Hope Rises Novels & Stories

*huff* *huff* it's..been... How long exactly? I can't remember. Searching for my friends is starting to seem so hopeless now. "I just want to take a break!", I cried out My body drenched in sweat was aching all over from running around all over the resort. "Agh! I haven't sat down in hours, *sighs* where in the world has everyone disappeared to?" Now, I started to observe my surroundings, and I realized it was the reception of the resort which was the last place I hadn't searched in yet.

"What do you mean?" It seemed they had derailed. But that didn't matter. He could easily trace his way back to where he left off. But to indulge her, he said, "This act is the most pleasing in the entire world. It's above the desire for gold, and in the hands of a skillful lover, you could very well ascend into the stars." Alex countered him by saying, "I've read books about the ways of the people across the sea. All that isn't done here. The chaplain says it's a sin."

I explained, still keeping my eyes on Cassidy. She was pissed. Her emerald eyes were dark with anger, cheeks flushed with her rage, and her nostrils flaring just a little. Honestly, it was kind of hot. And that thought right there should be an indication I need therapy. “Collin Cole, I presume. I’m Hope Summers. You may call me Mrs. Summers. Why don’t you and Cassidy bring the angry staring contest inside? You know where my neighbors aren’t going to question if they need to call the cops.” Mrs. Summers sighed.

Bryan Sammie being here was exactly the comfort I didn't know I needed. It gave me hope that this alliance marriage could be turned around, and that maybe there was hope for my future after all. Josie had expressed that she wasn't ready to move past her grief, and I could respect that for her. I just prayed to the moon Goddess that when she finally decided that she was ready, she would want to move on with me, rather than anyone else. Sammie seemed confident that she would, which also gave me hope that we actually had a future together.

They went on to dance for famous companies that toured around the world. My heart aches with desire. I hadn’t let myself go there, and suddenly it all seems like… It’s there again. It’s a possibility. Hope is this dangerous thing. It’s quiet and warm and it stays locked away until we feed it, and then it bursts into flame. It can consume us. It will very well eat me alive.

Daisy Anderson once more. “I’m so excited! Today is Hope’s Mommy and Daddy's wedding.” Hope jumps on the bed with boundless joy, thrilled that her parents are becoming husband and wife. She has been squealing and jumping like this for the past five months. She is dressed in a white dress with puff sleeves and her blonde hair pinned back with a bow. I can’t take my eyes off her; she looks so adorable. On my wedding day, she looks prettier than me, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Matheus: You guys at least are sleeping. Zara: Sleeping my foot, I'm in exam season, barely surviving on wine and cheese. And you, Hope, what are you up to? I almost dropped my phone when I saw that Hope was online. I can't believe it when she sends a photo lying down, showing part of her breasts, which I had just dreamt of sucking. I notice the three dots indicating she's typing, just like my brothers'. I sit on the bed to see what she'll say. Hope: The season has been insane. Right now, I just want a foot massage. Speaking of which, I'll be heading to the resort.

I need to be careful not to let those small sweet moments he shows me turn into hope for more. Hope only brings disappointment. Out of all things I’ve learned in my life, this one has been the truest. As a kid, I hoped for a new family when my current one was just another nightmare. I hoped a loving family would adopt me and I would be able to be happy. Those hopes led to nothing. All I got were memories I want to forget. Memories that were brought up again by seeing two people who stared in them for too long. Another thing I had hoped for was that someone would find out what they were doing and never let them near a child again. That clearly never happened and now they took things too far.

Even Aurora, so poised and balanced, had wrestled with whether her lack of abilities made her less important. What kind of life was Hope bringing a child into? She called Elias. "Can you meet me at the park? I need to tell you something." He was there in fifteen minutes. They sat on a bench overlooking the East River, and Hope told him. "I'm pregnant." Elias stared at her. Then a slow smile spread across his face. "You're pregnant." "That's what I said." "We're having a baby." "Yes. And I'm terrified." The smile faded. "Why terrified? I mean, it's unexpected, but—"

He clung to the headstone like a child, sobbing as though the world had ended. This time, no one came to hold him. No one wiped away his tears. The mother who had once protected him from everything was never coming back. From a short distance away, Sophie stood and watched. She simply stepped forward, laid a bouquet at the base of the stone, and said in a soft voice, “Hannah, I’ll come to see you again tomorrow.”