Maddison Blake, 21, fiery and stubborn, is struggling through college and is fresh out of second chances. Seeking some peace, she moves into her older brother's apartment...only to find she's not alone. Nicholas Carter. Her childhood crush, her brother's best friend, and now his strict, no-nonsense roommate, interferes with her plans to relax, enforcing rules she didn't know she had to follow. Nick doesn't tolerate brats. He doesn't tolerate disrespect. And when Maddison pushes him too far, he's determined to teach her a lesson she won't forget. But what begins as discipline quickly ignites a fire neither of them can ignore. What happens when discipline turns into craving, and neither can stop wanting the other?

When Aspen wakes up in the hospital with a severe case of amnesia, it's up to her brothers to try and help her remember what happened. Yet as days go by, Aspen begins to see that the people she trusts may be the very ones keeping her in the dark. And with that bitter truth comes the devastating realization that love can be just as destructive as hatred. • • • Contains sensitive material (no cliches). Copyright © 2023 by luxedreams. All rights reserved.

Riley doesn't remember the last time someone asked if she was okay. Not really asked. Not in the way that meant they were going to stay for the answer. She is seventeen years old and she has already learned the most important lesson this town has to offer - that people leave. They leave with promises folded neatly in their pockets, with good intentions they fully mean at the time, with duffel bags and bus tickets and fifteen days that turn into three years without a single word. They leave, and the ones left behind learn to stop waiting by the window. They learn to stop setting an extra plate. They learn to breathe around the absence until the absence just becomes the air. Riley works the late shift. She carries drinks to tables without being asked twice. She doesn't flinch at loud voices anymore. She doesn't cry at things that used to make her cry. She has become very good at being invisible in a room full of people - and even better at being invisible to herself. This is not the life she imagined. But it is the life she has. And she has made her peace with it, quietly, the way you make peace with things you never had a choice about. She is not waiting for anyone anymore. She stopped doing that a long time ago. Until the night a familiar face walks through the door - and three brothers who left her behind must now face what their absence built. Because blood doesn't forget. And neither does Riley.

Freddy's wife is gone, and nothing makes sense anymore. He decides to make breakfast, but is out of bread. On his way to the store, he steps into the past-his old dog, his childhood home, his father's anger-all waiting for him. He meets a beautiful woman who offers to help him. They search for what is real as she takes him home, only to discover the house on fire.

Tony Dawson's death shatters the lives he touched - some devastated, some liberated, all irrevocably changed. As his loved ones, rivals, and victims grapple with his absence, they soon discover Tony's manipulative grip extends even beyond the grave. But as the tangled threads of his past begin to unravel, the question remains: are they finally being set free or is the knot beginning to tighten? **** 2nd Place in Four Leaf Clover Awards for Mystery Winner of the Oasis Award of Twisted Tale The Doesn't Disappoint 2nd Round Qualifier Chapter One Awards *** Chapter Headings by Samantha Puchacz

When a mysterious killer started wiping out the city's prettiest, meanest, most scandalous girls, Eleo thinks she's safe. She's none of those things. She's just a clumsy, overworked college student with zero dating experience. That is, until she does something spectacularly dumb that inevitably put her in his path. Now, instead of living her quiet, peaceful life, she's dealing with: • ‌A ridiculously good-looking serial killer who won't leave her alone. • ‌Death threats that sound suspiciously flirty. And, Eleo's got two options: 1. Find out who the killer is before he "accidentally" falls in love with her. 2. Die. ...And dying sounds 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 inconvenient. 🚨 Not a tutorial. Do NOT attempt.