PROVOKED
S. DONAHUE
Booktrope Editions
Seattle, WA 2015
COPYRIGHT 2015 SHANNON DONAHUE
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
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No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.
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Cover Design by Robin Harper
Edited by Kathryn Galan
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.
PRINT ISBN 978-1-5137-0479-1
EPUB ISBN 978-1-5137-0529-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015916264
Contents
COVER
AUTHOR TITLE PAGE
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
DEDICATION
PROLOGUE
October 2005
Hailey
CHAPTER 1
Present Day
Hailey
CHAPTER 2
Chase
CHAPTER 3
Chase
CHAPTER 4
Hailey
CHAPTER 5
Chase
CHAPTER 6
Hailey
CHAPTER 7
Chase
CHAPTER 8
Hailey
CHAPTER 9
Chase
CHAPTER 10
Hailey
CHAPTER 11
Chase
CHAPTER 12
Hailey
CHAPTER 13
Chase
CHAPTER 14
Hailey
CHAPTER 15
Chase
CHAPTER 16
Hailey
CHAPTER 17
Chase
CHAPTER 18
Hailey
CHAPTER 19
Chase
CHAPTER 20
Parker
CHAPTER 21
Chase
CHAPTER 22
Hailey
CHAPTER 23
Parker
CHAPTER 24
Hailey
CHAPTER 25
Parker
CHAPTER 26
Chase
CHAPTER 27
Hailey
CHAPTER 28
Parker
CHAPTER 29
Chase
CHAPTER 30
Hailey
CHAPTER 31
Chase
CHAPTER 32
Hailey
CHAPTER 33
Chase
CHAPTER 34
Hailey
CHAPTER 35
Chase
CHAPTER 36
Hailey
CHAPTER 37
Chase
CHAPTER 38
Hailey
CHAPTER 39
Chase
CHAPTER 40
Hailey
CHAPTER 41
Chase
CHAPTER 42
Hailey
CHAPTER 43
Chase
EPILOGUE: 3 MONTHS LATER
Parker
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MORE GREAT READS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I have so many wonderful people that I need to thank.
First, I want to thank my husband and son for putting up with me. You have been so wonderful and are my biggest supporters. Thanks for allowing me to follow my dreams. You love me unconditionally, and I love you both with all my heart.
I want to thank my mother for always having faith in me and for being such a great role model for me to look up to. When the going gets tough, the tough get going! Love you. Thanks to my grandparents for teaching me what being Italian in South Philly is all about. They have always seen the best in me and nothing else; for that I am grateful. I know they are and will always be proud of me. I want to thank my brothers, Tony and Shawn, for always standing by me and sticking up for me. We have a special bond that can never be broken. Special thanks to my entire family: the Paganos, Iannacones, Donahues, Seravallis, and Giordanos (there are so many of you) for standing by me through thick and thin. You always have faith in me and push me to do my best. I love every single one of you.
Thanks to all my friends for always being by my side forever more—that’s what friends are for. To my work peeps, you are all the best and such great supporters.
My street team members are the best. Thanks for always pimping me out and spreading the love.
To my beta readers: You guys are the best. You stick by me no matter what.
Kelly Sloane, Mayas Sanders, Samantha Wiley, Cecily Bonney, Beth Santucci, Angela Cruz, Jennifer Cassell, Kelly Kline, Stephanie Christensen, Tabitha Charisse, Brianna Jacot, Autumn Oertel, Karen Fischer, Jessica Anhalt.
To my PA and Book Manager… Oh! my photographer, too—Jessica Anhalt: Thanks for all you do. You have helped me out so much, and I truly appreciate all your hard work. You’re the best!! I am so happy that we have become lifelong friends!!
I want to thank the Booktrope Staff for accepting me into their family and believing in my book. They are a great bunch of people to work with, and I couldn’t be any happier than I am.
To my awesome Booktrope Team: It has been such a pleasure working with you. I have picked such an amazing crew. Jessica Anhalt (Book Manager and Project Manager) Robin Harper (Designer), Kathryn Galan (Editor), Lisa Gilliam (Proofreader). Without this team, Provoked would not be possible.
To the Facebook Community—Authors and Bloggers: Thank you for all your support and for spreading the word.
Thank you to all my readers. You make my job possible. Without you, I wouldn’t be.
I dedicate this book to every person who has struggled with a weight issue, whether in your past or present, and to all the children who have to endure bullying and torment because they may be different than others. Never let anyone bring you down. You are beautiful inside and out, and no person should ever get a say in that. You make your own dreams and destiny. Weight doesn’t make a person. Your character does.
PROLOGUE
October 2005
Hailey
I’VE FELT THE STARES. I’ve heard the whispers. No one can describe how it feels inside unless they’ve lived through it. I’ve battled my weight all my life. When I look in the mirror, I’m disgusted with myself. How could it have gotten to this point? I can’t dress the way the other girls at school do. They have all the trendy clothes, while I have to walk around in anything that fits me. I normally look grungy or unkempt.