Life in Chaos

By Kathleen Hayes

Shit. You always think there’s plenty of time, plenty of chances. Staring down at 20% survival odds has made me rethink a lot of things. I wish I had come out of the closet instead of letting him leave, wish I’d been more willing to rock the boat before it started to sink. Maybe he meant it when he said he’d still be there for me, still be my friend.

This story was written as a part of the Goodreads.com M/M Romance Group's 'Love is Always Write' event.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kathleen Hayes
• Release date: Jun 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476317311

Kathleen Hayes

Kathleen Hayes is a bit of an all around geek. She has mastered the art of procrastination, is owned by two crazy cats and is excited to have just added a fellow super geek to her clan. Kathleen loves to explore worlds – whether in her head or on page. She welcomes you into her worlds and hopes you have as much fun there as she does!She writes M/M Romance and poetry. Check her out at her blog, Romacing the Word! She loves to hear from y'all so if you have questions/comments/feedback comment on her blog, message her on goodreads or email her at [e-mail].

Book preview

LIFE IN CHAOS

By

Kathleen Hayes

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Kathleen Hayes on Smashwords

Life in Chaos

Copyright © 2012 by Kathleen Hayes

Thank you for downloading this free eBook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form, with the exception of quotes used in reviews.

Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

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This story was originally written as a part of the Goodreads.com M/M Romance Group’s Love is Always Write event. For more info visit us at http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/20149.

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Dedicated to Julia.

She wrote the prompt that inspired the story.

Thanks to my various betas, without you this story would be much poorer.

Thank you also to Dr. NP who made sure I didn’t make up random medical stuff and was kind enough to take the time to answer ridiculous questions like Would a CAT scan sound more like an alien space ship or a giant hammer banging against a tin can?

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We make our lives out of chaos and hope and love

-Stephen Nathan

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Chapter 1

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The gravel scraped on my shoes as I climbed the steps up to the lookout at the top of Mount Bonnell. It was close to sunset, and on any other day the small park would have been crowded with picture takers, couples, and outdoors enthusiasts. It was about to start raining, though, so the park had pretty much cleared out. When I reached the top, I took the left-hand trail. It would lead me to where I could look out over the lake and not be hemmed in by short stone walls and a wooden pavilion.

As I sat there, staring out over the waters of Lake Austin, the coming storm rolled steadily towards me. In the thin sunset light, the sky seemed to turn an odd orange-green color that I have only ever seen watching Texas thunderstorms. The air had a static-y ozone feel to it and I could almost taste the electricity when I breathed deeply. Purple clouds roiled in the distance, casting night-like shadows over everything in their path. Lightning shot in all directions within the clouds, like it couldn’t figure out which way the earth lay. Occasionally a bolt would get it right and shoot out towards the ground, thunder following immediately as if cheering at its success.

Eventually, the clouds swelled and seemed to hover at the tipping point, until all at once they exploded with a torrent of water. The fierce rain blinded me to the city beyond and to the lake in front of me. I let it pelt my skin and soak through my clothes. The power, the sheer magnitude of what was barraging me overtook my senses. Compared to this natural phenomenon, I was tiny, a mere speck in relation to the cosmos. The chaos and pains of my life were overpowered and lost their sharp edges.

The storm lasted only a few minutes. That’s how it is here - fierce, intense power, but