Juliann Vatalaro

Runaway Haven Juliann Vatalaro

Dreams... Everyone has them. Some are pleasant. Some are nightmares. Some are romantic, and some are dreams of what you want to accomplish with your life. Have you ever had a dream you knew was impossible to reach? Have you ever had someone or something stop you from trying anyway? Jamie Bracco knew two things from a very young age. The first was that it would be impossible to accomplish her dream. The second was that her father loved her. Jamie had a dream. She also knew she would never be able to accomplish it. Some rules could never be broken. Still, she worked toward accomplishing her dream. Even when the odds were stacked against her. At eight years old, her world was destroyed when her father died. At eleven, her mother remarried. At thirteen, she was a runaway living on the streets. The first year on the streets was tough. Then she realized she had been given a gift. She could sense things. Not all the time but when it counted, she knew what to do. Things got easier after the first couple of years. She met a few others who also lived on the street. Together, they used her gift to make money, buy a brownstone house, and convert it to apartments. They took in other runaways that had dreams that needed to be accomplished. Together, they became a family. By the time she was sixteen, things were going great. At seventeen, Jamie's life was turned upside down again. Her best friend was killed and she was the only suspect the police had. She was on the run again. She ran to the one place she knew she would be safe. She needed time to think and didn't think the cops would look for her there. At the worst possible time in her life, she is offered a chance to follow her dream. The chance to make her father proud of her. Unfortunately, she can't take it. Or can she...