Tatim is done settling. After three years of pouring herself into a dead-end relationship with a man-child who thinks effort is a personality trait, she's finally had enough. But walking away isn't easy - especially when your self-worth has been chipped away by every sarcastic comment and broken promise. Then she meets Austin. Firefighter. Stoic. Unreasonably handsome. And when he looks at Tatim, he doesn't see someone to fix or use. He sees someone worth protecting. Someone worth choosing. But with petty exes, broken pieces, and one very dramatic python in a bowtie, nothing comes easy. Especially when Tatim's petty revenge plan begins to unravel. Now, caught between the girl who stayed too long and the woman learning her worth, Tatim has to ask herself one question: Is she brave enough to stop surviving...and finally start living?

Mairead "Mair" Callahan and Austin Post were supposed to make it. They fell in love in high school-messy, reckless, and all-consuming. She was his steady, his safe place. He was her wild, the dreamer who made her believe in things she never dared to before. They survived distance-Mair leaving for college, Austin moving to LA to chase his music dreams. Through late-night calls, long stretches apart, and the growing weight of his fame, they held on. Until they couldn't. When Mair moved to Utah to be with him, she thought they were finally building their forever. Instead, she found herself isolated, drowning in the shadows of his success. And then she found out he cheated. Heartbroken, she left-fast, without a second thought, absolutely shattered. Looking back would have destroyed her. Then she found out she was pregnant. Now, their lives are forever tied together, but Mair refuses to let Austin too close. She keeps him at arm's length, determined to protect herself from more heartbreak. But Austin has never been one to give up easily, especially not on her. This is a story about love lost and found, about mistakes, forgiveness, and the messy in-between. Because some love stories don't end, they just take the long way home. *MATURE THEMES & TOPICS*

' but do you really hate him? ' patty carrigan x fem!oc social media fanfic brisbane broncos cover by @babyports © wintersoldior 2024