Preface
Scott Faulkner.
His father had always been on his mind, and it had always bothered him. It shattered him to pieces. It broke him down every time he remembered. And it didn’t take long to remember. All he had to do was look at his lower abdomen and see a tattoo.
The tattoo.
And sometimes in the mirror – his reflection sometimes reminded him of his father. The dark charcoal hair. The strong Roman nose. The chiseled jaw. The pursed, cautious lips. But not the eyes – the eyes were his mother’s. The kind eyes. The welcoming, passionate, enveloping deep blue eyes.
And then there were the haunting dreams. The sleepless nights. The countless daydreams of the reoccurring nightmares. Always clouding his mind and affecting his thoughts.
Scott Faulkner is still haunted by the past. And that tattoo, which he thought would help bring closure but now just leaves him confused and hurt. Yet he can never muster to destroy it – so, it destroys him slowly, but surely, more each day.
Every. Single. Day.
The tattoo – it was for them... in their memory.
The tattoo – it was a try at making things right.
A chance at moving on...
Scott tried to move on, but it’s so damn difficult that he always ends up back to square one everytime.
The tattoo
Lexi
L
Ellie
E
Adele
A
LEA
The loves of his life. The three he had loved and truly cared for - but which he had lost. Had seeped between his fingers – from his protection and hold. The ones he had to honor the memory of by adding the first letter of their name on his body.
They formed a name – they formed LEA.
A clue. A sign. A chance at... moving on...
He obsessed over this although he had promised himself not to do so. He thought about it all the time.
He would stare at the name for hours on end. LEA.
Find her – have her – love her, his friend would say.
But where? Why?
Use it to find your soulmate, his friend had said that day when he had convinced Scott to get the tattoo. It’s the only way - you’ve tried all the other ways. And all those attempts had been futile. It was true.
Find true love – to accept him and help him and care for him. To love him. He wanted to find the one. Find her.
Find Lea.
Their legacy. LEA. His future.
It was just a tattoo. And that was a lie. It was not just a tattoo.
It was the tattoo. The last chance he’s got.
The tattoo - the embodiment of pain, sorrow, tears – but also the embodiment of fate, future, and foreseen love.
At first, they were just initials - just a memory - but then they became much more: they became a clue... a chance... a name.
They became LEA.
They became her.
But who was she?
He didn’t know yet, but he couldn’t wait to find out.
I.N.I.T.I.A.L.L.Y
This is a fantastic opening. It gives you enough info to keep you interested, but withdraws enough to intrigue you to keep reading - great balance! Definitely going to read on :)
Great opening chapter. Interesting, creative and unique concept. Definitely grabs the reader and compels them to read on. And, the writing style is solid, descriptive, emotional and technically sound. The character is relatable and only within a few paragraphs seems very real. Nice job.
"..,he can never muster to destroy it..." Muster what? You don't say. When I was in boot camp, we had to muster ourselves every day. Every is not a sentence. There shouldn't be a period after it. If you want to emphasize it, a dash would do as well. The same thing with single and day. Also, instead of telling us he got the tattoo, why don't you describe the scene where he get's the tattoo. Also, you might want to put all that stuff about the tattoo into a single paragraph. After all, it does seem to be all one thought. Next, about the tattoo. Since we can't see it, how about describing it. Does it go in a line across his belly horizontally, vertically, or in some other direction. Are they black on his white skin, white on his black skin, what? Is there any scroll work involved? The next thing is to tell you that I do not believe in soul mates. I heard about them many years ago, and from what I have heard about them a best friend can be a soul mate. They do not have to be an erotic lover. But most people seem to think that they have to be that. They can be anyone who helps you to be the best person you can be.