Nova can't escape the rich town of Riverside, where a tragedy follows her every step, but she can work to uncover who's been lying to her all these years. ***** When seventeen-year-old Nova Nightingale returns to her late mother's hometown the last thing she expects is to be public enemy number one, but the rumors surrounding her mother's sudden disappearance fifteen years earlier follow Nova everywhere she goes. And to top it all off, the local rich boy, Isaac Royal, is adamant about making her life hell. Surrounded by rumors, lies, and a secret keeping the town on edge, Nova has to figure out why she's hated and why the boy hell-bent on making her suffer seems to be the only person she can trust. Content/Triggering Warning: this story contains themes of suicide and violence [[word count: 80,000-90,000 words]]

BOOK #1 in The Fire series TRIGGER WARNING IN SOME CHAPTERS He leans closer, keeping me pinned against the wall with his hands on either side of my head. I glanced at both of them before holding his glare with my own. He was giving me a cold stare, caging me in like an animal. I bit my lip, trying to hold it back. I was never good in situations like these. He stopped leaning forward when his face was just inches from mine. He was trying to make me uncomfortable. Trying to scare me, but he didn't. I wasn't scared of him. I didn't hide my face or get nervous... I just bit my lip harder, trying to hold it in. It would just make things worse for me, I bet. He kept his eyes on mine as I glanced at his friend behind him with his arms crossed and a bored expression on his face. I looked back at the man in front of me. "You shouldn't act that way around me." He says coldly. "I can have you dead right-" I couldn't hold it in. I started laughing. He leans back, shocked, but his face goes into a glare as soon as his friend behind him perks up, watching, interested now. I calm down a little. "I'm sorry." I say, catching my breath. "Continue, Continue." He watched me closely before leaning closer to me again. "I can have you killed-" Suddenly, I lost it again, laughing harder, bending a little to hold my stomach. He punched the wall in an effort to scare me but instead made me laugh even harder, falling to the ground and rolling on my side. Soon I had his friend laughing with me as the man in front of me glared at both of us. "Don't give me that look. She's the one who started laughing." His friend said, wheezing a little bit and trying to stop laughing. I calmed down a bit, standing up to face them, a smile on my face. "Now, if you're done threatening me," I raise an eyebrow. "Or at least trying to. I'll be on my way." With that, I grabbed my backpack, turned my back to them, and walked away.