Scorched
#1 NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Copyright © 2015 by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Sale of the paperback edition of this book without its cover is unauthorized.
Spencer Hill Contemporary, an imprint of Spencer Hill Press
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
Contact: Spencer Hill Press
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Please visit our website at www.spencerhillcontemporary.com
First Edition: June 2015.
Armentrout, Jennifer L. 1980
Scorched: a novel / by Jennifer L. Armentrout – 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary:
A college student’s blossoming relationship with an amazing guy is threatened by her personal demons.
The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this fiction: AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), Dinobot, Dr. Phil, Durango, Facebook, Folgers, Grindr, Holy Cross Hospital, Imodium, Intervention, iPhone, Lexus, Louis Vuitton, Lowe’s, Mack truck, Mercedes-Benz, Miller Lite, My Little Pony, One Direction, Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Redd’s Apple Ale, Sallie Mae, Snapchat, Sonata, Target, Thermos, Tinder, Titanic, Toaster Strudel, Tom Hardy, Transformers, Tumblr, Tums, US Weekly, The Walking Dead
Cover design by Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations
ISBN 978-1-63392-016-3 (e-book)
ISBN 978-1-63392-015-6 (paperback)
Printed in the United States of America
Also by Jennifer L. Armentrout (J. Lynn)
The Covenant Series
(Spencer Hill Press)
Daimon (novella)
Half-Blood
Pure
Deity
Elixir (novella)
Apollyon
Sentinel
The Titan Series
(Spencer Hill Press)
The Return
The Power (2016)
The Lux Series
(Entangled Teen)
Shadows (novella)
Obsidian
Onyx
Opal
Obsession (Entangled Covet)
Origin
Opposition
The Nephilim Rising Series
(Entangled Edge)
Unchained
The Dark Elements Series
(Harlequin Teen)
Bitter Sweet Love
White Hot Kiss
Stone Cold Touch
Every Last Breath
The Gamble Brothers Series (Entangled Brazen)
Tempting the Best Man
Tempting the Player
Tempting the Bodyguard
The Wait For You Saga
(HarperCollins)
Wait for You
Trust In Me
Be With Me
Stay With Me
Fall With Me
Dream Of You (novella)
Standalone Titles
Cursed
(Spencer Hill Press)
Don’t Look Back
(Disney-Hyperion)
Frigid
(Spencer Hill Contemporary)
This book is for you, the reader,
for making this story possible,
and for anyone who has pulled themselves
free of life’s darkest moments.
Chapter 1
Andrea
This had to be the absolutely stupidest thing I’d ever seriously considered agreeing to take part in. That was admitting to something pretty epic, because I’d done a lot of stupid in my twenty-two years strutting around on planet Earth. And I mean, a lot of stupid.
At the ripe age of six, I’d shoved a fork in my pappy’s toaster when my Toaster Strudel got stuck—though I’m pretty sure even back then I knew that wasn’t a clever thing to do. That ended in a trip to the emergency room and a near heart attack for the dear old man, who, after that, refused to babysit me again. Then, when I was ten, I allowed my older brother—older by barely a year—Broderick to convince me that jumping from the porch roof into the pool down below was a totally cool idea and not dangerous at all. That also ended with a trip to the ER, a broken leg, and a summer-long grounding for Brody.
Not all my stupid actions resulted in hospital visits, but that didn’t make them any less dumb. When I was fourteen, I was positive that I could take my parents’ car around the block without them ever finding out. Unfortunately, in the excitement of doing something naughty, I’d forgotten to lift the garage door and ended up driving through it.
In their shiny, new Benz.
Then I’d dated Jonah Banks, all-star quarterback in high school, and while that didn’t necessarily sound like a bad thing, he’d been under the impression—and probably still was—that the sun revolved around the Earth. And because everyone else was doing it, I’d given him my v-card, and had immediately wished I could grow that damn hymen back, because the awkward fumbling in the back of his truck and all that sweating so hadn’t been worth the pain and weirdness.
I was also beginning to think changing my major at the start of the new year from pre-med to education hadn’t been a smart choice, because cheese and rice, I was going to be in school forever and when I graduated, I’d be so far in debt that Sallie Mae would be the godmother of any children I had. Not to mention, my parents were still reeling from my latest string of decisions that they didn’t necessarily approve of. Both were doctors, successful ones, and Brody was already in med school, continuing the family tradition like the good child that he was.