I Have Lived and I Have Loved - Willow Winters Page 0,103

feeling from her, until I realized what it was. And even when I did, I was still so scared to address it in this book. If you’ve read any of my books before, you know that I’m not someone who will shy away from the real issue. I usually go head first into it, exposing it and making you, the reader, sit with it. I wanted to do that with Mackenzie, but I wanted to do it in a different way so if you’ve stayed with me this whole time, I hope this book will make you think, and I hope this book will sit with you because that’s what it’s done for me.

No sequel is planned and I left the ending how it is because I hope it will make you think. I hope it will make you reread the book, but see it in an almost totally different way.

Out of all the books I’ve written, this is the only one that has changed me as a person.

Sincerely,

Tijan

Links & Resources

https://www.crisistextline.org/

Text 741741 from anywhere in the USA to text with a trained Crisis Counselor.

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Call 1-800-273-8255 or if you go on their website, you can chat online.

For more facts about suicide prevention and warning signals,

go to http://www.211bigbend.org/nationalsuicidepreventionlifeline

or call 1-800-273-TALK

Also by Willow Winters

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Evil

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Hate To Love You

Home Tears

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Fallen Crest Series

Fallen Crest High

Fallen Crest Family

Fallen Crest Public

Fallen Fourth Down

Fallen Crest University

Logan Kade

Fallen Crest Home

Fallen Crest Forever

The Boy I Grew Up With

Crew Series

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Carter Reed

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Broken and Screwed Series

Broken and Screwed

Broken and Screwed 2

Sustain

And more!

We Own Tonight

We Own Tonight

By: Corinne Michaels

To all the girls who dreamed of what could’ve been while singing along to your favorite band on your Walkman. This one is for you.

Chapter 1

Heather

“Damn it, Heather. We’re always late because of you!” Nicole yells from outside the bathroom. She’s been my best friend since the sixth grade. You’d think by now she’d know to pad things by twenty minutes if she wants a snowball’s chance in hell of getting anywhere on time.

“The peril,” I taunt her as I finish putting my hair up.

“You drive me nuts.”

“Such is life.”

I hear her mutter something under her breath as she walks away. I don’t know why she gets so upset. We have plenty of time. With the way Nicole drives, her lead foot will have us at the concert fifteen minutes before the opening act.

Of course, I’m taking my sweet ass time getting ready. I have zero desire to be forced to put on makeup or any version of pants.

Nicole’s idea of girls’ night out and mine are totally different. I could stay home, drink a martini, and be happy. My best friend wants to paint the town red. I’m too old for that shit. I end up smelling like a garbage can and feeling like I ate a jar of cotton balls. I’d rather be comfy in pajamas than wear these jeans that I had to lie on the bed to shimmy into. I can only imagine what I looked like while I was sucking it in and bending backward to get the damn button closed. Then I did about fifteen lunges to “stretch” the pants, all the while praying I didn’t bust a seam. Nothing like a workout just to get dressed.

I make a mental note to call my trainer friend at the boxing ring.

She knocks again. “I’m leaving you.”

No, you’re not.

I open the door a smidge. “I have the tickets in here. So, you know what? Go ahead.” I stick my tongue out and then quickly close the door and lock it. If they hadn’t already left me twice before, I wouldn’t have to go to such lengths. I learned quickly that I always had to have the upper hand with my three best friends. Then again, if I had let her leave me, I could be watching Netflix and shoveling popcorn into my mouth.

Nicole may not have figured out to pad time, but she has learned I have a spiteful side, so she lets me finish without another interruption. I could stay in here longer just to piss her off, but that would mean more time staring at the pink tiles on the wall that I loathe.

My house isn’t bad, but it isn’t great, either. When my parents passed away, it was passed down to me. It’s old and probably falling apart more than I’d like to admit.