Arabella never meant to get close to someone like him. Warren is reckless, unreadable, and surrounded by rumors that make people run. But the more she's warned to stay away, the more she wants to know why he hides behind those walls...and why he can't seem to stay away from her either. ────୨ৎ──── Warren Reid is a name everyone in town knows, and not for good reasons. He left a student unconscious before disappearing into juvie, and now that he's back, the rumors are worse than ever. With a past that whispers warnings and a reputation that silences rooms, Warren is used to being feared, not understood. Emotions are weaknesses in his world, and vulnerability has never been an option. Until her. Arabella Winters is the picture of perfection and the last girl anyone would expect to cross paths with someone like Warren. Smart, sweet, and sheltered, she follows every rule her parents set, never once stepping out of line. But one knock on Warren's door throws her into his world, and nothing is the same after that. Everyone says he's trouble, but Arabella doesn't see the monster they all fear. She sees someone broken, someone hiding wounds no one else bothers to look for. What starts as innocent curiosity turns into something neither of them can ignore. She's drawn to the shadows he hides in, and he can't stay away from the light she doesn't even know she carries. Now Arabella has to ask herself: is she helping Warren escape the darkness...or is she just letting it swallow her too? (EXPECT CRINGE AND CLICHES!!) (UNEDITED)

❝"𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞," 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫. "𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞."❞ ꨄꨄꨄ "You're trouble," I whisper against his mouth. A quiet laugh rumbles out of him. "And you're addicted to trouble." "I am not addicted to you." "Yeah?" he murmurs, eyes dragging slowly over my face. "Then why do you shake every time I touch you?" ꨄꨄꨄ Alec Donovan is the kind of boy you cross the street to avoid. Bruised knuckles, a temper no one can control, and eyes that don't just look at you-they warn you. People don't get close to him. And if they do, they don't leave without damage. I was never supposed to be one of them. My life is planned-perfect grades, a future in design, expectations I can't break. My father calls boys distractions, and Alec Donovan is the worst kind. I called him Angel once. As a joke. Because he showed up when he shouldn't have, ruined my night, saved my life-and looked like he regretted both. The nickname should have died right after that. It didn't. Not when he kisses me just to shut me up. Not when he punches the boy who touched me wrong. Not when he looks at me like I'm something worth keeping. He doesn't ask. He takes-my space, my control, the life I thought I had planned. And the worst part? I don't stop him. Because when everything starts falling apart, he's there. Watching. Waiting. Protecting me in ways he never admits. Alec Donovan isn't a mistake. He's a warning. And the truth is- I'm not scared of him ruining me. I'm scared of how much I want him too. ꨄꨄꨄ "𝘏𝘌 𝘐𝘚 𝘔𝘠 𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘌𝘓... 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭."