Book 1 | ✓ Sweeping my curls with his hand, he unapologetically held my face, making me look at him as he spoke: "Someone should've gotten you a manual for living here. If that shocks you, then I don't know how everything else will make you react." I muffled a laugh, though deep down wanted to fall into a fetal position. He was so much more handsome up close like this with the sun behind him, angelic almost―disregarding the tattoo inscribed on the side of his neck. Picasso's full lips parted, grinning at me till my heart started acting funny-fluttering against my ribs. "I think I've got the hang of it around here. I can handle myself," I remarked, smiling. "Stop worrying about me." "The thing is I can't stop," he admitted. "And I won't." Though there was no legal ties to bind him to what he said, I believed what Picasso swore to me on that afternoon. And for that reason, I agreed to his proposition to go out on a date. ❀ Picasso is the polar opposite from the preppy rich girl that is, and always will be, Sydney Webster. However, Sydney loses it all in an instant when she hears of her father's death, leading their two worlds to collide. Kicked out of her beach house in Malibu, Sydney is forced to move in with her aunt and her three kids in a tiny apartment. Sydney goes from attending prestigious schools and yacht parties to having to walk through metal detectors before entering homeroom, gang violence brewing inside the school, and a posey of mean girls ready to put Sydney in her place and remind her where she's at on the food chain. Luckily for her, there's a savior in the chaos: Picasso Hudson. ❀ [this is a companion book to Tethered Hearts. you do not need to read that book to understand this story.] #1 in urban fiction tag (4/1/20) #1 in urbanbooks (9/8/19) #1 in goodgirl (1/31/23) #4 in badboy (2/4/20) #65 in Teen (1/11/20)

Brenda wanted a normal school year. Instead her mom died. Salma needed space from her sister and terrible ex. Or else she'd lose her mind. Delilah didn't think she'd have any more problems after moving far from her hometown. That was until she became homeless on the first week of classes. In the heart of Texas, six college students find themselves without a dorm this semester. Each one has a different reason to why they need to live in this house. A few know each other, but most of them are complete strangers. Through the big fights, crazy drama, and late-night conversations, they have learned more about themselves than ever before. An angel with a secret 🗝 A troublemaker 🌥 A sheltered nerd 💔 Two enemies ✋ And a whole lot of fun 🖤 (formally Complications of Being Alive / Roomies & Rejects ) Books 1 - 3 Highest Rankings: #1 in diverse lit #1 in growingup #58 general fiction #289 in Teen Fiction.