Behind the Bars, the first beautiful and emotional standalone in the all-new Music Street Series from Brittainy C. Cherry is LIVE!
Behind the Bars
Brittainy Cherry
Contemporary Romance
December 7th, 2017
When I first met Jasmine Greene, she came in as raindrops.
I was the awkward musician, and she was the high school queen.
The only things we had in common were our music and our loneliness.
Something in her eyes told me her smile wasn’t always the truth.
Something in her voice gave me a hope I always wished to find.
And in a flash, she was gone.
Years later, she was standing in front of me on a street in New Orleans.
She was different, but so was I. Life made us colder. Harder. Isolated.
Caged.
Even though we were different, the broken pieces of me recognized the sadness in her.
Now she was back, and I wouldn’t make the mistake of letting her go again.
When I first met Jasmine Greene, she came in as raindrops.
When we met again, she was the darkest storm.
Brittainy Cherry loves giving us all the feels in her “rom-coms” and I have no doubt she’ll do it again, if the dedication is any sign. I was only 2% in and I already felt it.
Feelings.
They were coming for me.
“That’s when I saw the boy who played the music. I’d always say I saw him first, but he’d argue that was a lie. Technically I didn’t see him at first–I felt him, felt his music crawl along my skin. The chords and bars of his saxophone sent chills down my spine. It sounded magical, the way the notes dance through the air, so hauntingly beautiful. He played as if he were bleeding out into the streets of New Orleans. He left nothing on the table and gave his music his all. In that moment, I realized I never gave anything my all–not like him, not like that.”
I’ve often said, usually with the help of my friend, that Brittainy is the destroyer of my soul. She crushes me, in the best and worst ways and then picks up all the pieces and puts my soul back together, only for me to pick up her next book and have it happen all over again. As is, I was only on chapter two and had started tearing up. I knew, it would get so much worse.
One thing I’ve always hated about those relationships where a kid is from a previous relationship is the way that the biological parent has the power to throw it in the others face, that the child isn’t theirs. That should never, ever be a thing. It takes a lot for a person to step into the role as parent, if the bio mom or dad left, or worse, died, they have big shoes to fill, but they choose to be in this kids life. That being said, Heather’s continuous use of throwing it in Rays face irks me. Ray is more than a parent than even Heather is, he listens to what Jasmine wants and loves her, unconditionally.
Immediately starting the first chapter for Elliot, my heart ached. Bullies are stupid, though I’m sure I’ve bullied people before, but never ever like Todd or anyone else who bullies poor Elliot. But I love Jasmine, even more for talking to him as she’s supposed to be a popular girl, a mean girl, as his sister would say. Not all popular girls are mean, we know that Katie is just trying to protect her brother but we also know Jasmine means no harm. I want to grab one of the softest blankets I can find and wrap Elliot up in it, holding him as tight as I can until he knows it’s safe. High school can be a cruel, cruel place and for someone like Elliot with a stuttering problem, it’s only going to be worse. After hearing what happened last year, I wanted to vomit. No one should ever have to go through these things, But Jasmine being nice to him makes me so happy, he needs a friend. I think they both need it.
“And then he whispered ‘You’ll be okay.’
How had he known?
How had he known my biggest fear was that I wouldn’t be okay?”
And at that moment, I started crying, with Sam Smith blaring in the background because I’m obsessed with his music. Brittainy Cherry has a way with words, she has this way with crushing you, but making it seem like you asked for it and I guess in a way we do because we choose to read this piece of her soul, she chose to share her soul with us in hopes we’d read it and we chose to, so we ask for the pain that comes with her twisted version of rom-coms.
It was the end of chapter six that really got me crying, I’m talking stuffy nose and red face. I’ve been bullied a little, back when I was in high school, for stupid things, like my height. I’ve felt a lone a lot, but I’ve never ever felt the way Eliot does, Jasmine makes it better, but she wasn’t around for this one. She’s never around anymore when he’s bullied. That’s how bullies are smart and a comment of Todd’s makes me wonder if it’s true, and then finding out that it was…makes my heart ache so much more.
I threatened Brittainy, told her that before I could read another one of her books I’d need her to send tissues to my house. It always seems that when I start a Brittainy Cherry book, I may have enough tissues to last and every single time I’m wrong. So now, per my request, she has to mail me tissues when a new book is due to come out.
I think you’ll like to see some of the non spoiling messages I sent Brittainy while reading this soul crushing book.
“My fucking heart, you’re destroying it already and I’m not even 10% in! I don’t like you…I mean, I love you, but I don’t like you.”
‘You’re the worst and best thing for my soul.”
“Your words are just so magical.”
There are a few messages sent after that are a pretty huge spoiler, but she asked me
“Do you hate meeeee?”
“Yes.”
“And I can’t stop crying now.”
“And I haven’t turned the page yet.”
I might be a little dramatic with the way I send messages, but I can’t apologize for that.
After that my friend and I started plotting some deaths, rightfully so. Once I made it to part two things got a little bit better. I cried a little bit more, but no where near as hard as I did in part one.
YOU. NEED. TO. READ. THIS.
What are you doing if not dying over a Brittainy Cherry book?
Brittainy Cherry has been in love with words since the day she took her first breath. She graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelors Degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing. She loves to take part in writing screenplays, acting, and dancing–poorly of course. Coffee, chai tea, and wine are three things that she thinks every person should partake in! Brittainy lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her family. When she’s not running a million errands and crafting stories, she’s probably playing with her adorable pets.
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