Remember Yesterday
By Kelly A. Purcell
Copyright 2014 Kelly A. Purcell
Cover photo © 2004-2014 All rights reserved - Big stock
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Scripture in this book has been taken from the New International Version.
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973,1278,1984,2011 by Biblica Inc.TM Used by permission All rights reserved worldwide.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
About the Author
Prologue
Anna remained in bed until she heard her brother’s truck pull out from the front yard and skid onto the stony road outside their house, then she tossed the covers off and ran to the window. Her brother was long gone. The view from her window was a beautiful one, she had the pleasure of waking up to one of island’s prized possessions; the rich, frothy blue green ocean, hitting against the rocks, which hid one of her favourite spots. Today however, she couldn’t enjoy it; she couldn’t even see it, not through the tears welling up in her eyes again. She took a deep breath and swiped the back of her hand angrily against her eyes, clearing her vision just in time to see her close friend from church hurrying up the stony, dusty road that led to her house. Anna gritted her teeth, turned from the window and dashed down the stairs.
She yanked the door open just as Becky lifted her hand to knock on it. The girl regarded her with obvious confusion.
“Monty said you were sick,” she said flatly.
Anna took a deep breath and motioned for her to come inside the house. The house that she cared for as her own and rightly so, now that both her parents were gone from her life forever. It was just her and her older brother Monty now and at least for the next seven months or so.
“What’s going on? You faked sick so you could miss church?” Becky glared at her accusingly.
Anna shook her head, “it’s more than that.”
Becky took both her hands and pulled her to the couch in that sisterly way she had, “Anna what’s going on? You’ve been acting strange since…since the fire,” she sighed, “is this about Raj?”
Anna rolled her eyes, of course it was about Raj, it was always about Raj. The boy who had been turning her life upside down since he came into it, there were some good times, but she couldn’t say they outweighed the torment, that comes from persistently worrying about the person she loved. Of course she wasn’t about to share that with Becky, she was her friend but she didn’t tolerate much, especially Anna’s wild boyfriend Raj. Not when Becky had it together, at seventeen she was already teaching Sunday school and giving relationship advice to the young women in their church. Who could blame her though, she’d managed to snag the Pastor’s son, Greg Pascal, the oldest son of the man that came riding into their community shortly after Anna’s father passed away, to take his place.
“It’s nothing,” Anna finally replied, her eyes quickly going to the clock above the archway to the kitchen, “I’m really not feeling well.”
Becky regarded her with blatant disbelief, she released her hands and stood up, “fine then. I’m going to church. I’ll say a prayer for you, you clearly need it.”
The moment Becky was out the door Anna was on her feet, she had just about fifteen minutes to make it to the beach. She quickly changed into something more appropriate, something bright and hopeful, she wanted Raj’s last image of her to be a good one. As she was about to scurry out the back, she heard a low thud in the living room, she wasn’t afraid, there was only one person bold enough to leap through that particular window of her house.
“Raj!” she exclaimed, going to the devilishly handsome boy.
She clung to his bare chest like she hadn’t just seen him yesterday, he always insisted on walking around in shorts and slippers with his boney chest exposed and a dirty t-shirt slung over his shoulder. Raj was as stiff as a board and when she stepped away and looked into his face, his somber expression sunk her attempt to be jovial.
“Tell me Anna,” he said in his thick country accent, that all her friends at school made fun of.
“Tell you what?”
“That you don’t want me to go…”
She sighed, lowering her gaze, “I want you to be safe.”
“I’m sorry,” he croaked.
Anna hugged him again, “let me walk with you, I want to see you off.”
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak again.
They went out the back together, hand in hand. Raj with his head held low, Anna with her head held high, in an effort to stall the tears that threatened to fall, but she had to be strong, she had to be strong for him and for herself.
She watched him run to the waiting speedboat bobbing in the surf . Two other boys around his age had just climbed in and were waving at him. Anna took a deep breath, his kiss still lingered on her lips, her love for him still bursting from her heart.
He turned and waved to her and she lifted a hand above her head in farewell, using the other to shield her eyes from the sun that had come out strong and bright behind him. As the boat sped away, she lowered her hand to her stomach and released a sob, feeling her body tremble. Somehow the secret within her knew that someone important was now gone from their life for good. Anna took a deep breath, it was good for him, it was good for them both that he would never know.