Ana and Dre's story❤️

|| Featured FREE story with exclusive paid chapters - previously a paid story || When Haley discovers the truth behind Xavier, whose silence holds a deeper meaning, she sets her mind on making his life better one small step at a time. ***** Haley Rosamond is happy with her simple life, content under the wing of her father. Well-protected, she has no idea of the darkness surrounding Xavier Hunt, with his all-black attire and infrequent presence in school-accompanied by his bruises and scars. That is, until Haley catches a glimpse of Xavier's reality and is made to question everything she knows about family and life in general. The truth, she realizes, couldn't be more different from everything she has heard. Supported by her father, Haley sets her mind on helping Xavier any way she can, and what begins with tutoring sessions, free food, and random acts of kindness blooms into friendship and something a little more. But when Haley's admission into her dream college and another tragedy in Xavier's life threaten to undo everything she has worked for, Haley needs to decide if she'll stick by Xavier or simply be another person in his life that disappears. [[word count: 80,000-90,000 words]] Cover designed by Holly Thurston

Alejandra Martinez had a perfect life until she lost her mom and childhood to a violent tragedy that she witnessed. As a result, her dad fell into many patterns of abuse, leaving her to deal with the aftermath of it all. She continued life as best as she could with little hope for anything and trust in absolutely nothing, turning into someone her mother wouldn't recognize, doing whatever she needs to do to cope as well as to protect herself. During her junior year at Lower East Side High School, she meets Gabriel Santiago. He's known throughout the halls for his association with the most dangerous gang in the city, as well as his ice cold demeanor, all at the age of 17. He's as heartless as it gets - at least that's what everyone thinks. The two know nothing about each other. Despite that, they can't seem to hate each other more. But as time goes on, and they continue to cross paths, something changes. They begin to realize that there's a whole different side of the other that nobody knows about, yet it's the side that they might not hate about one another. That's what makes it even more complicated. As they each dig deeper past the facade the other has created over years of tragedy and destruction, it becomes dangerous for everyone involved. 𝓡𝓐𝓝𝓚𝓘𝓝𝓖𝓢 - 2023 # 1 : 𝔲𝔤𝔩𝔶 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔥 # 2 : 𝔩𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔫 # 1 : 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔞𝔡𝔢