❝𝖨𝖥 𝖸𝖮𝖴 𝖫𝖨𝖪𝖤 𝖸𝖮𝖴𝖱 𝖢𝖮𝖥𝖥𝖤 𝖧𝖮𝖳, 𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗠𝗘 𝗕𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗧. 𝖸𝖮𝖴 𝖢𝖠𝖫𝖫 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲 𝖡𝖠𝖡𝖤, 𝗜 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗔 𝗕𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦.❞ SHORT/QUICK STORY 𝐃𝐄𝐂 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐

hurtin' deeply inside.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦.

|𝘁𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲| /𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻/ 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗮 "𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹."

He was chaos in the shape of a man. And she was the only peace he ever wanted to keep. Kingston "Kash" Vaughn isn't just misunderstood-he's unmedicated, unhinged, and unforgiven. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after witnessing his mother's murder, Kash walks the line between genius and madness, street legend and broken boy. He doesn't trust people. Doesn't believe in peace. And he damn sure doesn't believe in love. Until her. Rai'Lynn "Rai" Tate is used to saving everybody but herself. As a crisis center worker, she's been trained to handle the darkest minds-but nothing prepares her for Kash. Their connection is magnetic, twisted, and immediate. He sees her, obsesses over her, needs her like air. And the scariest part? She needs him right back. What starts as therapy turns into obsession. Passion turns into control. And love? Love becomes a war. Because when the voices in his head grow louder... She's the only one he'll listen to. But what happens when the thing you love most is the same thing that might destroy you? 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝- 05.23.25 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝- 05.23.25 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝- 06.28.25

𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞..

𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝗇 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖾? - 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 -𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘

cav·ern·ous /ˈkavərnəs/ adjective - "in too deep." *old, don't read.*

"jus breathe, i take care of mines."

Janeisha "Neisha" Bambi has always survived by keeping a low profile. She don't get caught up in the kind of business that comes with bodies, secrets, and street names that echo. But all it takes is one night-one favor for her best friend-to slide her straight into the orbit of Seven "Saint" Carter. Saint is discipline wrapped in menace. A man the streets don't just respect,they fear. The type Neisha promised herself she'd never look at twice. He doesn't chase, beg, or explain. Yet somehow, he does all of this for her. And when that calm, unreadable gaze settles on Neisha, her careful world starts to crack. Now Saint's patience is running out, Neisha's defenses are falling apart and the pull between them is starting to feel less like a choice and more like fate. He's trying to shield her from the life he lives. She's trying to decide if loving him is salvation or self-destruction.