**This book contains Male Male Relations**
One
moment in time can change your life, especially a life that revolves
around your face. A near-fatal car accident leaves a world famous
model's face scarred and his career in a tailspin. The life Ashley
knew is over and he wants to do nothing but fade away into
nothingness. Only his lover, Will, can pull him out of his dark
depression and make Ashley see even scars can be beautiful.
The
first thing Ashley noticed when he woke was a feeling of
disconnection. He was floating, drifting. His eyes weighed a ton, as
did his body, and his faced itched. Trying to lift his hand to
scratch at the insistent itch, he struggled to get the limb to
function. Nothing seemed to work right. Was he home in bed? He didn’t
remember getting home. A soft beep caught his attention. What was
that annoying sound? His mind was fuzzy and his mouth was as dry as
cotton. Seriously freaked out, he fought to open his eyes, and his
body jerked as he twisted. Pain exploded, greeting him unmercifully,
biting at him.
“Ashley?
Can you hear me?”
That
voice. He knew
that
voice. With a herculean effort he opened his eyes. Or tried to. One
side of his vision was pitch black, and the other side was blurry.
Sickly fear coated his body. He flung his hands up, searching. What
the hell was covering the left side of his face? Clawing at the
covering, he whimpered as an out of focus face bent over him.
“Hey,
hey now, ease up there. It’s okay.”
“Will?”
Ashley’s hand was gently held and pulled down. Why did Will’s
voice sound so funny, like he was hoarse? “Will? What’s going on?
Where am I? What’s on my face?”
“Listen
to me. You’re in the hospital.”
“Hospital?
Why the hell am I in the hospital?” Straining, he was finally able
to make out the pale walls, and smell a scent he had always
associated with hospitals: cleaners and sickness.
“You
don’t remember… anything?” Will bent over Ashley, still holding
his hands. God, Will’s skin was so warm, and his was so cold. “Tell
me what you remember.”
“Was
on my way home from that shoot. You called. I was going to call you
back… Will?” Ashley’s voice rose and cracked. “Then, nothing
until now. What—what… Will?”
One
of Will’s strong hands managed to loosen itself from Ashley’s
death grip and brushed Ashley’s hair back from his face. “You’re
in the hospital. There was an accident, a bad accident. You were hit
on the way home two days ago.”
“Fuck
me! Two days ago?” Ashley bit his lip as pain spiked in his ribs.
“How bad? Who hit me?”
“It
was pretty bad. You have bruised ribs from the impact with the
steering wheel, your arm is bruised—not broken—and more bruises
over your body. I forgot the driver’s name. They hit you on the
passenger side, slammed you into a street light. Two people in the
other car died.”
“Died?
Jesus.” Every time Ashley tried to lift his hand to his face, Will
stopped him. “What’s wrong with my vision? Why can I only see out
of one side?”
Gripping
his hand, Will hesitated. “You were struck so hard your head hit
the driver side window.”
Ashley
gripped Will’s hand. There was more, he just knew it. What little
he could make out of Will’s concerned face told him that. “And?
Tell me, dammit!”
“The
window busted. There was glass everywhere. Oh God, Ashley, I’m so
sorry. You were cut. On your face… and—and… there’s going to
be a scar.”
“A
scar?” Ashley whispered, and then his voice gained in strength as
horror stabbed at him. “A scar,
on my face? My
face?
No! Oh my God, no! How bad, Will? How fucking bad?”
Tears
soaked Will’s voice. “From the hair line to under your chin.
Jesus, Ashley. I’m so sorry.”
The
screams from Ashley’s room brought most of the nursing staff at a
dead run.
Guest Post By M.A. Church!!
A
drive home in the wee hours in the morning after a modeling job…
then a moment’s distraction and a twist of Fate puts an end to one
way of life for Ashley and opens the door to another.
Hey
everyone! My name is M.A. Church, and I was part of the Carved
in Flesh
anthology from Storm Moon Press that came out a year ago. Now my
story, Faded
Love,
has been released as a single title. This anthology caught my eye
because of the subject matter. In a society that worships beauty and
is filled with everyday images of what’s ideal, I had to wonder
what would happen to an internationally well-known model who ends up
scarred.
Then
throw in his lover, Will—who is a sports model. To make matters
even more interesting, Will just happens to have given Ashley an
ultimatum before the car accident: he wants an exclusive relationship
with Ashley. The mere thought of a commitment sends Ashley into a
tailspin. And there you go, lol, a swirling brew of pain, anger,
fear, regret, and… one man’s determination not to give up on the
man he loves. In other words, Will has a hot mess on his hands, lol.
Can he prove to Ashley that scars fade, but love doesn’t?
This
anthology, in a lot of ways, strikes very close to home for me.
Twelve years ago I had back surgery, and I have a pretty big scar on
my back. Granted, over the years it’s faded, but when I tan in the
summer, it’s noticeable. In my late teens and early twenties I also
modeled regionally. *Laugh* It wasn’t anything to write home about,
but modeling did teach me one thing. The old saying that models are
nothing more than ‘coat hangers’ is so very true.
So
imagine how a world-famous model would react to a scar on his
face—the very
face that made him a living, that he was known by. Yeah, Ashley’s
emotions run the gamut from disbelief, anger, and self-loathing to
fear—fear that without his looks, he’s worth nothing. Thank
goodness for Will and his stubborn nature. Not long after the
accident, Ashley learns Will has been offered an opportunity that’s
the chance of a lifetime… on the opposite coast. Ashley, my spoilt
little diva, has a hard choice to make.
My
favorite scene in the story is where Will and Ashley kiss on a beach
near the end. The message that comes through by the end of the story
is Scars
fade, but love does not.
There's so much truth to that. The harder times of life might stick
with us, but the ache of them usually fades over time; true love
doesn't fade away. I wholeheartedly believe that, and it's where the
title of my short story came from too.
~M
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