Whispers of Night: 1 (Immortal Embrace) Read Online Free

morning while I was in my first class.” She took a sip of beer. “Want one?”
    “You bet. This calls for a celebration.” Marley waved the bartender over and ordered them another round.
    “I can’t believe everything is happening so quickly. Graduation is around the corner, I’ll be leaving Boston behind to begin a new job in the Big Apple. God, it seems so surreal. Where did the time go?”
    “As I see it, we’re both about to begin a new chapter in our lives. And no one deserves this opportunity more than you do. Here, drink this.” She handed Jenny a shot glass full of something that smelled strong.
    “What did you order me?” She stared at the clear liquid.
    “Patron. Bottoms up.” Marley tilted her head back, downing her drink.
    Jenny hesitated for a second before she threw back the clear liquid. The strong alcohol warmed her insides on its way down. Maybe it would douse some of the childhood memories that surfaced when anything positive happened.
    Life was finally coming full circle for Jenny. She was about to graduate from Northeastern University with honors and a degree in international studies. It was a milestone, considering she was the first person in her family to ever go to college. Not that they gave a damn.
    “Jenny—hello, anyone home? You’ve spaced out again.” Marley waved to get her attention.
    Crap, there I go again. “Sorry.”
    “Thinking about your family again, aren’t you?” She frowned.
    “It kind of makes me sad that I can’t share this with them.”
    Her parents lived in the backwoods of Kentucky. Moonshine and mining were in their roots. Life had been hard and Jenny’d never had much growing up. Her father only made it worse by being verbally and physically abusive to her and her siblings. He also didn’t like the idea of her going to school. It was a tragic, lonely existence. Her mother was a drunk, which had left Jenny with the bulk of responsibility for caring for her younger siblings. Her only hope of escaping had been school.
    “Maybe you should consider contacting them.”
    Like that’s ever gonna happen. “Not a chance.” She let out a shaky breath.
    “You might be surprised, Jen. People can change. You never know.” Marley gave her a sympathetic smile.
    That’s a nice pipe dream. “There’s no changing someone like my dad.”
    As close as she and Marley were, she still hadn’t shared all the details of her past. One, she didn’t want anyone to pity her and it was easier to pretend she was like everyone else. Unfortunately, her dad was a cruel, sadistic monster who had taken pleasure in beating her so badly she ended up in the hospital with a fractured skull, several broken ribs and a collapsed lung, all because she’d wanted to go to college. How did she explain that to someone?
    “I’m sorry I brought that shit up. What a dumbass I am.”
    “It’s cool. Don’t worry about it.” She wasn’t mad at Marley. But she didn’t want to discuss her past.
    “You haven’t given me many details but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t good. You know what I have faith in?”
    “I haven’t got a clue.”
    “You’re a survivor. Can’t you see what you’ve accomplished? It speaks volumes about the courage you must’ve possessed in order overcome the crappy deal you were given as a child.”
    “Thanks.” She gave Marley another hug. “You always know what to say to make me feel better.”
    It was clear Marley was smart enough to read between the lines and figure out she had been terribly abused as a child. She would be forever grateful that fate had brought them together.
    She’d met Marley their freshman year when they were assigned as roommates in the dorm, and immediately became good friends. Marley was a spunky brunette from California, with an outgoing, fun-loving personality. She came from money but she never flaunted it.
    Her new friend had also been fiercely loyal and treated Jenny like family, which was foreign to her. In their four years