~o0o~ Book 3 of the "Better Times" trilogy ~o0o~ (Book one: "The Time Before") (Book two: "A Name to Remember") Two years after the Barrier was destroyed, it's a dark and stormy night. A group of friends; six monsters, one human, and one flower, celebrate the anniversary of the monsters' freedom. Everything starts off with a seemingly innocent question: "What does the thunder remind you of?" But the answer only leads to more questions. Questions born of curiosity. Curiosity killed the cat. And it's a hard learned lesson that Determination can't always bring everything back.

Accused of an assault he doesn't remember, Ricky's senior year is made doubly complicated when he falls for the victim's best friend, Olivia - his only alibi. *** Growing up among New York's high society seems glamorous from the outside, but looks can be deceiving. 17-year-old Ricky, who's cultivated a long list of rumors because of his bad boy behavior, knows this first-hand. But when he's wrongly accused of sexually assaulting a classmate, things take a turn. Especially when discovering the victim's best friend, Olivia, is his only alibi. With feelings quickly growing stronger between them, Ricky can't help falling for Olivia's kind nature, yet complications lurk around every corner, made worse still by the dark secret Ricky's been hiding for years, and his biggest fear is someone uncovering the truth behind the bad rumors. What will happen to Olivia and Ricky when the secret finally comes out? It's a long way down from high society to rock bottom. Content Warning: This story is a depiction of real life. It, therefore, contains mature content in the form of sexual assault, explicit language, violence (involving minors), sex, drinking, and drug use. Just like real life does. By continuing, you understand you'll be reading themes of a more mature nature, and that some might be triggering. (16+) Readers say: "I love this book with all my heart! - Absolutely worth its price." "I haven't been able to put it down!" "Olivia and Ricky are really melting my heart." "I'm loving how the story is progressing. Perfectly paced." "I think it's one of the most realistic stories I have read on here!" "Great details and descriptions throughout the story." "I love the unexpected twists, turns, and non-cliché characters." "I hope a lot of people will take that chance to read your story, it is really worth it." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ All 5-STAR ratings on GoodReads. [[word count: 300,000-350,000 words]]

(This story contains 18+ subjects. Please read the tags.) You're at your limit. Life has never been the kindest, in regards to you. But now, it's just getting to be too much....something has to give. So, you decide to make a change.... ....and as a result, fall down a giant hole. Yeah, life's funny like that.

The barrier is finally broken, and at last all of monsterkind are free to walk on the surface. Again. Sans the Skeleton is skeptical. Why bother getting excited for something that's just going to reset? This is not the first time the barrier is broken, and probably not the last. He feels the need to take a break for everyone else's enthusiasm and wanders to the ruins where he encounters a ghost of his past. The result of that meeting is something he has been hiding for a long time and that he's determined to keep hidden.