"See, this is exactly why I wish we never met. You came into my life and you just keep shaking everything up!" She stressed, her stomach rumbling with rage. He only stared before his lips twitched into a smirk. "You don't even believe that dumb ass shit." --- She thought running would set her free, but freedom came with a price she wasn't sure she was ready to uphold. She ran from one trap straight into another. Dreams of dancing slip through her fingers when survival forces her into a world she would have to endure. She's dragged into the dark corners of Onyx city and life is nothing as she knew it. Then he appears. A boy who feels different, who makes her believe she might have more to live for than pain. Unfortunately, in the streets nothing is ever as it seems. Every bond comes with secrets, every touch with consequences. And when betrayal cuts deeper than love, she'll learn the hard way what it really means to be slimed out. STARTED; September 18th 2025 PUBLISHED; September 27th 2025

Promise Walker was sheltered, sweet, and way too innocent for the world Dave East ruled. She heals kids for a living. He breaks men for a living. They were never meant to meet- But when soft meets savage, nothing stays the same.

"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧."

𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘢, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟧， 𝐊𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐘𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑 𝖠𝗅𝗅 𝖱𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌 𝖱𝖾𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗏𝖾𝖽．

Join Coia as she navigates her adult hood, trials and tribulations, successes and losses, learning and unlearning both people and habits.

𝐎𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬..

"You no tell this girl that I said, I want no relations with a darkie?" She spat to me, making my eyes go wide. What? I thought to myself and Gio tried pulling me away but I snatched away from him, knowing I heard right this time. "Wait, what?" I spoke out loud and Gi grabbed me roughly, trying to pull me away again. "Why you saying these things? She's beautiful." I heard his abuelita sticking up for me as she stood to her feet and all the guys began to as well, telling their mom that she was wrong for what she was doing. "That puta heard me." She spat, pointing her finger at me. "You're too dark." She held up a brown paper bag that she was drinking her beer out of. "You no match this bag or lighter, you're too dark." "You look too much like his father. I no want you around me." She shooed me off, instantly breaking my heart into a billion pieces as I looked up at Giovanni who was looking down at me with hurt in his eyes. "Baby, please." He begged and I shook my head at him in disgust before putting my attention back onto her. "Get that darkness out of here, Giovanni. She's a demon." "Only demons have her color." She kept on going and I felt sick to my stomach in this moment as I stood there in complete shock.

" I don't even like you like that." Her face scrunched up in disgust watching water drip from curls in his hair. " 'Cause you love me. Just like I love you." He retorted with a grin, disregarding the deflecting she was doing. --- They were two sides of the same city-until one move split them down the middle. Elijah and London were inseparable once, bonded by childhood summers, beat-up bikes, and secrets too deep for anyone else to know. Unfortunately, when Elijah's mom packed up and moved her family across Onyx to a rival neighborhood, everything changed. She always thought when she spoke to him again he would've changed like her. She was witty, sarcastic, and had a low tolerance, but he was still the same calm , sweet, cute boy with a heart the size of the sun. Some things haven't changed. Some things never change. The pull between them, the memories that still burn etched marks in their brain, and the words they never said out loud. In a world where loyalty can be life or death, and love isn't always enough to cross old lines, Elijah and London find themselves circling each other again. --- STARTED; MAY 26th, 2025 PUBLISHED JUNE 6th, 2025 FINISHED; SEPTEMBER 27th 2025

somebody's watching me.. it's my 𝐀𝐍𝐗𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐘 Exclaimer: THIS IS MY FIRST BOOK. RESPECTFUL TIPS ARE APPRECIATED

𝗶 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 © ᴊᴀɴᴜᴀʀʏ 2025