Girl Vengeance

By Leigh M. Hall

Five years ago, Lucille Bowman's mother, Pamela, was ripped out of her life with little warning. Pamela was not a victim, more like she suffered the consequences of her own actions. However, the sentence she got did not fit her actual crimes. Everyone around Lucy got to make decisions regarding her life except for Lucy. At only twelve years old, she didn't have much choice then. Well, things have changed. Little Lucy isn't so little anymore. Freshly graduated from high school, Lucy is now eighteen and capable of making her own life decisions. She has her entire future mapped out, and it doesn't include anything that was forced upon her by her parents. Before Lucy can move on and start her adult journey, she has some unclaimed debts to collect. Someone took something from her, something that can't be replaced. It is time for revenge, and Lucy has a detailed plan on how this will go down. Putting her own life on hold for a year, Lucy leaves her home in Alabama to attend a college she has no desire to graduate from. There is only one reason for her education choice, and it has nothing to do with educating herself and everything to do with educating someone else. Off to Harvard, Lucy goes to seek out and befriend an old classmate. Someone who thought they got off easy for the sins they committed, someone who has no clue what hell is about to be brought down onto them. Is everything going to line up perfectly, or will it all fall apart like it did for her mother? This novella is a follow-up to the full-length novel, Girl Bully.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leigh M. Hall
• Release date: Mar 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9798223189619

Leigh M. Hall

Leigh is a believer in fairytales, the kind that keep some people up at night. She lives in Texas with her family of gremlins and their amazing dogs. Not only does she love the heat, but she is preparing herself just in case there, in fact, will be a hell at the end of all this. Growing up, she spent most of her time in the land of fictional characters and kept her head buried in a book. With ideas continually running around in her strange mind, she decided to dip her toes into writing. Leigh published her first novel, Girl Bully (a best-selling psychological thriller), in 2020. Since then, she has published many more intensely dark and captivating novels. Many of her books can be listened to through Audible and Apple books. Leigh loves staying in touch with her fans. You can follow her through her newsletter and many social media sites. She is very active in the writing community. You can find her at an in-person signing at any point during the year, including the incredible Wild Dead Wood Reads held during Wild Bills days in South Dakota every summer. She also attends Wanderlust in San Antonio, Texas, an event known for attracting a plethora of different readers. Over the last few years, Leigh has been very busy building her career as a writer. She is a Houston Writer’s Guild member and an active in-person member/contributor to the 20 books community. She is also a sponsoring author for The Bookworm Box/Bookbonanza, a Texas-based charity bookstore, and event. As of 2022, Leigh is an associate member of International Thriller Writers (ITW). Visit her website for upcoming release information, https://www.leighmhall.com/

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Girl Vengeance

A NOVELLA

WRITTEN BY:

Leigh M. Hall

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,

and incidents are products of the author's imagination or

are used fictionally and are not to be considered as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons,

living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Girl Vengeance. ©Copyright 2021 by Leigh M. Hall. All rights

reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in

any manner other than the form of a quote without written permission from the author.

Other Titles by Leigh M. Hall

Girl Bully ~ A Psychological Thriller

This Family Sucks! Sincerely Yours, Peter Frazier ~

A Thrilling Suspense

Vladimir's Victory ~ A Frazier Family Short Story

Capability ~ A Dramatic Psychological Thriller

Where The Hell Are We? ~ A Dark Comedic Fantasy

The St. James Saga

Book One: Within These Walls

Book Two: Between The Trees

Book Three: Beneath The Surface

STOP!

If you have not read Girl Bully by Leigh M. Hall, I highly recommend that you go back and read that book first. This novella is a continuation of that story.

Thank you.

Chapter one

Igraduated high school yesterday. My father surprised me with a new pearl-white Range Rover as a gift. Apparently, the Audi R8 that he had given me for my sixteenth birthday wasn't good enough to take to Harvard. That's where I am headed in August. It has always been a dream of mine to study veterinary medicine. I have been volunteering at my local shelter since I was thirteen. Once I turned sixteen, I got a job at Avondale Animal Hospital as a kennel cleaner. My father was not happy with me doing that at all. He has never denied me anything, but he did put up a fight when I said I was going to be cleaning up dog shit for minimum wage on the weekends. I take that back. Mr. Howard Cornelius Bowman has given me almost every material possession my heart has ever desired. He has also allowed me to adopt half a dozen animals, turning our house into my own personal shelter, and he allows me to be myself. He leaves me to explore and doesn't force me to take all of those meaningless lessons my mother always thought was necessary. He did not object when I told him I was gay and introduced him to my first girlfriend, Teresa, junior year. Then there was Lacy last summer and Katrina, who I dated almost all of my senior year. I had to cut her loose so I could keep my options open come Fall. There is going to be a whole new class of pussy at Harvard, and I plan on sampling as much as I possibly can. My father actually confessed to me that he figured I was gay. After I shaved half my head in tenth grade, then dyed the unshaved side to resemble a rainbow, all signs pointed to it. However, there is something he has denied me—my mother.

He cannot keep me from talking to her or writing her. In the beginning, when we first moved back here to my childhood home in Alabama, he tried. Months went by with nothing. He didn't even want to talk about her. I understand now that he was having a hard time; she really flipped his world upside down. He was dragged through the damn mud with what happened back in Chicago. He later apologized for suddenly pulling me out of school and uprooting me with no explanation. He needed to get me out of there for my own safety and I understood that at the time. He was afraid that someone would retaliate against my mother, and since she went after people's kids, then they might do the same. It would have been nice if I at least got the chance to say goodbye to my mother. I didn't even get to see her. I honestly can't even remember the last time I saw her. If I had known that that would be the last time, I would have paid more attention.

I do know that my mother is a beautiful woman. At least she used to be. I have no idea what she looks like now. Spending the last few years not just locked up but also doped up might not be treating her well. Even though our house does not sport any of the pictures we had taken as a family when I was younger, my room still does. I caught my father trying to throw the pictures out. I had to dig through the trash and try to salvage some. I have learned a lot about my mother since she was taken from us—way more than I ever knew about her growing up. I always thought my mother was perfect. She had her shit together, and everyone knew it. People looked up to my mother, and so did I. Sure, she was a bitch, but most good mothers are. If your mother is a fucking sweetheart, then she is probably doing a shit job as a mom.

So today, I have a goal. With my newfound freedom and my new ride, I am going to drive up to Illinois and see Ms. Pamela Bowman for the first time in five and a half years. We have kept in touch; we are closer now than most mothers and daughters ever will be in their lifetime. I found the letters my father had been keeping from me around the same time I had to dig the pictures out of the trash. As smart as he is, he didn't dispose of them very well. Once I read through them all, I wrote one of my own in return. After that, we started corresponding monthly, then that turned into a couple of times a month. Eventually, she earned phone privileges, and we talked at least once a month on the phone for a while. That only lasted a year, then dad changed the number and put his foot down about her calling after he answered once. I guess the sound of her voice was too much for him to deal with. I love my mother. I love everything about her. She is not crazy like they try to say. They are making her crazy. By they, I mean society. She is not meant for this world; she is bigger and better than it. People should bow to her. They have no idea what she came from and what she took from it, and how she came out. Don't look at where she is. Society put her there because society couldn't handle her. Society is the one that should be locked up, not her.

I had no idea about what had happened to my mother as a child, not until I was fifteen. She was the one to tell me; my father didn't even know everything. I tried to talk to him about it initially, but he was dumbfounded, and when I realized how clueless he was, I gave up. She had no family, no money, no role models. Can you believe she thought Hillary Clinton was a role model? Okay, I admit that was before we knew the real her. However, when you think about it, they aren't that much different, but we will move past that. She put herself through fucking law school! I am pretty sure that if my father wasn't a wealthy lawyer, I would not have ended up at Harvard. Yes, I got into Harvard; we will get to that later because Harvard is not even where I want to be.

Chapter Two

H ey, Lu, you up? My father calls from the bottom of the stairs. That's what he calls me now. He doesn't waste time with the extra syllable. I have my bags packed, and I am ready to go, but he doesn't know that just yet.

Yeah, dad. Be down in a sec, I call back. My father is a very busy man. He now runs the family law firm. My great-grandfather died two years ago, and my grandfather got diagnosed with colon cancer last year. He seems to be doing okay. He still works but not as much as he used to. So, my father has picked up all the long, stressful cases. On a typical day, I don't even see him, but he never works on the weekends. This has been a drag on my social life, but he makes an effort, so I feel that I need to as well. On weekends the house staff is scheduled off, and he helps me with my animals when I am working the job of which he disapproves. Then we always cook big meals together; sometimes we go over and eat them with my grandparents.

Typically, on Sunday nights, we will come home after dinner and watch a movie, I'll invite whoever I am seeing over, and we will stay up past our bedtimes just talking about our plans for the week. Well, I am not seeing anyone right now, so it will only be the two of us. I almost feel bad for the news I will be dropping on him tonight, but I clear that out of my head immediately.

My father does not date, and it is not because he is unattractive. Howard Bowman is an attractive man with his graying hair and his goofy attitude. He is a real catch; even I know that, and I don't even like men. He just doesn't date. I asked him about it once, I even tried to hook him up with one of my teachers. She was so excited after meeting him at open house. My father said he just has no desire to be with anyone. He says he really did love my mother, but I think she just might have screwed him up enough that he just can't hang with women anymore. My grandmother used to harass him about it. She would even invite single women from the country club to family events hoping they would hit it off. I think she just wanted more grandchildren, to be honest.

My aunt Francesca and her partner Janet adopted a three-year-old little boy from Nigeria last year, right before my grandfather got sick. His name is Winston, and he is the funniest damn kid on the planet. My grandmother acts funny around him. She never spends much time with Winston. She blames it on my grandfather and his cancer, but I know it's because he's not the cute little white kid she was hoping for, one that had her blood running through him. I try not to hold it against her; it's just how she was raised, and she can't help it. At least she isn't an outright racist. She does try to come up with viable excuses, which is more than I can say for some of the people in her circle. They give me the same look sometimes, because of my appearance. I just hope it doesn't affect Winston's fantastic character.

Hey Dad, I'm ready, I say as I shoot down the stairs to meet my father.

Well, don't you look all grown up, he replies.

"Dad, I look the same as I did yesterday.

No, yesterday you were in high school. Today is the first day of your adult life. Don't you feel different? He asks.

Not really, I roll my eyes and walk past him. We are going to church this morning, so I have dressed appropriately. I am wearing a flowery summer dress that covers the shoulder tattoo that my father still does not know about. I went out after my eighteenth birthday a couple of weeks ago and got it. It's of a half-decomposed skull with maggots crawling all around it. It is meant to represent my long gone and dead youth, but he would never understand.

You want to drive? My father asks.

You already know it, plus I am going to need you to get out and pump the gas. As long as you can touch the nozzle, I won't need to.

Glad to be of assistance to a damsel in distress, my father laughs to himself. He thinks it's cute that I am a lesbian but still not so much a feminist. I like it when guys do guy stuff for me. I don't think that's a crime against lesbianism, but then again, I haven't gotten my handbook yet.

After church, we have the usual lunch with