It's all new. Different. I'm not sure I like it just yet. Everything changed so fast. They all say your senior year will fly by and I didn't know how true it was until now. This is a fresh start. A new life. I'd create a new version of me and get out of my comfort zone. I'd meet new people. I'll make new friends. I'll learn how to handle myself without the support of my family nearby. I'll forget about all the bad things in my past. The first thing I can do is take the step toward my future. That shouldn't be difficult, right? --- Paige O'Brien has a few demons. Ones she's not willing to bring with her in the next stage of her life. She refuses to acknoledge them at all as she maneuvers her way through college and begins to meet new people. Her best friend, Feshuna is the only one who knows those secrets and has been sworn to secrecy. She slowly begins to make new friends and learns who to avoid in her first week, going to classes and learning about new clubs. Cue in Reed Hicks. He's in his second-to-last year in college and is enjoying the frat boy lifestyle when he happens to come across Paige in one of his last core classes. He's immediately interested in her, wondering why she keeps to herself so much in class, but she's only interested in playing cat and mouse with him. She avoids him at all costs, wanting to avoid his observant eyes and know-all attitude. That is, until she's separated from her friends at one of the fraternity's parties and ends up falling asleep in his room. She's forced to faced several truths when he corners her and interrogates her. The only question he's left to face is can he keep her or will she beat him in the chase?

I've got to hand it to fate. It's done an amazing job fucking up my life since high school. First with my sister being diagnosed with breast cancer. Then I lost my best friend. When I ended up in the Navy, I had no choice but to take that stupid deal from my admiral. As a last fuck you, I was sentenced to prison for five years because of said black market. Now, I'm out and have no direction in life. I have no clue what I'm going to do and I'm on my own. In a haze of self-pity and depression, I stop by my buddies' tattoo shop. Guess that last fuck you wasn't enough. The girl I called my best friend only to be tossed to the side like trash now works there. And she keeps popping up in my life now. Damn, she wants to rekindle what we had but I'm not sure we can. She keeps pushing until I finally break and let her in. And when I did, I realized I was in for a whole 'nother round of hurt. Damnit. 《/》 Still trying to fight for my survival, I found myself working at a tattoo parlor. It was all well and good until he literally walked back into my life. Waves of regret hit me in a tidal wave as I remembered what I did to him. I want- need- him to listen to me but he keeps pushing me to the side. But when I'm finally let in, everything comes crashing down around me and I risk ruining everything I'm trying to save. I'm worried my magnetism to destruction will truly ruin me this time and I don't think I can survive another hole ripped into my heart.

Ryder Cain hasn't had the best life. Her boyfriend of five years has corrupted her, pulling her back into a toxic relationship where she has no control or power. Lynch Daniels is new to town and he happens to run into Ryder. Literally. Ryder is trying to escape a toxic relationship but he keeps pulling her back in with his condescending words and lying nature. He convinces her of things that aren't true, backing her into a corner where she can't escape. When she meets Lynch, she sees a hope that she never saw before, but she can't let him near her. She can't let him hurt her like he did. Lynch is trying to find a new life in a new town after moving. When he meets Ryder, he feels the desperate need to protect her and help her. When he happens to take an open spot in the small bookstore and coffeeshop she works at, he takes the chance to get to know her. Ryder keeps trying to push him away to protect herself. He keeps trying to get her to open up. What happens when her boyfriend finds out about Lynch? What about when Lynch finally gets Ryder to open up? Will he be prepared like he thinks or will her broken hope send him running?

This was originally written for an assignment in Lit but I felt like sharing it here. The story is completely true but I didn't use any real names for privacy purposes. I have since cut ties with her but I do hope she finds new friends who she will treat better and be conscious of what she says and does.

|Cover art is not mine| He works for the FBI. She's a recovering Navy veteran after being medically retired. He's determined to finish whatever job he's given. She's determined to forget the past. He needs her for his job. She wants nothing to do with it. Add a couple of people who want both of them dead and what do you get? Ember Woods is a Navy veteran who desperately wants to forget her past. After being retired from the Navy, she was diagnosed with PTSD. She constantly has nightmares of the day that ruined her career and they don't seem to end. Her parents are both dead and her brother and sister have their own lives so now she's trying to survive in a normal world alone. Dakota King is an FBI agent, tasked with uncovering what a Navy admiral has been doing behind the scenes. To do this, he goes to Ember for help. She immediately declines, not wanting anything to do with it. He's persistent in getting her to work with him, even if it means forcing her. Even though they both seem to hate each other, there is a strange chemistry between them. One that neither wants to acknowledge. Through a lot of fighting, yelling, swearing, panic attacks, and tears, the truth finally starts to unravel. And feelings start to emerge that they might actually start realizing.