Friday, September 6, 2013

After Alex Died by Dakota Madison

Finding a Job

“You look like shit,” my roommate, Kelli, said as she threw her gigantic suitcase on her bed.

I knew I looked bad but I didn’t care. I was in major crisis mode.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” She flopped down on my bed next to me and tucked a few stands of her sun-kissed blonde hair behind her ears.

“Not really.” I sighed.

“The beach was amazing,” she continued. “Thanks for asking.”

“I can see that.” After a week in Cabo, Kelli had a perfect tan that I wanted to slap right off her.

She jumped from my bed and started unpacking her massive suitcase. She had more clothes in that suitcase for her week’s stay in Cabo than I had in my entire wardrobe.

“And how was the hellhole?” It wasn’t really a question. She just wanted to rub in the fact that I spent my Spring Break in my shit-hole of a hometown while she was at a beach resort with her wealthy parents.

“My mom sold the house,” I said. I wasn’t sure why I was actually opening up to my roommate. Probably because I didn’t have anyone else to talk to and she just happened to be there. “My mom announced that since my brother and dad were both gone and I’m away at school, there was no reason for her to have such a big place. She downsized and bought a one bedroom condo.”

“That’s harsh. I guess that was her way of saying you’re out of the nest. No more flying back home for you little bird.”

“I guess.”

“So what are you going to do for the summer?”

Kelli had a way of zeroing in on a person’s most vulnerable area and striking at it. She was going to make a wonderful lawyer.

I rubbed my temples. “I have no idea.”

“My parents are letting me use their condo in Maui for the summer,” she said as she put her swim suits in a dresser drawer. Then she turned to face me, “I already invited Cassie and Keegan to stay with me and there are only three bedrooms.”

As if I would ever expect Kelli to invite me to stay with her. We weren’t exactly friends just because we lived together.

I ruminated in silence for a few minutes while Kelli continued to unpack.

“Hey, you know what?” Kelli rummaged through her backpack. “I saw this flyer. I was going to give it to Keegan’s sister. She’s an education major.”

She tossed the flyer at me: College Students Wanted: English majors, Education majors, Communication majors wanted to serve as group leaders for our summer college preparation program for high school students from low-income, first-generation-in-college backgrounds. Great pay! All meals and housing provided.

They had me at housing provided. I grabbed a sticky pad and jotted down the information then handed the flyer back to Kelli.

“Don’t say I never gave you anything,” Kellie emphasized as she grabbed the paper from my hand.

After Alex Died

This NEW ADULT ROMANCE contains MATURE LANGUAGE and SUBJECT MATTER and is intended for readers ages 17+.

“Don’t be someone who defines her life by someone else’s death.”

Dee Dee DeMarco’s brother, Alex, was funny, free-spirited and creative. He was also gay. Tormented by bullies, Alex killed himself on his 15th birthday.

Two years later, and now in college, Dee Dee believes getting a summer job working with a college-prep program for disadvantaged high school students is a stroke of luck, until she discovers that the guy assigned to co-lead her group is Cameron Connelly, a star basketball player and one of the bullies who tormented her brother to death. How can Dee Dee possibly spend the entire summer working so closely with one of the boys she blames for her brother’s death?

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I think this is a little story with a lot of heart. I hope you think so, too!

Buy Now @ Amazon @ Smashwords

Genre - Contemporary/New Adult Romance

Rating – R

More details about the author

Connect with  Dakota Madison on Facebook

Website http://12novels12months.tumblr.com/

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