Zariah is sixteen, soft-spoken, and smart, but behind her quiet smile is a secret nobody knows. Her boyfriend Malik is charming in public, controlling in private. She wears the bruises no one can see and carries silence like a second skin. In the crowded halls of high school, there are whispers. Some are about drama, others are about love-but Zariah's? They're about survival. Because love shouldn't hurt... but hers does.