The New Beginning
The LeAnna Series
R.L.Tornero
Copyright © 2020 R.L.Tornero
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 9781234567890
ISBN-10: 1477123456
Cover design by: Art Painter
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America
To every girl struggling to belong
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
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
Prologue
The fire rose outside the door, smoke spreading into the closet suffocating me.
I twisted the handle. Kicked the door. Yelled for help. But I was trapped. And I didn't know how the fire started but I could feel the heat rising.
The only person who knew I was in there was my stepdad.
I pounded the door with my fists one last time before passing out.
Chapter 1
Ella
I thought I was dead.
My body was freezing, but I wasn't shivering. And even though I didn't know what being dead felt like, it made me wonder, Am I still here?Still breathing? Still alive?
Something warm touched my face. I flinched. And the movement made my head hurt. My vision was blurred. But when it cleared, I could see a woman in scrubs wearing a mask.
"You're going to be okay," she said.
I realized I was alive. And I started to cry. She touched my hand, bringing me comfort, but it also scared me. I was afraid of her for reasons that were known and unknown to me.
To my knowledge, I feared people.
But she seemed like she wanted to help me. And I knew I shouldn't be afraid of her. But I was. Afraid that somehow, she wasn't as nice as she looked. Or that she was helping me now only to hurt me later.
I tried to sit up, but pain shot through my stomach.
"You best lay still," the woman urged. "I'm Ella, your nurse."
"Why am I here?" I asked.
I looked around. There was something pointy attached to my arm and something squeezing my finger. The black screen beside me was blinking with my heart rate which was quickly rising.
"Your house caught fire and you were rescued."
"Where's my stepdad?"
"He's been arrested."
Suddenly, nausea filled my stomach and I turned over the bed.
She pulled my long hair out of the way. Her perfume smelled like cinnamon and that helped my stomach.
I turned over and closed my eyes.
Now that the pain was gone, I was left with my loudest emotion, fear. It was the kind that plagued a person. Not a sudden jolt of the emotion but a pending, ongoing rippling on the inside of your body that affected every nerve and muscle. It was a constant feeling of danger and harm. It was never trusting anyone no matter how good or innocent.
Suddenly, the door to my room opened and a little boy peeked in. He slowly walked in, staring at me.
"I'm Jason," he said. "Do you know Jesus loves you?"
I touched the cross around my neck and memories of my mom flooded my head. She looked exactly like she did the night she gave me the necklace as a gift. Her blue eyes were smiling. She hugged me tight. Thinking about her made me want to cry. But I held the tears inside.
"You run along," Ella said to the boy. "I'll see you tonight."
Jason ran out, his dark curly hair springing.
"Is that your boy?" I asked.
She smiled. "Yeah, he's our little explorer. We have to keep a hawk's eye on him."
"Do you have other kids?"
"Felix and Jason. Their both good boys."
I closed my eyes, wishing that I belonged, again, to a family.
Chapter 2
Trust
I could hear a deep voice as the sun rose through the window. I thought it was my dad reading the bible before getting ready for work. But as I pushed up in bed, I saw a boy sitting there.
He was Ella's other son, Felix, and he was fifteen. She told me he would come in to read to me as he liked to do for the patients at Hope Hospital.
His reading made me remember Sunday nights as my dad read by the fireplace and how mom listened, holding his hand.
"I come to you for protection, O Lord my God. Save me from my persecutors – rescue me." He moved his head and took a sip of water before seeing that I was awake.
"Did I wake you?" He asked. "I thought reading would help you sleep."
"It's okay."
"How are you? From what I've heard, you've been through something crazy."
The AC turned on and blew the pages of his bible.
"I'm okay," I said. "I could be a lot worse."
He screwed the lid on his bottle. "You know there's a pretty good cafeteria upstairs."
I took a sip of water from the cup beside me. "I'm good, but thanks."
He reached inside a bag of M&M's and grabbed a few. "Want me to continue reading?"
"Go ahead." I sounded calm, but inside I was scared.
I shivered and pulled the blanket over my shoulders.
Felix started reading. He was good at it, keeping his voice even. But he was a stranger and I didn't know if I could trust him yet.
He leaned back. "God is my shield…"
◆◆◆
I was asleep when an officer, named Roger Carlson dropped in to see me.
"Johnny is holding to his word. And as far as we know, LeAnna never tried contacting anyone for help."
The sun was shining, and Ella pulled the blinds shut.
"Well that doesn't mean she didn't need help only that she was helpless. A lot of victims never reach out because they're afraid."
Roger touched
