❛𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆?❜ he asked, voice low like it wasn't meant for nobody but her. 𝒛𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐡 didn't speak, just tilted her head a little and stepped in close. she traced one of the tattoos on his arm, finger light like a whisper...when she finally looked up, slow and lazy, doe eyes glinting beneath her lashes--she kissed the corner of his mouth. once, twice--then pulled back. 𝒐𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢 smirked. ❛𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒔𝒐.❜ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ She doesn't speak-not out loud, not anymore. Zariah Hart's been quiet since the night she lost everything, and moving to The Palisade at Skyview Apartments was supposed to give her a fresh start. No expectations. No questions. Just peace. But peace gets complicated when a man like Omarion Jordan starts showing up in it. He's nothing like she expected. Tatted, quiet, with eyes that read people better than they speak. A mechanic with a past he doesn't explain-and a presence that says more than his mouth does. He doesn't ask about her silence. She doesn't flinch at his reputation. Somehow, that's enough. What starts as simple glances turns into shared space. What feels like comfort turns to something neither of them planned for. But Atlanta doesn't forget what people try to bury. And sometimes, the loudest truth is the one you never say out loud. 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐃: 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

𝗦𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗮𝗶𝗻'𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻-𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲

"I don't know how to do this." He was almost embarrassed to admit it. "I ain't been right with you in a long time, but I'm gon' ask anyway. Please don't take her from me." His plea cracked something open inside of his chest. "I know I ain't a good man. I done did some shit that I can't take back and I can't make it right. But she is, she's good. She's the light in so many places I didn't know were dark." "So if there's a price that needs to be paid for all the pain that I have caused in this word and done onto others put it on me. I'll pay it. I swear I will. I'll protect her with my last breath. I'll listen and heed her warnings. I'll slow down and come home more and stop thinking that I'm alone in this world." "Just please let my baby wake up. I love her, I'm in love with her and I can't do this without her. If waking her up means I got to sacrifice letting her go so she can be safe. I'll do that. Just don't take her from this earth." "In Jesus name I pray. Amen."

One summer. One mistake. One year of pretending it never happened. Rhea Collins thought leaving Florida would bury the night the ocean almost took her life. She was wrong. A year later, an anonymous message proves the past doesn't drown - it watches. Someone knows what happened on the water. Someone knows her name. Someone wants to talk. As fear resurfaces and secrets tighten their grip, Rhea is forced to confront the truth she and her friends agreed to silence. Because the worst part isn't being followed. It's realizing the summer they survived never actually ended. Some secrets don't stay buried. They wait.