Verge: Book One

Rebecca is a 38 year old married mother of two. She graduated from university with a Bachelor of Arts in Museum Studies and Ancient History. She ceased working within public and private sectors as a Project Assistant/Executive Assistant to stay home, focus on her family and write her fantasy stories.

I would like to dedicate this book to my husband, Aaron, who has provided never ending support, tireless encouragement, and the belief that I could get this published. Thank you darling, this book could not have happened without you.

Rebecca Bradford

Verge

Book One

Copyright © Rebecca Bradford (2016)

The right of Rebecca Bradford to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781786293503 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781786293510 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781786293527 (E-Book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2016)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Book 1: VERGE

PROLOGUE

I hadn’t really decided where my life was headed yet. I thought I would most likely become a high school music teacher. After all these years of playing piano I was bound to do something musical with my career. But when the time came to really think about it, I had no idea what was already destined for me. I thought I would enrol in university; my excellent grades all through school would allow me to choose whichever career path I wanted. Little did I know that my destiny was already set. My desires no longer mattered, because my life changed forever from the day I turned eighteen. So… how do you cope when your whole existence as you know it has been turned inside out? How do you deal with it when you suddenly realise that you are a part of a world you never imagined actually existed and was pure fantasy?

CHAPTER 1

Today is my last day of being a seventeen year old, a minor. Tomorrow, August 12, I will be eighteen and that means adulthood, responsibility, freedom and independence. A huge grin spreads across my face at that thought, and I happily stretch the sleep from my body and jump out of bed. I am fortunate enough to have my own bathroom, and I appreciate that I don’t have to share with my fifteen year old half-brother Jonothan. Walking past the bathroom mirror, I stop and take a close look at myself. I wonder if I will look any different when I turn eighteen? Will people be able to see that I am now an adult and not some stupid kid?

I like what I see staring back at me, my long blonde slightly wavy hair hanging half way down my back, nicely tanned skin, big dark brown eyes, and nice full lips. I shrug at my reflection, put my hair into a loose bun on the top of my head, and step into the shower. The warm water is refreshing and the shower all too short. As I dry myself I’m glad I don’t have to think about what to wear to school, as mandatory school uniforms take care of that dilemma. I quickly get dressed and dash down the hallway to the kitchen where my family are busying themselves.

Instantly I can smell the vanilla incense that my mother loves to burn at this time of day, and being an aromatherapist she always knows the right scent to go with any ambience. The scent matches the bright sunlight shining through the doors and windows, making a beautiful start to the morning. Jonothan, as usual, is sitting at the large pine kitchen table scoffing down his cornflakes like it’s a competition as to who can eat the fastest, and my mother is eating her home-made concoction of seed and grain muesli. I smile. My mother is a tad eccentric in her way of life, she loves yoga, meditation, listening to nature CDs, and cooking only with natural ingredients. Today she looks as quirky as ever with her long blonde hair hanging in a long plait down her back, bright orange hoop earrings and wearing one of her many long cotton dresses that she has in every colour of the rainbow. Today it is magenta pink.

I make some toast whilst drinking the coffee that David has made for me. Every morning he makes my coffee just the way I like it – black with two sugars. When my Mum, Jennifer, married David I was only three years old, and one of my earliest memories is how beautiful and happy Mum looked in her wedding dress. She constantly tells me how David still makes her swoon, even after all these years. David is handsome with his dark brown hair, always cut with short back and sides, and a slight sprinkling of grey around the edges. He has deep brown eyes that emanate his emotions all too clearly, and he always maintains a high level of fitness, thanks to being a part-time marital arts instructor since before I can even remember.

However there are two sides to David, there is the very focused, intense, fitness and martial arts fanatic who can break numerous pieces of wood with one hand. Then there is the gentle side that loves listening to Frank Sinatra, enjoying the occasional straight whisky on the rocks, and who adores children so much that he became a primary school teacher. He also prefers to be called David instead of Dad, he says it avoids having his children on a different level to him and that way we are seen as equal standing members in the family. I find his logic quite amusing at times.

I look at the time on my iPhone and realise I had better get going to catch the bus to school. Quickly finishing my coffee, I run to my bathroom and brush my teeth, kiss my parents goodbye, and tell Jonothan it’s time to go.

My best friend Emma Heatherton caught the bus just in time, and we sit in our usual seats. We have known each other since we were three years old and became friends the very day Emma’s parents moved next door. I have always thought Emma was gorgeous; she has long dark chocolate brown hair, with soft round eyes of the same colour. Her skin is flawless and has an ever so slight olive tone, appearing as though she has a tan, but it’s her natural colouring. Her slim stature complements her height; she has always been slightly taller than me. She even looks good in our school uniform which is brown and yellow!

We smile at each other and Emma notices the excitement in my eyes because she chuckles.

It’s your last day of being seventeen, you must be so excited! I can tell by Emma’s voice that she is excited too.

I am. I can’t wait to finally be eighteen. The party tomorrow night will be awesome, and then we only have two and half months left of senior year. What more can I ask for? I look at Emma with a big smile.

Well you could ask for a new dress to wear for your party. Did your mum let you buy the red dress you saw at the mall?

A wide grin spreads across my face. Actually I spoke to her about it last night, and she said she will buy it for me today as part of my birthday present!

Emma shook her head and laughed You know that no guy at your party is going to be able to take their eyes off you in that dress, you are going to be the hottest eighteen year old on the planet.

I laugh at her silly remark. Emma always believes that whenever I wear red it accentuates my long blonde hair, tanned skin, and as she says, kick-ass figure.

Thinking about Emma’s comment saddens me a little, because it means that my boyfriend Todd is not going to let me out of his sight all night. His intense jealousy over me is certainly one of his biggest personality flaws, and something that has caused many arguments in our two year relationship. I sigh at the thought and look out the window.

Luckily, Emma doesn’t notice the shift in my mood as we step off the bus and walk to our first class together.

The morning classes of science, English, and social studies seem to pass very slowly. Thankfully, Emma and I have two of the three classes together, but that doesn’t stop either of us waiting for the lunch bell to ring.

We jump out of our seats as the bell rings and the teacher raises his voice to inform us of our homework for the night. I grab my bag and moan at the thought of homework as I head for the door.

Emma and I walk to our usual lunch spot under the big gum tree at the back of the school. It is the perfect spot for our little group of friends, and the tree has wooden benches surrounding it so we can all easily sit down together.

It is still relatively cool at this time of year on the Gold Coast, August is the last month of winter, however it does warm up quickly. As we approach the tree the guys are already there, eating and laughing. Todd looks up, saunters over to me, takes my hand and gives me a quick kiss.

He never ceases to amaze me with his moods, sometimes the perfect gentleman like today, and at other times a real jerk. Perhaps Ryan has something to do with his gentlemanly gestures. Todd and Ryan have been best friends for eight years and met when Todd’s family moved from New Zealand to Australia. They are the total opposite of each other, yet they complement each other’s personality at the same time. Todd is very athletic and into football, cars and loud music. Whereas Ryan is more reserved and it isn’t unusual to see him reading a book by some unknown author, or listening to the latest up-and-coming Indie band. He is always a gentleman, very calm and mild in the way he speaks, especially to Emma. Ryan and Emma have been together for six months, but they have had a crush on each other for years. Emma bounds over to Ryan and places a huge kiss on his lips.

I smile to myself seeing these two together, they are so happy and adorable. I take Todd’s smooth tanned hand in mine and continue toward the tree.

So, this is the last day of my girlfriend, Ms Ashleigh Palmer, being a minor. I’m quite proud of that Todd says with a cheeky undertone.

I’m sure that my turning eighteen will not have a major impact on you babe, you won’t even notice the difference. However, I am wondering what you decided to get me for my birthday? Did Emma help you? I ask with a smile.

His face lights up and his big blue eyes sparkle at the thought of knowing something that I don’t. There are numerous girls who have a crush on Todd, and I really can’t blame them, especially when he smiles like this.

"You will have to wait until tomorrow to find out what