A NineStar Press Publication

A NineStar Press Publication

Heartbeat

ISBN: 978-1-64890-580-3

© 2022 Nicholas Brown

Cover Art © 2022 Jaycee DeLorenzo

Edited by Elizabetta McKay

Published in November 2022 by NineStar Press, New Mexico, USA.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact NineStar Press at [email protected].

Also available in Print, ISBN: 978-1-64890-581-0

CONTENT WARNING:

This book contains sexual content, which is fade-to-black.

Strong warnings for: the discussion of attempted suicide and suicide ideation; depression and medication for depression; therapy sessions; the depiction of drug and underage alcohol use, smoking; grieving for the death of a family member (by a POV character); trauma recovery; language; and reference to a past teen abortion.

Heartbeat

Heartbeat

Nicholas Brown

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Dedication

For O.

I’ll make you up until I meet you.

Chapter One

Chapter One

Waking Up

I didn’t remember much about what had happened. I remembered how it felt, waking up. How I’d had all these wires and tubes coming out of my chest and arms and how, as I looked around the room, there was no one there. I also recalled being tied to the bed—that I remembered quite well; I dozed off shortly after noticing it. Dr. Foster stood next to me, watching as she waited for me to come to. We talked for a bit. You know how it goes, if your brain is deprived of oxygen for an x amount of time things have a tendency of getting…messy. So we went through the usual questions. I told her my name, my age, where I lived, and who my parents were—stuff like that. Then she asked if I remembered how I’d gotten there.

I didn’t answer.