It hurts; it hurts more than anything, more than knowing that I can’t have you, more than knowing that I shouldn't want you, more than needing you. It hurts to know how week you make me, how lost I am when you’re not by my side. It hurts to see the pictures, see your smile, and know you’re happy with another. I show you a smile, I give you a laugh, but inside my heart pounds and all I want is to scream. I want to scream out to you of the happiness we could have, and the pain you could take from me. I want to scream out the love we could share and the memories we could make. I want to learn you, know you, and be yours as you are mine. I want to scream how I love you, how I yearn for your touch, how I want to look you in the eyes and feel that tingle without the guilt. Love me, for I am already yours.
Annie is at a new job, and starting a new chapter of her messed up crazy life as she enters high school at a school she can't stand. The only comfort she finds is in a boy who soon won't be anything but her friend, but at the same is so much more. Struggling with her love for him and her hate for him she must find herself, and decide if one boy is worth losing every wall she's built for love.
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]