"Please . . . don't cry. You had to have known I'd do this at some point." *** Parker Sims is the class clown but that doesn't mean he's easy to fool. And that's just what Nola B. is good at - fooling people. She's got the whole school believing that her scars, bruises, and broken bones are from being clumsy. However, Parker sees through the lies. He knows there's another reason why she flinches at the touch of other people, the way she's alert and watchful, how she wears long sleeves (even in the middle of the summer), or even the way she keeps losing weight, staggering to an unhealthy size. Parker saw all the signs; it killed him from the inside out to know what she was going through. So, he called the cops and reported his suspension that Nola was being abused. That was a total joke, he found out... Parker thought of everything in the book but each attempt, to get someone to notice she was being abused, failed - epically. He'd no other options . . . except for one thing. . . Kidnap her - take her away from whoever was abusing her; give her the life she deserves. It was a crazy idea, and he knew it - that's exactly why he shook the idea out of his head. . . That was until he saw her come to school with a black eye and limping while holding her sides. Parker snapped and did the one thing he swore he'd never do- Kidnap Nola B., for her own protection. *** Warning: Contains abuse and harsh language.

Nerdy astronomy geek Marsha, M to her few friends, has never been anybody special. Orphaned as an infant and reluctantly raised by an overly-strict "aunt," she's not even sure who she is. M's dream of someday escaping tiny Jewel, Indiana and making her mark in the world seems impossibly distant until hot new quarterback Rigel inexplicably befriends her. As Rigel turns his back on fawning cheerleaders to spend time with M, strange things start to happen: her acne clears up, her eyesight improves to the point she can ditch her thick glasses, and when they touch, sparks fly-literally! When M digs for a reason, she discovers deep secrets that will change her formerly mundane life forever . . . and expose her to perils she never dreamed of. Yes, the middle of nowhere just got a lot more interesting!