The
Heartbeat Hypothesis
by
Lindsey Frydman
Genre:
Contemporary Romance
Audra
Madison simply wanted to walk in the shoes of Emily Cavanaugh, a
free-spirited teenager who died too young. After all, Audra wasn’t
supposed to be here.
Thanks
to Emily, Audra has a second chance at life. She’s doing all the
things that seemed impossible just two years ago: Go to college.
Date. Stargaze in the Rocky Mountains. Maybe get a tattoo. You know,
live.
Jake
Cavanaugh, a photographer with mysterious, brooding gray eyes, agrees
to help chronicle her newfound experiences. She makes him laugh, one
of the only people who can these days. As they delve into each
other’s pasts – and secrets – the closer they become.
But
she’s guarded and feels like she can’t trust anyone, including
herself.
And
he’s struggling with the fact that his beloved sister’s heart
beats inside her.
“Audra…I’m
really sorry.”
My
mind was stuck on the way my name sounded coming from him in that low, rough
voice. I wrapped my arms together, running my hands down them to chase away the
line of goosebumps. “It’s fine. I understand.”
His
jaw twitched. Fingers flexed and unflexed. “I’ve still got more pictures to
take,” he said, taking a step back. “If you still want a piano lesson, I’ll be
in the rec center at seven on Monday, okay? Meet me there.”
I
nodded, offering him the best smile I could manage. But as he turned to go, I
whispered, “I’m the one who’s sorry.”
He
flashed me a questioning look. “Sorry for what?”
I
lowered my arms and pressed my palms together. “About Emily.” I’m sorry she’s
dead and I’m not, and that you want her to be standing here and not me.
I’m
sorry if this isn’t what she would’ve wanted—me living the life she couldn’t
have.
I’d
never seen anyone stand so still and straight-faced for so long. The only
movement was his chest rising and falling with increasing pace.
When
he spoke, agony laced every word. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry
about.”
My
whole body trembled, a thousand tiny needles pricked at my skin, and I couldn’t
keep my voice from wavering. “I think…I feel like—”
“No.”
He shook his head, inching toward me again. “I don’t want your pity. I don’t
want you apologizing.”
Peering
across the street at a cluster of trees, I swallowed. The coils in my chest
tightened like a winding rubber band until I thought I might snap in two.
Jake
said my name again, lower this time, and when I looked at him, he was only
inches away. “I have a lot of shit going on. None of it has anything to do with
you.” Two fingers brushed the edge of my cheek, and he gave me a half-hearted
smile. “You just don’t know me that well.”
My
skin burned beneath his light caress. “That’s the whole point,” I whispered,
still shaking. “I don’t know anything about you. But I want to.”
“I’m
not an easy guy to understand.” His fingers drifted down my neck, and he took
another deep inhale before he pulled his hand away.
I’m
beginning to see that. I ran my own hand over the spot where he’d touched me,
then rubbed the back of my neck. “Most people aren’t.”
“I
know.” His eyes grew unfocused as he lifted the camera up. “I’ve got to get
back to work. See you Monday?”
I
nodded and he stepped past me, heading for the back of the house, his shoes
crunching over the dry grass.
Flattening
my palms against my sides, I looked at the porch steps, wishing I didn’t have
to go back inside, through the crush of people. Wishing Jake wasn’t leaving
me.
“Hey,”
he called from yards away, his figure merely a shadow beneath the trees. “I
want to know you too.”
Lindsey
has been writing since she was nine years old, when she discovered
the awesomeness that is Harriet the Spy. Her books always include a
romance, though sometimes there’s an added sci-fi or magical
realism twist. She lives in Columbus, Ohio (where the weather is
never quite right). Her BFA in Photography and Graphic Design has
granted her a wide assortment of creative knowledge that serves as
inspiration (and not much else). When she’s not crafting YA and NA
stories, you'll likely find her spending waaay too much time on
Pinterest, playing a video game, singing show-tunes, or performing in
a burlesque show—because she enjoys giving her introversion a
worthy adversary. (Plus, it's the closest to Broadway she’ll ever
get.) Lindsey was a proud 2016 Pitch Wars Mentee and thoroughly
adores being a part of the wonderful writing community. THE HEARTBEAT
HYPOTHESIS is her debut novel.
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