The Fall of (Grayson) Rome
by
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The arena blurred around me as I felt a last surge of adrenaline. The steady thump of my footsteps echoed in my ears and I felt a bead of sweat roll down my forehead. It was the way I always released my energy, and that's exactly what was happening now. I was elated, my soul at its peak, I was running and I was free. The only thing stopping me from victory now was the girl on my heels as I went about the final turn of my final lap. Pushing myself harder, and faster, my muscles screamed in protest as I pushed off the track. I lost control as I crossed the finish line and stumbled into the arms of Ben, my coach, who roared in delight. My heart pounded in my ears and I gasped in a short breath, my lungs eagerly taking in the air. Ben stood me upright and my teammates ran over, crowding around me, yelling boisterously. Hands clapped me on the back, hugging me, as I nodded, smiling and thanking, and someone handed me a Gatorade. I took a long slug of it and shot a grateful grin at Ben. "You've got an hour until time to warm up for the 4x4, go rest up." As I was pulling off my spikes and began changing into my Asics, one of my surplus of brothers, Gavin, was pushing his way through the crowd towards me. After reaching me, he picked me up in one of his bone-crushing hugs. I groaned as he cracked my back and he set me down and blurted in excitement, "Holy shit, Grayson, that was one of your best races I've seen. How are you feeling, you're not going to have another, well, uh, you know what I mean, right?" I scoffed, "Gav, you've been to two of my races. That wasn't my best. And I'm fine, don't worry about it." He shook his head and ruffled my blond hair, putting the small strings over my face. I blew it out of my sight and glanced around the throngs of people. We were standing under a tent by the track, and runners were milling around, icing and eating and sleeping. Gavin took hold of my wrist, pulling me out of my daze and into the crowd, and he yelled back, "Mom and Dad and everyone are back in the stands." I yanked him to a stop and he snapped back into me. Stumbling a bit, I quickly recovered my footing and said, "What? Mom and Dad are here? I thought they were still in- well actually, I don't know where the hell they were, where were they?" Gavin shook his head. "Egypt, maybe, this time I think, problem with the diplomat over there or something? Anyways, as I was saying, everyone is here. Like Alex is back from Stanford for the summer, which I think is kind of stupid, because Mom and Dad aren't going to be here most of the time, meanwhile we'll be stuck here for summer courses. But Mom and Dad brought Lily up from the lower school and of course, everyone else is here." I blinked. All eight of us plus Mom and Dad in one place? And my track meet no less? "Yeah, it was stupid to bring Alex back, is he just going to go with Mom and Dad on their trips?" Gavin shrugged. He jerked his head towards the stands. "Let's go."
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About the Book
Grayson Rome is just your average girl, even though she has seven siblings, is the daughter of a diplomat, and has lived in almost more countries than there are in the European Union. It’s not exactly an easy life, and it doesn’t get any easier when she meets Nate. But when Nate’s long-lost mom is found to have survived a plane crash, conspiracies rise and trouble brews for the families, and Grayson soon finds herself thrown out of her comfort zone. Grayson Rome is just your average FBI agent, even though she is one of the youngest supervisory special agents in charge of a special operations team that protects the targets of a kill list, is in the ranks for another big-time promotion, placing her in charge of the entire unit, and is completely ostracized by her peers because of her success. It’s not exactly an easy life, and it doesn’t get any easier when she gets put on a new case. But when an old face from her past resurfaces, conspiracies rise and trouble brews for everyone involved, and Grayson soon finds herself thrown into the deep end without swimming lessons.
About the Author
Erin Paul is an incoming freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. She grew up in Williamsburg, Virginia. She was raised, along with her two loving sisters, by two supportive and hardworking parents. Growing up, Erin gravitated toward fast-paced and risky sports. During high school, she also discovered her love for sports medicine. It is no surprise therefore, that while writing, she loves a fast-paced and exciting story. As long as it’s exciting, Paul loves it. When asked what the most difficult part of writing is for her, Erin replied that she loathes the process of editing. Although Paul plans to study English and enter the world of publishing, it is safe to say she will continue writing, and this is not the last time we will be reading her name on the cover of a novel.