Showing results by author "Ashley N. Rostek" in All Categories

My family is gone. My parents. My twin sister. All of them murdered by the man who has stalked me for years. He nearly killed me, too. But I got away and he’s still out there, searching for me. He won’t find me. At least, I hope not. Thanks to WITSEC, I’ve been given a new life with a new identity. I know my future will be hard and lonely. I must stay strong and focus on the good. I’m getting a second chance at life. I am safe. My new home is beautiful. The four brothers who live next door are even more so.

The Stone brothers are the reason I can smile again. They are my only light in the drowning darkness. What started as friendship between them and me has become something more. They want me and I want them, too. But that won’t happen with my grief tearing me apart. Will I succumb to my grief and let it destroy me? Or will my guys be able to save me?

Colt is my comfort. He’s the first one to hold my hand when life becomes hard. Creed is my support. He always has my back, is always ready to help me battle the world or my insecurities. Keelan is my joy. He effortlessly makes me laugh and exudes a light even when days become dark. Knox is my strength. He holds me together even when I want to break. Each of my guys is a great man and each fills a missing piece of my broken soul. I’m falling in love with them. Maybe I already have. The question is, do they love me back?

I don't know what it's like to breathe without the weight of fear on my chest. From a young age, I mastered how to lie and hide my pain behind a practiced smile. I was never told, but I've always known that I need to cover my punishments beneath pretty, pastel clothes and white pearls. I must always appear perfect. The perfect student. The perfect girlfriend. The perfect daughter. Some days, I meet those expectations. Some days, they change to something unachievable, and pain and fear become my whole reality.

I’m tired. I’m tired of running, tired of hiding, tired of always looking over my shoulder. Now my guys must endure this too. The clock is still ticking in my head. I feel him circling, getting closer and closer. The fear I carry is nearly suffocating. Not for me, but for my guys. I know what it’s like to have your family taken from you in the most brutal of ways. I won’t lose my family again. I will do whatever it takes to protect them. Even if that means I must face the monster who has haunted my nightmares and reality and kill him myself.