TEASER TUESDAY: BROKEN, first sighting

 Who wants a never before seen sneak peek at my modern retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein? You?? Awesome! Then read on my lovelies, read on...

(unedited excerpt from BROKEN releasing January 8th, 2013)

 “Hellooo?” Bree’s face is suddenly inches from mine. Her ice blue eyeshadow glinting in the sunlight. “Earth to Emma.”

“Sorry,” I mutter, and sip my coffee, “Guess I was spacing out.”

“Guess? There’s no guess about it.”

“Okay, okay.” I drop to my knees, coffee cup raised, other hand wrapped around it like I’m praying. From this position, I’m suddenly aware how short her skirt is and what an awkward position I put myself in. “Forgive me, oh Bree, for I have sinned!”

“Ha!” she snorts, cheeks blushing scarlet when she hooks her hand in my elbow and hoists me to my feet. “Get up before the new guy sees you down there and gets the wrong impression.”

“New guy?” A shard of the reflection I’d seen earlier stabs in the dark behind my eyes.

“Yeah.” She wraps her hand in mine and drags me toward the wheelchair ramp leading to the side door. Once in the fractured shade of the maple tree, she points along the sidewalk, halfway down the gym complex. “Mr. You Don’t See Me with his hood up.” She leans around me, does a little wiggle meant to hike her skirt higher hands-free. “And I wanna see what he’s hiding under there.”

I follow where she’s pointing. Coming toward us walks the 3-D version of the reflection I’d seen. His entire look seems crafted to draw, and shun attention. His clothes are definitely designer, but with the hood up and shoulders hunched he appears to not want the attention the girls at Shelley High are going to give him. His head tips up just enough to catch a glint of his eyes. The world narrows, everything falls away, cleaved from existence the moment he meets my eyes.

Then his gaze falls. Life crashes back in with the force of a million vicious whispers.

Rumors whisk in front of him, brittle as fall leaves, darker than crows in a murder.