back as Lin jumped up and tackled her older brother.
Life with those two was always amusing; especially when Alex decided that is was "pick on the girls" day, which had been every Sunday since they were in middle school. Watching the two wrestle in the sand, Jessica turned to Evan as he sat down, "I take it that it's been this way all day?" The dark haired teen nodded as he handed her a bottle of water. "What did he do this time?"
Evan turned and looked at her. "He went through her address book and found out the new guy she's crushin' on. It's really her own fault for drawing a heart by his name in red marker." He said, shrugging his shoulders. As cute as he may be, Jessica's cousin was the very serious type that always managed to piss someone off more often than not. It was a wonder how he and Alexander Anderson became friends, but seeing as she and Lin were exact opposites; Jessica didn't exactly question it. "How're you doing? And don't lie to me."
The questioned startled Jessica as Jack sat up and nudged the stick at her again. Throwing it, she thought about how to answer the question that Evan had set before her. "I think I've finally come to terms with it, you know? I couldn't help it that some drunk idiot ran a red light." She finally said, looking into Evan's eyes, "But having that portrait of Mom and Dad in the hallway is just a painful reminder. I want to put it in Dad's study. Thaddeus, however, thinks it's fine just where it is. So everyone can see it when they come in the house." Turning her gaze back out onto the beach, and the ocean beyond it, "I just wish I could go back in time, to where there were no cars and everyone had to walk or ride horses everywhere, you know?" A dull heat was starting to radiate from the necklace around Jessica's neck, rubbing at it, she continued, "You Dad always said that I was born three centuries too late. He thought that I would have made the perfect 18th century maid." The heat started to spread from just the chain to the coins hanging from it and was starting to become uncomfortable as Jessica finished, "And there are days that I agree with him."
The next thing nineteen-year-old Jessica Turner knew was that she was falling through midair, her body falling at an alarmingly fast rate. Clouds were flying past her, and the honey haired brunette was certain that wherever she was landing, she was going to be a goner. Closing her eyes, the teen took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder, to the depths below. It was just her luck. The ocean was the one thing that she had to land in. Mentally calming herself, Jessica leaned forward until she was in a diving position. The cerulean blue waters were coming up on her fast, Putting her hands in front of her like she was taught, Jessica went head first into the water and blacked out as the cold water rushed in around her falling body.
