When lonely artists Ashton and Ria come together, nothing can prepare them for the collision. They're drawn to each other like day and night, but with more in common than they could ever know. After being burned by past lovers, they're hesitant to give their connection a chance, sending them on a journey of discovering themselves and one another. Though the longer they spend time together, painting love across the starless nights, the faster shadows of the past slip through the cracks of their fantasy. Beneath Ashton's gentle exterior rests a nest of lies. He's hiding something, a past so dark it puts Ria's very life at risk. Blinded by her need to free him from pain and self-destruction, she takes his flaws head-on and falls onto the radar of his most ruthless enemies. With lies, secrets, and schemes storming over the horizon, it'll take everything to keep Ria from falling into darkness as she attempts to save Ashton from his own. .・。. ✧ second draft; unedited This book contains the rewritten version of Strokes, Tides, and Stars. Each book will be separated into parts.

"Go ahead," I said, backing up against the pink wall of the shop. "Do something other than glare at me." I waited. One, two, three seconds... and nothing. I raised my chin at him. "You're boring me, mute boy." He stepped closer. Leaned toward me as his gaze burned into mine. Then... ❀ ❀ ❀ After three months in juvenile detention, it's time for Romy Pereira to help out with her family's flower shop. And it's not all bad... until they hire Jack Michel to work beside her. He doesn't speak, communicating with glares and scowls instead of words, and seems to be more interested in literal rocks than other human beings. And with an ex-convict mother, her friends drifting away, and the flower shop falling apart, the last thing Romy wants to deal with is Jack's attitude. She'll forever praise the day he screws up big time and gets himself fired, but until that day comes, it's mostly one cold-hearted girl, her silent (but still infuriating) coworker, and a whole lot flowers. [word count: 100k] [originally written in 2014-2015; re-write completed 2020-2021] ❀ Rankings ❀ #1 in #badgirl #1 in #goodboy #1 in #flowershop #1 in #sociopath

{CURRENTLY UNPUBLISHED} 10/2/25 Edit: this book has been removed from Wattpad, but the characters live on in a published series titled The Wildflower Series, which can be found on Amazon and in bookstores. Alive at Night, Awake at Dawn, Attached at Heart are available now. Already at Risk, which follows Collins' brother Cameron, is coming on October 16th. Thank you so much! When a college freshman with a learning disability and a reputation collides with a straight-A, straight-laced girl in the dorm kitchen one night, he sees the darkest parts of himself reflected in her. But the two of them resist acknowledging their hidden truths, and their forbidden connection, until ignoring it all becomes too perilous. *** Bren meets Madie during his first week at college, and he's certain he should have nothing to do with her. First of all, Madie has a boyfriend. And second of all, Madie's boyfriend radiates a toxicity that Bren only just escaped from growing up. But knowing what he should do doesn't help him at all. Madie might be completely entwined with her abusive boyfriend, but Bren quickly becomes determined to unravel her. But can Bren open Madie's eyes to the truth before it's too late? *** "Don't go back to being treated like you're not real." Madie's lips parted, and I couldn't read the expression on her face. But we were so close now. "You're real, Madie. Feel it." "I feel it," came her breathy reply. When it came to her, I was weak. My legs couldn't hold me anymore, and I slid down. Landing on my knees, I kneeled back against the bottom of the cold door, letting it cool my hot skin. "Good girl." The words were more of a pant; I could barely catch a breath with the way my heart was racing. But I had to tell her, talk to her. "Now, never forget it. Never forget the way you feel right now, Madie." **MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY** This story contains sensitive topics such as abuse, violence, and explicit sexual content.

It was Las Vegas. We were stupid, reckless, and in love.

Cigarettes, lilac skies and poetry at 3am: sixteen-year-old Pietro ''Pit'' Rossi knows the adrenaline of feeling empty and infinite at the same time. With the reputation of a goofy idiot who doesn't care about anything at all, getting held back at school doesn't seem like a problem. But it is. Because Pit cares about everything, and he always cares too much. [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]