Free From the Ashes (Force of Nature Book 1) by Amber Lynn Natusch Page A

Piper,” Kat argued, throwing her purse over her shoulder. “You've practically been a recluse ever since you healed. More than you were before. It's not healthy. And you smell. I swear to God, if you don't start showering soon, I will hose you off in the front yard myself.”
    “All right!” I shouted. “Give me ten minutes. I'll be down by then.”
    “Don't forget to shave while you're in there...”
    “Jesus, Kat!” I yelled down the stairs at her. Her laughter echoed through the foyer up to me as I stormed down the hallway to my room and its en suite. I slammed the door behind me for effect, letting Kat know that her words had me irritated. Unfortunately for me, her points were valid. I didn't like leaving my room, let alone venturing out. Not after what had happened in the yard that day.
    The boys had been good about not pressing the issue because they knew something was still wrong with me—that I wasn't myself. Nobody knew why I was acting the way I was. About the shame I felt. The thing about Kat was that she didn't care.
    In fairness, she really did care. She just wasn't going to let whatever it was that I was such a mess about be a weight that dragged me down. Bowl through everything, that was Kat's motto. Maybe she was right. Maybe that was exactly what I needed to do.
    I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, not wanting to undress, but I really did smell funky. It was time to start to coexist with the eternal reminder of my attack. I pulled my shirt up over my head, exposing the marred flesh that lay beneath. My entire abdomen and most of my back were covered in a topographical scar, its pattern full of lines and edges that carved themselves into my healed skin. The pigment of it was different, a shade or two darker than my own, as if it was permanently sunburned, but not severely.
    I hated everything about it.
    Turning away from the person in the mirror, I jumped into the shower, the water still cold. I just wanted the whole thing to be over with so I could cover myself again. Hide the gift that Kingston had bestowed upon me.
    After showering, I got dressed and threw on my boots, racing down the hall to meet my ten-minute E.T.A. Kat stood by the door, a smile on her face.
    “You smell better already.”
    “Let's go,” I said, punching the security code into the keypad. Once it beeped and flashed a green light, I swung the massive metal door open and stepped through to the breezeway between the actual exterior door and the one inside. When your existence depends upon you not setting foot out in the sunlight, or someone accidentally allowing it inside, such precautionary measures are necessary.
    “Where are we going, anyway?” I asked as I sped toward her silver Boxster. It was every bit as curvaceous and beautiful as she was. They were a perfect match.
    “Nowhere exciting. I didn't think you'd be up for that,” she said with a tight smile, looking over the top of the car's roof at me. “Baby steps, kiddo. We're taking baby steps.”
    “So where is nowhere exciting?”
    “The grocery store. I'm tired of you eating that crap you order or have the boys pick up for you. It's disgusting. Your body is a temple, Piper.”
    “Not anymore,” I muttered under my breath.
    “What's that?” she asked, seeing the window of opportunity I'd given her.
    “I don't really want to talk about it, Kat,” I said, folding my arms over my stomach as she pulled out of the driveway.
    “I can see that,” she replied, clearly refusing to drop the subject. That didn't bode well for me. Kat had a way of bulldozing her way through your defenses one way or another. It's how we became friends in the first place. I could tell by the set of her shoulders as she drove that the grace period was over. She was going to get answers come hell or high water.
    Seeing the futility of denying her, I sighed heavily, preparing for the conversation I really didn't want to have.
    “I said,” putting a little heat behind my words,