England, 1960. As a closely kept secret threatens to swallow Liv Sutton whole, she finds solace in her best friend, Theo Callaghan, and his rising band. And as the gritty music scene pulls Liv and Theo into smoky clubs, ambition, and tangled dreams, something shifts between them. Friendship with Theo begins falling into something deeper, risking everything they've built together. (Extended Summary Inside) Updates every Sunday . . . . "You know I sleep better when I'm with you," I whispered, my mind groggy as my muscles finally loosened. "I know," Theo said, his breath hot against my neck. His steady breathing and tight hold were already lulling me to sleep. And I wasn't sure if I dreamed his last words, but it sounded like he whispered, "I sleep better with you, too." . . . . This is a mature story, and as such, there is swearing, shagging, minor drug use, violence, angst, and explicit adult situations (all characters will be over 18). Please note the *trigger warning* for physical abuse in the early chapters. I do promise that happier times follow. . . . . Comments, feedback, and votes are always very much appreciated. I will reply to you as quickly as possible! Thank you so much for reading! x

"𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝-𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞." Emilia Gillen longs to feel a sense of permanence after a lifetime of moving from one foster home to the next. She prefers to keep her head down and blend in, but when the brooding eyes of her new, mysterious foster brother keep looking her way, she doesn't mind the attention. But Cal Jones isn't the only one who notices her... The leering eyes of their perverse foster father make Emilia's skin crawl. To ensure her safety, Cal convinces her that they need to make a run for it. But soon the pair finds themselves out of options, causing them to accept help from a nefarious group in exchange for Cal's cooperation. While Cal falls deeper into the dangerous lifestyle of crime and the alluring world of drugs, Emilia realizes that the one she has deemed as her hero may be the one who needs saving. Will the love she found be enough to reach through the prison of self-loathing that Cal has caged himself in, or will it be what ruins her? ---------- ***TRIGGER WARNINGS: 18+ This book contains substance abuse, offensive language, violence, sexually explicit content, as well as some physical, verbal, and (not described) sexual abuse. It is all portrayed in a negative light, but it is still there.*** © LEIGH VANN 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED If you are reading this book anywhere other than W A T T P A D or I N K I T T it's been stolen, and you're likely at risk of malware. To read safely, please search the above places for this book, and send me a message to let me know where.

Cover by the amazing @LNRoberts1 It's 1983 and high school sophomore, Anne Kelly's home life is coming apart at the seams. What's more, her friends are hanging with the popular crowd, and Anne doesn't feel she fits in. She gradually becomes fixated with a shy junior on the swim team named Gavin Maloney, but her friends think he's a total loser. However, Anne only becomes more interested in Gavin, and she decides to take a prank her friends played on him a step further. She begins writing him letters, not the stupid anonymous notes her friends put in his locker to taunt him, but real letters. Gavin has lost his mom to cancer and his father has gone missing. He now lives with his grandfather who is in a deteriorating state of Alzheimer's disease. It's a secret that Gavin must keep. Nobody can know or they will separate Gavin from his grandfather and put them both in state run homes. Gavin's plan is to stay invisible. Once he turns 18, he'll be a legal adult and nobody will be able to separate him from his grandfather. He just has to hold out one more year. But it isn't easy. Everyone needs friends, and now this Anne girl has singled him out. Part of him aches for human contact, and he's not immune to her quirky sense of humor, but she might be totally insane. She's practically stalking him, and if he befriends her, she might find out about his grandfather and ruin his plan. But what if he just wrote her back?