I tried touching him, but he stiffened from my touch. I stepped away from him and now my back was facing him. "Why?," I questioned. "I have my reasons," he retorted. "Why won't you let me touch you?," I insisted turning around to face him. "It's just the way things are. You just can't," he stated stubbornly. He stared back at me with those cold, harsh eyes that I couldn't bare any longer. I could feel the tears starting to form and I didn't want to let them fall. I was not going to let him see how weak I was. "Do you even love me?," I countered. "Ashanti, I told you I can't love. I'm incapable of loving you or anyone else," he says staring me in my eyes. "I'm going to get my clothes and go," I said numbly. Before I could move an inch, my back was crushed against the cold, hard surface of a wall. I looked up into Lamonte's eyes as he whispered, "You're mine. You're not leaving you can't leave." "You can't love me. Why would I stay?," I breathed. A love story that is beyond different. What was it about about Lamonte King that keeps her with him? She is breaking him and what will happen when he finally cracks? She will become his ruin. As he will become hers. PLEASE BE ADVISED: Some topics covered in this story may be triggering for many different reasons. This will be the only warning given moving forward. Read at your own risk!

WATTPAD ORIGINAL EDITION Adrift after a failed suicide attempt, golden boy Everest can't find anything worth living for - until he meets Beverly, a loner determined to prove him wrong. ***** For a boy who seemed to have it all - wealth, good looks, popularity, a wide circle of friends - Everest Finley becomes the ultimate social outcast after failing to take his own life. Dejected and alone, he starts his last year of high school by acting out, determined to ruin his golden boy reputation after his best friend and girlfriend both turn on him. But to his surprise, resident loner Beverly Davis reaches out and tries to befriend him. Ever the optimistic, her empathy and persistence eventually convinces him to spend time with her, and the two slowly bond over their complicated family lives and a love of singing. But even as their budding friendship begins to hint at something more, Everest continues to struggle with depression and unhappiness. Can a simple pact between the two truly encourage him to find something worth living for? Content and/or Trigger Warning: this story contains mentions and descriptions of depression and self harm. -SKY