"𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆.."

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗦𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗹.

𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝘼𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙚𝙨. 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮.

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝. 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞....

Xavier West, a serial killer that lurked in the night and captured in the day with an IQ of 215. Who knew that a serial killer could be so smart, yet so dumb? In the year of 2016, he was finally caught after killing and dismembering teenage girls for six years. Serving life without parole in a maximum security penitentiary may not be what he wanted until he meets Sonni Buchanan, a correctional officer that takes him under her wing. Which was her first mistake and without realization until he was in her mind. 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 | 𝐦𝐞, @𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲𝐛𝐫𝐢 ᝰ.ᐟ

Trust the timing of everything. Just because it's not happening right now doesn't mean it never will.. Everything will come to you at the.. perfect time when timing is perfect.. | based on some true events | 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 | 𝐦𝐞, @brisbookcase ᝰ.ᐟ

Formerly known as "Just A Kiss." If you want to familiarize yourself with this story before reading, please go take a look at "Shorts," a book with short stories based on and inspired by songs. "Loving him was easy. Learning to love herself was the real story." Let's follow Karmine, a young woman trying to make sense of who she's becoming while facing the realities of her upbringing. From schoolhouse drama and dealing with abandonment to the quiet battles she fights within herself, Karmine had to grow up quickly-learned to wear strength like armor. But then there's him-the one person who's always there, no matter how messy things get. Him, his presence, are reminders that she doesn't have to face everything alone. He loves her loudly even when the world is silent. Love isn't just about grand gestures, but about the quiet moments that remind you you're still worth living. Karmine begins to see that healing doesn't always mean being unbroken. As she learns to open up and find her place in the world, she discovers that growing up simply means learning to love yourself just as loudly as someone else loves you.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞?

𝐀𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝗼𝗺𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝗼𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝗺 𝐣𝗼𝐛 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝗼𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝗼𝗺 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝗺𝗼𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝗼𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝗺𝗼𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝗼𝗺 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝗼𝗺 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞. 𝐀𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝗺𝗼𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝗼𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝗼? 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝗺𝗼𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝗼𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝗼𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝗼𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝗼 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝗼𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐯𝗼𝗺 𝐭𝗼 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐭𝗼 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞.

At twenty nine, Rue returns to her hometown of East Harlem New York to check on her family and honor the late birthday of her childhood best friend, Emari ". Now a famous makeup artist , Rue has built a life far from the city she once ran from but being back brings up memories she tried to bury. What she doesn't expect is to see Azriel, an old childhood friend she hasn't spoken to since he went to prison years ago. Struggling with the loss of Emari, Rue fled the city without thinking about how deeply her absence would hurt him. Left alone to face jail and life without anyone in his corner, Azriel accepted the consequences of the streets. Years later, he's no longer the boy she knew but a world known boxer. With unresolved pain, guilt, and feelings neither of them ever truly let go of, Rue and Azriel are forced to face the past.