E L James
First published by The Writer’s Coffee Shop, 2012
Copyright E L James, 2012
The right of E L James to be identified as the author of this work has beenasserted by him under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrievalsystem, recorded or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without theprior written permission of the publisher.This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely
coincidental.
The Writer’s Coffee Shop
(Australia) PO Box 2013 Hornsby Westfield NSW 1635
(USA) PO Box 2116 Waxahachie TX 75168
Craig, W.J., ed. “King Lear.” The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.
Scene 1, Act 1. New York: Random House Value Publishing: 1997.
/publishinghouse
About the Author
E L James is a TV executive, wife, and mother of two, based in West London. Since early childhood, she dreamt of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold to focus on her family and her career. She finally plucked up the courage to put pen to paper with her first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey. E L James is currently working on a new romantic thriller with a supernatural twist.
E L JAMES
Prologue
Mommy! Mommy! Mommy is asleep on the floor.
She has been asleep for a long time. I brush her hair because she likes that.
She doesn’t wake up. I shake her. Mommy! My tummy hurts. It is hungry. He isn’t here. I am thirsty. In the kitchen I pull a chair to the sink and I ha一ve a drink. The water splashes over my blue sweater. Mommy is still asleep.
Mommy wake up! She lies still. She is cold. I fetch my blankie and I cover Mommy and I lie down on the sticky green rug beside her. Mommy is still asleep. I ha一ve two toy cars. They race by the floor where Mommy is sleeping.
I think Mommy is sick. I search for something to eat. In the icebox I find peas. They are cold. I eat them slowly. They make my tummy hurt. I sleep beside Mommy. The peas are gone. In the icebox is something. It smells funny. I lick it and my tongue is stuck to it. I eat it slowly. It tastes nasty. I drink some water. I play with my cars and I sleep beside Mommy. Mommy is so cold and she won’t wake up. The door crashes open. I cover Mommy with my blankie . He’s here. Fuck. What the fuck happened here? Oh the crazy fucked up bitch. Shit. Fuck. Get out of my way, you little shit. He kicks me and I hit my head on the floor. My head hurts. He calls somebody and he goes. He locks the door. I lay down beside Mommy. My head hurts. The lady policeman is here. No. No. No. Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me. I stay by Mommy. No. Stay away from me. The lady policeman has my blankie and she grabs me. I scream. Mommy! Mommy! I want my Mommy.
The words are gone. I can’t say the words. Mommy can’thear me. I ha一ve no words.
“Christian! Christian!” Her voice is urgent, pulling him from the depths of hisnightmare, the depths of his despair. “I’m here. I’m here.”
He wakes and she’s leaning over him, grasping his shoulders, shaking him,her face etched with anguish, blue eyes wide and brimming with tears.
“Ana,” His voice is a breathless whisper, the taste of fear tarnishing hismouth. “You’re here.”
“Of course I’m here.”
“I had a dream . . .”
“I know. I’m here, I’m here.”
“Ana.” He breathes her name and it’s a talisman against the black choking panic that courses through his body.
“Hush, I’m here.” She curls around him, her limbs cocooning him, her warmth leeching into his body, forcing back the shadows, forcing back the fear. Sheis sunshine, she is light . . . she is his.
“Please let’s not fight.” His voice is hoarse as he wraps his arms around her.
“Okay.”
“The vows. No obeying. I can do that. We’ll find a way.” The words rush out of his mouth in a tumble of emotion and confusion and anxiety.
“Yes. We will. We will always find a way,” she whispers and her lips are on his, silencing him, bringing him back to the now.