“See you around, Grande. You be careful out there.”
She salutes him as he gets into the driver’s seat, turns the engine over, and waves as they take off.
THE END
Dear Reader,
Thank you for purchasing Sorry Can’t Save You. This book is fiction, and many of the places are fictional as well. The Air Force bases both in Florida and Afghanistan don’t exist. Neither does Dundee Beach. It bears some resemblance to my hometown, Cocoa Beach, but since the topic in this book is so controversial, I wanted to keep it in the world of fiction.
What isn’t fiction is actually the theme. I got the idea for this book when I came across several stories of women being raped in the Air Force and parents who doubted the explanation of what happened to them that they got from the military. There are quite a lot actually, and the numbers in my book are taken from the real world. One in three women who enlists is actually sexually assaulted or raped by men in the military. There are numerous stories of women coming home in caskets and their death being under suspicious circumstances. You can read more about them by following these links. The first one is the inspiration for Clarice’s story.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2008/04/28/there-army-cover-rape-and-murder-women-soldiers
The rate of suicides in the military isn’t fictional, either. Since 2008, more than 60,000 U.S. veterans have taken their own lives. In ten years, more died by committing suicide than during the entire Vietnam War.
https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/data.asp
https://allthatsinteresting.com/veteran-suicide
Finally, I want to thank the women living on base who helped me bring this book to life, providing me with details into the life on base that I have no way of knowing. You know who you are.
Thanks again for reading, and don’t forget to leave a review if you can. It means so much to me.
Take care,
Willow Rose
DON’T LIE TO ME
Excerpt
For a special sneak peak of Willow Rose's Bestselling Mystery Novel DON’T LIE TO ME turn to the next page.
Prologue
Camp Seminole Springs, Florida
Prologue
"Mom. I don't want to stay at the camp for two weeks. I want to go home."
Sophie Williams choked back a sob as a tear left her right eye and rolled down her cheek. She had promised herself she wouldn't cry. She had promised herself she would complete this. But hearing her mother's voice on the phone had made her lose it. She couldn't hold it back anymore.
"I know, sweetie," her mother said. "I miss you too, baby. But it’s only for two weeks. You'll be fine."
It was the first time Sophie had been away from her mother for this long. She was the one who had wanted to go when their scout leader had told them about the camp. Sophie had immediately known that she wanted to do this. But the other girls had been so mean on the bus ride there, and she had ended up sitting all alone without anyone to talk to. Now she felt lonely and, even though they weren't allowed to call home, she had snuck outside while they were eating dinner and walked back to her tent and found her phone in her backpack. She wanted to hear her mother's voice, just for a few seconds. But once she did, the tears piled up, and she felt so homesick it almost hurt.
"You'll be fine," her mother repeated. "It'll be over before you know it, and then you'll want to go again next year. I went through the same thing when I was your age."
"I'd much rather be at home and go surfing all summer," Sophie said.
"I know, baby, but you need to do other stuff too. You need to socialize with other children. Besides, you were the one who told me you wanted this, remember? You wanted to go to this camp with your new friends."
"But they're not my friends anymore," Sophie sighed.
"Really?" her mother said sounding tired. "That was fast."
Sophie knew her mother was disappointed. Sophie had never been good at making friends. That was why her mother suggested she join Girl Scouts. Sophie was homeschooled so she could focus on her competitive surfing on a daily basis and attend contests all over the country on the weekends. It was practically all she did in her life, and she loved it, but you didn't make any friends at surf contests. She would chat with other kids while waiting for her heat to start, yes, but in the end, they were competitors, and there was no room for friends. It was a lonely world for a twelve-year-old, especially since she was so young, yet better than most who were much older. Being a Girl Scout would be good for her, her mother had said. Plus, it would teach Sophie skills that would be beneficial later in life.
And Sophie had made friends. Marley and Grace had been her friends right from the beginning. But not anymore. Now they had turned their backs on her, for no apparent reason, and she was—once again—all alone.
"This is good for you," her mother said, and Sophie could tell she wanted to end the call. "Besides, it's only the first day. Sleep on it and then see if you don't feel different tomorrow when all the fun starts, okay?"
Sophie sighed. "Okay."
They hung up with an I love you, and Sophie put the phone back in her backpack. She glanced at her sleeping bag, then killed a mosquito that was sucking blood from her arm. Her legs were already covered in bug bites.
Prologue
Sophie returned to the main building and found the others in the common area. Marley and Grace stuck their heads together as she walked past them and whispered, not even bothering to keep it so low that she couldn't hear every word they said.
"Where do you think she’s been?"
"Probably out signing with a new sponsor."
"You think her underwear is sponsored?"
"Of course, it is. She can't even eat anything unless it's sponsored by the right company. When she poops, it comes out wearing that sponsor's name."
They laughed. Sophie gave them a look, then went to sit with someone else. She tried smiling at a girl named Britney, thinking maybe she could be her friend, but Britney rolled her eyes at her and turned her head away. Sophie exhaled and looked down at the floor while one of their leaders, Miss Michaela, explained what they were going to do for the next couple of days. The camp was right next to a spring and tomorrow they were supposed to go canoeing. Sophie had been looking forward to that part, but there had to be two girls in each canoe, and she knew none of them would choose her.