Bred by Ginger Scott
BRED
A coming-of-age romance inspired by Great Expectations
By Ginger Scott
My life was irrevocably changed the moment I stepped foot inside Elena Alderman’s grand front doors. A lifeless tomb on the edge of Chicago’s South Side, the Alderman home sat in one of the city’s oldest and wealthiest neighborhoods, and Elena Alderman was the queen.
She was also mad.
Not the kind of madness that’s readily apparent. No, her psychopathy was far more surgical—more…insidious. She was surrounded by beautiful things—most notably her grand piano and her adopted son, Henry.
I fell in love with both.
My gift blossomed when my fingers touched her black and white keys. But my life began when I became haunted by the boy. Henry Alderman was a handsome blend of arrogance and seduction, and as we grew up together, I found it more and more impossible to separate him from my thoughts. I envied his life. I imagined how my name—Lily—would look with his. I became his closest friend…and more. I gave him my kiss, locked away his secrets, and loved him even when it was hard to.But we were just a game. Elena Alderman made the rules. And when she decided to change them, she broke everything.
Almost.
—
Excerpt from BRED By Ginger Scott
A coming-of-age love story inspired by Great Expectations
“We should go,” I say from the bottom of the slope, the beats growing in speed and impact throughout my body. My pulse is racing the train—trying to outrun Henry and every little trap he seems to lay for my heart. I was over him.
“Just wait for it to pass. It’s safe. I promise. Stand right next to me,” he says, hand outstretched like Eve’s apple. I stare at his pink palm and pale fingers, chilly from the air now that they’ve left the comfort of his pockets. I curl mine into my sleeves as I blink at my other option for a moment.
“How do you know it’s safe?” My eyes flit up to his, and I catch his hand fall back down to his side in a defeat. His gaze sinks into mine more.
“I just do,” he says.
I try to read his lips—his blank expression and sure eyes. They’re gambling behind their green and golden mask. I look to my right, to the tracks that are only steps away, and to the growing light in the distance. A blaring whistle rings out again, twice, and it feels like a warning for more than just this little game of truth or dare. The ground beneath me vibrates with indecision, and as each second passes, my nerves wrangle around my chest, squeezing my lungs of air. I look to Henry again, his face unchanged, so sure that I’ll give in, so certain that we’ll be safe here.
The thunder against the tracks picks up, the rhythm like a chase as the train races toward us, barreling at a threatening pace. I turn my back to it slowly and retrace my steps back to where I was a minute or two before, my eyes locked on Henry’s. My hands are sweater-covered fists at my sides, and his are relaxed, looped by his thumbs into his front pockets. The trees around us begin to sway, sticks bending where leaves used to rustle months ago. Henry’s jawline glows with the reflection of the incoming light, and my hair falls loose at the sides of my face, tangled curls slapping at my cheeks and causing me to blink. Every time I open my gaze, though, Henry is there waiting—daring.
He lifts his chin as his smirk grows, and even though my mouth itches to do the same, I’m too overcome with fear to match him. My eyes close tight just before the train rushes by, and I steady my legs, only stumbling a bit when the first gust slams into my body. Slaps of wind push against me so hard I have to lean into the force, and my chest booms with every thud of metal along metal only feet away from me.
When the sound begins to ease, I open my lids and catch the last few cars rush by. My body is sucked forward a step or two at the very end, and I stumble into Henry’s outstretched palms, his hands on my forearms and a proud smile curving his mouth. My hair is flung in wild strands over my face, but before I can clear them away, Henry’s hands slide up my shoulders to my neck and then cheeks, sweeping my hair behind both ears as his thumbs take gentle strokes. My skin is electrified—in an instant I’ve gone from one rush to the next. Raw from sharing my past and learning more about Henry, alive from adventure, and terrified by wanting something to happen next now that Henry is near.
“We should get back,” he says, tucking one last blonde strand behind my ear before both of his hands fall away, retreating all the way back to his pockets.
About the Author:
Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling and Goodreads Choice Award-nominated author of several young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, The Hail Mary, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, The Girl I Was Before, Wild Reckless, Wicked Restless, In Your Dreams, The Hard Count, Hold My Breath, A Boy Like You, A Girl Like Me, Memphis and Cry Baby.
A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.
When she’s not writing, the odds are high that she’s somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork ’em, Devils).
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Website: http://www.littlemisswrite.com
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