I barely recognized the girl staring back at me. The girl on the screen looked sick with her sunken-in cheeks and limp hair hanging around her face in clumps. It was her eyes though that looked most shocking. They were lifeless and dead. Those were not my eyes. My eyes were bright and shiny and happy.
They were Leah’s eyes, not mine.
“Of course they’re my eyes,” Leah said from the chair by my window.
“Leah?” I gasped, knowing it couldn’t really be her.
“Hey, Mia,” she replied, tucking a limp cluster of hair behind her ear.
I closed my eyes. “She’s not real, she’s not real,” I muttered, rubbing my eyes hard. I opened them again, relieved to find the chair empty. It was just my imagination. I scooted up on my bed and lay back against my pillows, ignoring the churning in my stomach. Part of it was sadness, which made no sense. Leah was a part of me that no longer existed, I shouldn’t be grieving her.
Sick of hearing the voices drone on from my television, I switched it off, along with my bedroom lamp. Darkness filled my room and the grief inside me slowly began to unravel. Even in the darkness though, I knew she was still there. I could feel her before the edge of my bed dipped down, her shallow breaths tickling my ear from the pillow next to me. A warm blanket of relief covered my body. She would always be there for me when I needed her the most. Why wouldn’t she be? Leah was the strong one after all. Maybe one day I would be able to let the bad memories of Judy go, but for now this was enough.
I smiled as her hand moved toward mine, linking our fingers together. “I missed you, Mia,” she whispered.
“I missed you too, Leah.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing is said to be solitary. Authors floating on islands amongst themselves with only the voices in their heads to keep them company. In many aspects this is true. With a book like Losing Leah that island quickly grew to include many other people.
Losing Leah formed as a complete story in what I jokingly call my mind’s eye. The story was there and all I had to do was get my fingers to keep up with the words as they poured out of me. These were my moments of solitude. For these brief moments Leah and Mia belonged to me and me alone. The moment they appeared on the pages though, they began to belong to so many others. Neither character would be who they are without the voices of encouragement and insights of others.
The following people deserve an abundance of accolades and all my thanks:
Kevan Lyon. You are the superhero of all agents. Without you Losing Leah would not be in the hands of readers. Your insight helped evolve Leah and Mia into the girls they are. “Thank you” seems inadequate for always believing in me. You truly make me feel like a writer.
Jennifer L. Armentrout, Melissa Brown, Jamie Hall, and Hollie Westring. I will never be able to express my gratitude to all of you. You dared to read the roughest copy of Losing Leah. I owe you a debt of thanks for seeing beneath the rough edges and loving Mia and Leah despite their flaws. You loved Leah and Mia when they were still being discovered.
Anna Roberto. I could thank you a million times and it still wouldn’t be enough. I am grateful beyond words that you saw the story I was trying to tell beneath its murky surface. Your wisdom and words helped shape Losing Leah into the book it now is. Thank you for loving Mia and Leah as much as I do.
Katie McGarry. You will never know what your thoughts on Losing Leah meant to me. You made me feel like I belong in this crazy world of publishing.
Ashlynn King. There simply wouldn’t be books by Tiffany King without you. You inspired me to write my very first book and every single book that followed it. You made me the writer I am today. You are the dream of all daughters and I am thankful every day that you belong to me.
Ryan King, my boy. You give me life. You are the laughter that bubbles up through me and the inquisitive voice that sticks with me always. You are a bright light when the world would otherwise be dark.
Finally to my husband, Karl. Without you there would be no Losing Leah. You’re not only my very first reader, but you are also the volume to my voice. You are my confidence and strength. Your voice of encouragement, love, and support has allowed me to be the person and writer that I am. Life is uncertain and scary, bumpy and twisty, but as long as you are by my side I will never feel alone.
Thank you for reading this FEIWEL AND FRIENDS book.
The Friends who made
LOSING LEAH
possible are:
JEAN FEIWEL PUBLISHER
LIZ SZABLA ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
RICH DEAS SENIOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR
HOLLY WEST EDITOR
ALEXEI ESIKOFF SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR
RAYMOND ERNESTO COLÓN SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER
ANNA ROBERTO EDITOR
CHRISTINE BARCELLONA ASSOCIATE EDITOR
KAT BRZOZOWSKI EDITOR
ANNA POON ASSISTANT EDITOR
EMILY SETTLE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
ILANA WORRELL PRODUCTION EDITOR
Follow us on Facebook or visit us online at mackids.com
OUR BOOKS ARE FRIENDS FOR LIFE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tiffany King is the USA Today–bestselling author of more than fifteen young-adult and new-adult novels. Publishers Weekly called her most recent new adult contemporary romance release, A Shattered Moment, “heartfelt … an admirably authentic portrait of PTSD.” @TiffanyKingYA. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Part One
Chapter 1: Mia
Chapter 2: Leah
Chapter 4: Leah
Chapter 5: Mia
Chapter 6: Leah
Chapter 7: Mia
Chapter 8: Leah
Chapter 9: Mia
Chapter 10: Leah
Chapter 11: Mia
Chapter 12: Leah
Chapter 13: Mia
Chapter 14: Leah
Chapter 15: Mia
Chapter 16: Leah
Chapter 17: Mia
Part Two
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Part Three
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 by Tiffany King
A Feiwel and Friends Book
An imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
fiercereads.com
All rights reserved.
Feiwel and Friends logo designed by Filomena Tuosto
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by e-mail at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First hardcover edition 2018
eBook edition March 2018
eISBN 9781250124678
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