Halcyon by C.L. Donley - Book Tour + Giveaway
Halcyon
by C.L. Donley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
The Halcyon program has only grown in respect and mystique over their now fifteen years of matchmaking. When I went through it six years ago, they were still boasting 100% success of all the participants. Single, usually hopeless, candidates leave the program as part of a couple. The foolproof methods Halcyon uses to guarantee a soulmate comes from a blend of technology, biology, psychology, and, of course, sex. Naturally, with its high price tag, extensive, invasive testing, and painstaking process, only serious participants make it through, and everyone found success. Until us.
Cliff
I’m awake. In a strange room I don’t
recognize. I’m waiting for something to attack me. Something black and oozing
from the wall. I hold my breath. Someone walks past the window and my heart
leaps from my chest. But nothing happens. I want to say that it’s normal, but
normal feels like it was only a dream. It feels inconsequential. And the dreams
are what I’ve considered real for what seems like an eternity. Unbearably
frightening. But colorful. With only the illusion of separateness.
Another person walks by without incident.
A landline phone rings. I want to feel relief but I’m afraid to hope. Maybe I
only see them but they don’t see me.
I need to test it out but I’m terrified. Don’t say anything don’t say anything don’t
say anything…
“Hello?”
At first, nothing happens. Then, a
quiet-looking woman in scrubs.
Is this a hospital?
“Sir, do you know where you are?”
“No.”
“Do you know your name?”
“Cliff.”
“Your whole name, Cliff.”
“Cliff Novak.”
“Your parent’s names?”
“Nadia and Cliff Sr. Am I in the
hospital?”
“Yes. What year is it?”
“…I don’t know.”
“Try to guess.”
“2014?”
“Good.”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“…There was an accident. You’ve been in a
coma awhile. In and out of consciousness for a few days. What’s the last thing
you remember?”
“I was… in a hell.”
“You were in hell?”
“In one of them, yes.”
“Okay,” she patiently replies, “Do you
remember having an accident?”
“What kind of accident.”
“A… bus accident.”
I search my memory. The last woman I was
with. She kicked me out. A conversation with a cop. On the side of the highway.
Shit, that must’ve not been a dream.
“Is everyone okay?” I ask.
“Sorry, is who okay?”
“Was anyone else hurt?”
“…No, everyone else is fine.”
“What about the cop?”
“Which cop?”
“There was a cop. That talked to me.”
“Officer Rainier? He’s been visiting
since you were airlifted here.”
I gulp. Damn, I should remember an
accident bad enough to warrant a helicopter flight to the hospital.
“Am I… is anything broken?”
“Mr. Novak, just about everything is
broken. Or was. Your surgeries went well, but it will take time to
rehabilitate.”
“I want to see.”
The nurse takes a diplomatic breath and
musters her most authoritative tone.
“There’s no way I’m having this
conversation again. Get some rest now, Mr. Novak. We’ll brief you fully
tomorrow.”
I get the sense that I should do what she
says, which is easy because I’m exhausted. I’m afraid because I might wake up
again to a fresh place. My sleep is dreamless, or maybe I am still awake, but
the conversation outside my door bleeds into my consciousness and forces images
to emerge, images that are probably a re-creation of the room that I’m in. A
long window with a set of blinds. Twinkling moonlight that’s too bright to be
from the moon. My bed on a hilltop.
“Any change?” I hear a male voice.
“Well, he didn’t try to yank out his
catheter with his one good arm today. Also, he knows what year it is. And
mentioned the cop.”
“Should be any day now, then. Did you get
a hold of the parents?”
“I did. They were pretty shocked, said
that they haven’t heard from him in over a year.”
“Are they coming here?”
“They were in Granada last I heard. Had
to cut their vacation short.”
“Long as the check clears.”
“Also, he’s having nightmares.
Clonidine?”
“Ask me again tomorrow.”
Maybe it’s the next day. Days feel more
like scenes. It’s been a few scenes since the nurse told me to lie down.
Another nurse came and told me there was an accident. I asked if everyone was
okay and she said: “You’ll see.” Then my parents were here. They talk about me
like I’m not here, like they usually do. They’re talking about a thing called
Halcyon, which my brain knows. I was on my way there. It was something good and
something bad. Sex and boot camp. Disneyland and college.
My parents are gone and another person
enters the scene. I don’t recognize him, but he’s a cop. And a cop is one of
the last things I remember. He must be that cop.
“How ya feel, Hank?” he says. He calls me
Hank, which isn’t my name, I know that for sure. Nice guy. Interested in me for
some reason, like we did something together. We didn’t just meet and become
friends, I know that. He’s not like anyone who I would ever befriend or vice
versa. A nurse comes and takes me and bathes me since I can’t do anything. I
hope I can get out of here soon but I’m not sure why yet.
“We recommend moving your son back to
Napierville where his rehabilitation will be much more cost-effective for both
of you. I’ve contacted Dr. Krueger out of Lawrence Medical. A colleague of
mine. He’ll be expecting you.”
My parents are back again in their
recurring roles. I woke up yesterday knowing where I was, and why I was there.
And the cop. But not much else. Meanwhile, a nurse has my right leg in her
arms.
“How long until he regains his memory,
Doctor?”
“His long term memory appears to be intact
and his short term memory shows signs of recovery. He’s missing what happened
the night of the accident. The officer maintains that it was a suicide
attempt.”
“Impossible. My son would never do
anything like that.”
“Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I say this
would happen if you cut him off?” my mother scolds dramatically.
“Cliff still doesn’t have a memory of
that night and honestly it would be a lot to expect of him.”
“He didn’t come home after leaving
Halcyon. We couldn’t even get his discharge information from them. They
wouldn’t give us anything. Now, he doesn’t even remember ever being there?”
Shit, that wasn’t a dream either. I was
there? I feel anxious when I think about it, like it’s about to happen. I’m
about to be taken there and left alone.
“My suspicion is that whatever happened
there is related to his accident.”
“My son did not try to kill himself,” my
dad says, like he’s in a movie. I don’t remember if I did or not, but I
probably did, based on the context of my charmed life, that which I do
remember. And the strength of my father’s telltale denial. I do remember my
fiancee… dropping out of college… that I remember quite well. That was real. I
was hurt, but I was getting over it. I wouldn’t have tried to kill myself over
her. Not all at once. It didn’t do anything but solidify my bad opinion of
women. How do I remember that and not Halcyon?
“Be that as it may, if the two incidents
are linked, it may contribute to his inability to retrieve that information.”
“Who’s going to put my son back
together?”
“We’ll do our best. We can nurse his body
back to health. But ultimately the rest is up to him.”
C.L. Donley is a future New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of multicultural and interracial romance, who believes romance novels that are impossible to put down are the only kind that should exist! Armed with a B.A. in English and M.A. in Writing, she is new to the romance game, having written her first novel, Amara's Calling, after discovering the romance genre in September 2017. Donley writes in a style she calls "romantic realism" that is sophisticated yet simple, grounded yet unaplogetically escapist, and character-driven rather than plot-driven. This style creates a unique, modern reading experience ideal for book club discussions, personal epiphanies, satisfying re-reads, and the occasional spiraling reviewer! Love it or hate it, fans and critics alike can't deny her talent, and always find themselves coming back for more!
She loves hearing from readers and discussing her favorite parts of her own books, so feel free to indulge her.
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1 Comments
Sounds like an interesting book, thanks for sharing!
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