Forevermore

  FOREVERMORE

  Lynn Galli

  Penikila Press

  FOREVERMORE. Copyright © 2014 by Lynn Galli. All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions of the publisher.

  Cover photo © 2014 Wongwean/Shutterstock.com. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the publisher’s permission. For information address Penikila Press, LLC at penikilapress@yahoo.com. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Published in the United States of America.

  Also by Lynn Galli

  VIRGINIA CLAN

  Finally

  Blessed Twice

  Imagining Reality

  Wasted Heart

  ASPEN FRIENDS

  Life Rewired

  Something So Grand

  Mending Defects

  ROMANCES

  Full Court Pressure

  Uncommon Emotions

  SYNOPSIS

  For M Desiderius, finding someone to love who loves her back was all she could have asked for in life. After marrying Briony and settling in, she begins to hope for even more. Her secret wish is to provide a home for an orphaned girl like she’d been at the age of nine. She owes it to the woman who took her in to pass along that kind act. With Briony’s strength and love, she can finally open her home to a foster child.

  All would be perfect if not for the fact that Olivia isn’t truly theirs. When something happens to put M’s dream in jeopardy, will Briony and M find a way to move forward or will the devastating turn punch a hole in their life together that may never be filled?

  Table of Contents

  TITLE

  COPYRIGHT

  ALSO BY LYNN GALLI

  SYNOPSIS

  1 / OLIVIA

  2 / OLIVIA

  M / 3

  M / 4

  5 / OLIVIA

  M / 6

  M / 7

  8 / OLIVIA

  9 / OLIVIA

  M / 10

  M / 11

  12 / OLIVIA

  13 / OLIVIA

  14 / OLIVIA

  M / 15

  M / 16

  M / 17

  M / 18

  19 / OLIVIA

  20 / OLIVIA

  21 / OLIVIA

  M / 22

  23 / OLIVIA

  24 / OLIVIA

  M / 25

  M / 26

  27 / OLIVIA

  28 / OLIVIA

  M / 29

  30 / OLIVIA

  31 / OLIVIA

  32 / OLIVIA

  M / 33

  M’s EPILOGUE

  Blessed Twice

  Wasted Heart

  Imagining Reality

  Finally

  Mending Defects

  Something So Grand

  Life Rewired

  Uncommon Emotions

  Full Court Pressure

  About The Author

  1 / OLIVIA

  THE ELEVATOR RIDE LASTED a whole year. Seasons passed every time another floor went by. I bounced in place, excitement vibrating through me. Two floors to go before my first official job, but I felt like I was aging as we went up and up and up. I’d probably be a teenager by the time we finally got off this thing.

  “You have the cellphone, right?” M smiled down at me, her brown eyes glinting in the elevator lights. She liked checking and double checking things. No one had ever been like that with me. Her stepson, Caleb, rolls his eyes about it, but I liked that she was always making sure things were right.

  “Yeah.” I tapped my coat pocket and felt the slight bulge of her phone.

  “Do you have money if you get snacky?” She’d already given me five dollars for the vending machines. She knew she’d already given me the money, but she seemed nervous for some reason.

  “Yeah.” I couldn’t figure out her mood. This wasn’t the first time she’d brought me to her friend’s office, but she was biting her lip and asking me the same questions she’d already asked on the car ride over from school. “I’ll be fine, M.”

  Her hand came up to adjust the drape of my hair. She’d trimmed it last night to fall two inches past my shoulders. I almost asked her to cut it short like hers, but my round face and plain light brown hair wouldn’t look as good short as M’s triangular face and rich red-gold highlighted brown hair did. Plus long hair was easier to hide behind. She eyed the ends like she was checking that it was an even cut, but she probably just wanted something to do to keep her mind off whatever was bothering her. When our eyes met, she smiled again. I liked when she smiled. She made everyone feel good when she smiled.

  The elevator doors opened—finally. We stepped into a surprisingly cluttered reception area. Normally the game stations were spread out on two walls and the guest chairs spaced around a coffee table in the middle of the area. Today, everything had been pushed aside to make room for two long tables being set up. I didn’t have time to wonder if we’d be working out here before the receptionist waved us through as she always did whenever M visited Willa.

  Noise blared from every direction once we hit the hallway. Willa’s office was always noisy, but today seemed much louder. Up ahead, two guys raced out of a doorway shooting at each other with Ping-Pong guns. M pulled up, putting her arm out and stepping in front of me in case they came our way.

  “I swear I will pull this whole office over if you idiots don’t stop screwing around!” Willa’s voice shouted from inside her office.

  I stiffened at the angry tone. Some of my excitement deflated. Willa didn’t get angry, even when her friends annoyed her on purpose. I glanced up at M thinking she’d be about ready to turn us around to leave because she was overprotective like that. Instead she was grinning.

  It didn’t take long to figure out what had made Willa so mad. She was sitting in a cocoon of silly string with Ping-Pong balls cluttering her desk. M burst out laughing. I was more surprised that M was laughing at her friend than I was at seeing Willa trying to get out of the tangle of silly string.

  “Nice. Laugh at my misfortune,” Willa grumbled. “Olivia, be my best friend and help me out of this mess, will you?”

  I rushed over and started pulling away the webbing from her arms and back. I couldn’t believe anyone could get away with silly stringing their boss and still keep the job, but Willa’s office was weird.

  “I take it the Redmond crew is here this week?” M asked her friend.

  “Most of them,” Willa confirmed, finally free of the string. She stood and started collecting the Ping-Pong balls into her top drawer. “The unfortunate part of finishing up a new game is that everyone has to be together for a few weeks. My people are ready to revolt.”

  “It is usually more civilized around here,” M commented then turned worried eyes toward Willa. “Are you sure the kids are going to be—”

  “I’m sure. Really,” Willa somehow knew what she meant even when M didn’t finish what she was saying. I wish I had a friend like that, but it probably wouldn’t happen until I was a grownup. It must take a lot of practice to be a friend like that.

  “Where is everyone sitting?” M tilted her head back to glance down the hallway to the main cubicle area.

  They kept talking abou
t stuff I didn’t quite follow. I knew it wouldn’t last long. Unlike most adults, M never did that when kids were around. I tuned out, antsy to get started. For the next two and a half weeks, I’d get to test Willa’s newest video game for glitches before it went on sale. She shocked me when she asked if Caleb and I would be interested. I couldn’t see how kids would know better than her employees, but she said it was her first kids’ game and needed kids’ help. She’s really smart, so I guess she knows what she’s talking about.

  “You ready?” Willa gave me an expectant look.

  I nodded, happy to get to work. She was paying us a lot to do this. M and Briony objected to the amount at first, but they worked out a deal where half the money would go into a college fund and the rest would go into a savings account as long as we had a savings goal. Caleb and his buddy Hank were saving for new bikes. I made up something but knew I’d only use the money when they kicked me out of their house. Money makes life a lot easier in the group foster homes. Find the alpha girl, pay her, and avoid being bruised “accidentally” when you’re five inches shorter than the next shortest girl there.

  “Want to stick around, M?” Willa asked.

  M’s eyes shot to me. She wanted to say yes, but she had another class to teach at college later. My school let out early today. Caleb’s middle school wouldn’t get out for another two hours. M was probably worried I’d get lost in the activity around here without Caleb looking out for me.

  “I’ve still got one more class.”

  Willa’s lips twitched. She knew what M was thinking. “We’ll be here working our fingers to the bone, right, Liv?” She usually called me Liv. Almost everyone else that M and Briony knew called me Livy. Not my favorite, but I didn’t want to be rude to their friends. “See?” Willa looked at M after I nodded. “We’ve got it handled. You head back to campus. I’ll drop the kids off around six tonight.”

  “Sounds good,” M said then turned to me. “Have a good time, but pay attention to whoever Willa assigns as your boss.”

  “I will.” I assured her and got an arm squeeze in return before she waved and headed out.

  “I think she’s afraid one of these idiots might kill you with a Ping-Pong bullet.” Willa winked at me.

  “Probably.” I smiled at her joke, but it felt pretty good to have someone worry about me. Some of my other foster parents didn’t realize I was living with them most days. They were overworked, had too many kids, and I was the quiet one. They’d never worry if I was having fun or was completely safe or well fed or had a way to get in touch with them if I needed to. M and Briony were so much like real parents I could forget sometimes that they weren’t mine.

  “Let’s get you set up.” Willa gestured toward the door to get us moving. “A couple other kids should be here pretty soon.”

  I swallowed, trying to keep her from seeing that I wasn’t looking forward to any other kids but Caleb and Hank being here. It didn’t really matter which kids would be coming. I didn’t make friends easily, but I needed this money.

  “Olivia, meet Kevin,” Willa introduced me to a guy who was setting up the monitors on the tables.

  “Hey, Olivia, we’re glad to have your help,” he said. “You’re early, too, we like that, don’t we, Will?”

  “Sure do. She’s going to be your star. Treat her right.” She turned to me. “All set?”

  I nodded and took a seat. Kevin came over to stand behind me and reached forward to grab a controller and get the game loaded. I tilted to the side to give him more room and make sure he knew that I knew he was there—lesson number one for a foster kid.

  “These are the main controls here.” He pressed against the two thumbsticks on each side of the controller. “Are you good at video games?”

  Until I got to use Caleb’s, I’d never really played video games before. My mom didn’t have the money and no foster parent had a gaming console. “I’m not really sure.”

  He leaned down. “You’re not a gamer?”

  He looked concerned. Maybe I should lie. I needed this money, but I shouldn’t lie. Not if it would hurt Willa’s company. “No, sir.”

  “Kevin,” he insisted as a wide grin came over his face. “You’ll be perfect for this. We never get beginners testing games. Willa!”

  Willa appeared a few seconds later. “You bellowed?”

  “Whose kid is this doll?” His thumb hooked toward me, and I felt my stomach clench. “You need to give them a raise for finding us a virgin gamer.”

  “Kev!” Willa scolded. Her tone made me jump in my seat. Uh-oh, he was in trouble. “Vocabulary.”

  “Oh, shh—um, shoot, right. Yeah, okay, can do. Sorry, Olivia, I wasn’t thinking.”

  I wish they’d stop talking and just let me get to work. They didn’t need to worry about me. He could say whatever he wanted. I’d heard a lot worse in the homes I’d lived in. M and Briony’s was the first house that had a no-swearing rule. It was easy for me, but Briony sometimes let a word slip. She had to pay a dollar into the swear jar when she did. Caleb said we’d get to go to Six Flags when it had enough money in it.

  “Whose kid is she?” he asked Willa.

  I wanted to crawl under the desk. I hated this question. I didn’t like talking about not having a mom anymore. Why couldn’t people understand that?

  Before Willa answered, the elevator dinged and two of the meanest girls in my class stepped off. Now I really wanted to disappear. Of all the girls in school to be here, it had to be these two. My heart sank, taking most of my excitement down with it.

  2 / OLIVIA

  “HEY, WILLA,” KRYSTAL BEAMED at her.

  “Yeah, like, hi,” Kortney tried to match Krystal’s enthusiasm.

  “Hi, ladies,” Willa greeted them. “We’re just getting started. Do you know Olivia?”

  Both girls turned to look at me. Kortney sighed but Krystal groaned until she saw that Willa was watching her. “Yeah, sure, she’s in our class.”

  Willa squinted at her for a second. “Good, then you should all have fun today. Why don’t you head back and say hi to your dads.” She watched them go before turning back to me. “Are you all friends?”

  No. But I didn’t say that. Adults didn’t like to hear that kids weren’t friends with everyone in their class. It made them think something was wrong with you. “Um,” I started.

  “Let me put it this way,” Willa cut in as her dark eyes drilled into mine. “Do you have a problem working with them?”

  “No,” I blurted. I wouldn’t have a problem, but they might.

  “Because if you do, I can ask them to leave.”

  She’d ask them to leave? Even though they had dads who worked here and I didn’t? “No, it’s okay.”

  She stared at me for a bit longer. She was like M that way. They could both read expressions. “All right then. Kev, get Olivia started and work with the girls when they get back. Caleb and some friends plus Mike’s son will be here in a couple hours.”

  Kevin came back over and told me to open up a blank document for notes on the things I found wrong. I started the game and went to the help menu to learn how to play it. That was when the other girls came back. Kevin gave them the same instructions then let them start. He watched us for a while before he came over to help me with all the different controls.

  The girls giggled from the other end of the room. I knew they were laughing about me, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t let it bother me. Girls had been laughing at me since my mom died, about my clothes, about the houses I lived in, about my grades, about a lot of things. I used to get really upset, but it never helped anything.

  Two hours later, I was still working through the first level while the other girls had made it to level four. It sucked that they were ahead of me, but it took me a long time to read through the instructions, menus, and screens. I wasn’t so good at reading.

  When Kevin left us to make a call in his office, Krystal said, “He’s cute.”

  “Supe cute,” Kortney said back. She
never had an original thought. She always just agreed with Krystal.

  “Don’t know why he’s wasting time on the freak,” Krystal went on.

  I thought they’d forgotten about me. Hoped they had. I hated when they did this. They picked on so many kids in our class, but I was their favorite because I never talked back. I tried to ignore them, but sometimes it made them pick on me more.

  “She’s stupid, that’s why,” Kortney told her.

  “She’s a retard, more like,” Krystal said.

  I flinched. That word, I hated it. Mom always told me not to hate things, but I’d heard that word used around me before. Last year, they tried to hold me back at school. It was the reason my last set of foster parents sent me back to the group home. If I’d stayed in that school district, I probably would have been held back. That was one nice thing about jumping foster homes. A new district meant new records and teachers and time to convince everyone I wasn’t dumb. Briony and M didn’t think I was. They helped me with homework, explained things so I could understand them, and treated me like I was as smart as everyone else in my class, even if I wasn’t. Whenever I got frustrated, M tried to convince me that smart had a lot of sides to it. Sometimes I believed her, but it was hard when Krystal and her flock started making fun.

  “Supe retard,” Kortney agreed.

  “Yeah, like, ‘member when Mrs. Lomax asked her to read out loud last week? It took her, like, all day to read one paragraph.”

  “Forevs,” Kortney said.

  I could feel tears starting and that embarrassed me more. I wasn’t good at reading out loud either. Even worse than when I read to myself. M helped me practice, but I’d probably never be good at it. I didn’t feel stupid, but Krystal and her friends could change my mind about that.

  “Do you need help reading the game, freak?” Krystal called out. “Do you even know the whole alphabet?”

  I looked over to the receptionist. Thankfully she was on the phone. I didn’t want her to hear what they were saying.

  “Are you deaf and a retard?” Krystal asked.

  I continued to ignore them. Saying anything would only make them continue. Their attention spans were shorter than their miniskirts. They usually moved on quickly.

  Willa came into the reception area. “How’s it going, ladies?”