Eight years ago, Rae Mitchell left Glencoe, Georgia without a goodbye. No note, no explanation, just a suitcase full of ambition and a heart too full to stay. She was supposed to outrun the memories. The whispers. And especially Khalil Reed, the boy who once made her believe in forever. But now she's back. Her grandmother's unexpected fall pulls her home, and with no job, no apartment, and a scandal she's still trying to forget, Rae has nowhere else to go. Glencoe hasn't changed, but Rae has. And so has Khalil. Once her first love, now the man she ghosted, Khalil isn't interested in forgiveness or small talk. He's running a business, raising his teenage sister, and trying not to care that Rae's name still hits him like it used to. In a town where everyone remembers who you used to be, Rae must confront what she left behind-family, friendship, and the one person who never stopped waiting for her to come home. But some wounds don't stay buried. Some love never really leaves. And some promises are made to be broken... until they aren't.

Pushing himself from the door Gulian neared her, standing in front of her. "I want you to stop seeing 𝙝𝙞𝙢, that's what I want." Kyomi scoffed as she shook her head. "Why would I stop doing that? Just 'cause you call yourself asking nicely?"

{𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘒 𝘖𝘕𝘌 𝘖𝘍 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘓𝘖𝘝𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘚𝘚 𝘛𝘙𝘐𝘓𝘖𝘎𝘠} Ria Romano knew hurt like the back of her hand. She was dealt her fair share of bad cards, more than anyone so young should have to face. A cynical girl riddled with the remnants of her past, a shattered sort of soul. She concealed like it was second nature; her instinct being to suppress. She'd offer you a cigarette with a shrug while you were crying because she never was too great with affection. She didn't smile so often but when she did and it was directed at you, you'd never feel such satisfaction. I was told Aria preferred to be alone, isolated; clouding her mind with inhales of her cigarette and drowning it in alcohol. Until she was dealt her good card, out of the pack of bad. They had a love beautiful enough to last a lifetime, the type directors desire to capture and authors aspire to write. Two souls, shattered by the cruelty of the world time and time again with flames that rekindled each others. They were each other's oxygen. They breathed life back into each other, those two insomniacs. <3

More detailed description in story. Abella Mobisson has been around boxing most of her life. Her father was a professional boxer turned boxing coach & owned a gym where she spent much of her pass time while growing up. After the death of her father & a series of bad relationships, Abella makes sure to keep a focus on her career as a shining star in the music industry. If it isn't music or family, she couldn't give you the time of day. The same goes for heavyweight boxer, Anthony Joshua. How could he give a serious relationship the time needed when he's trying to be the best boxer in the world? Or the best father, son, brother, or friend? A woman could wait. It isn't until Abella meets Anthony that she realizes maybe she doesn't know the boxing world as well as she thinks she does. To the world they're an unlikely pair despite a rumor surrounding the strangers. Abella is America's darling with a brash tongue who says & does what she wants. Anthony is Britain's humble champion who's a role model to all despite knocking people out for a living. It's these differences that make them clash like titans then fall. Start date: 5/25/19 Finished: 10/11/20