When Everly Reed collides with the cynical and devilishly handsome Mason Valdez, she knows trouble is ahead, but she never could have guessed how much she would be drawn to the storm.
*****
Nineteen-year-old Ever Reed likes when things make sense. Which is probably why she excels at math, enough to secure her a spot at an Ivy League school out of state. Sheltered by her mother and older brother Asher for most of her life, Ever hasn't experienced much of the world, but she knows New York will be an adventure.
Enter Mason Valdez: cynical, arrogant, and undeniably attractive-exactly what Ever doesn't need. But as their paths keep crossing, Ever finds herself intrigued by Mason, and eager to know the boy behind the bitter mask. As secrets, scars, and painful pasts rise to the surface, Ever knows one thing for sure: they can only make it through if they face their storms together.
[[word count: 150,000 - 200,000]]
Cover designed by Frances Louise De Ramos
Spinoff to The Hoodie Girl
Book One of the A Thousand Storms series
[[The Fiction Awards 2018 Best Overall Story and Best Romance Winner]]
Content/trigger warning: This story mentions sexual assault and childhood abuse
23 Kapitel Abgeschlossene Geschichte Erwachseneninhalt
23 Kapitel
Abgeschlossene Geschichte
Erwachseneninhalt
Growing up in a toxic environment, sixteen-year-old Jay Foster has always had psychological problems, coupled with a quick temper. But one night something happens which finally pushes him over the edge, and as a result, he leaves his house the next morning with two things: his mother's gun and a plan.
Living with a neglectful and drug addicted mother wasn't easy for Jay, and it definitely didn't help that his father abandoned the family while he was still a child. He harbored a hatred toward his parents, and that hatred extended to almost everyone and everything around him, producing a very troubled and damaged young kid.
As Jay enters high school, he becomes very intrigued with one of his classmates. Kind of obsessed, actually. Her name: Mikayla Keeler. Mikayla is very unique, and like Jay, she doesn't seem to fit in with her contemporaries. Instead, the two of them keep each other company, and their friendship very quickly escalates into a romantic and intimate relationship.
Despite having Mikayla, Jay's troubles continue to burden him. He and Mikayla are fighting habitually, his home life is still unbearable, and his time at school is hardly any better, made worse by a bully named Calvin. Their mutual dislike of one another leads to a lot of hostility, routinely leading to Jay being sent to his school's principal. One confrontation in particular goes much too far, resulting in Jay's expulsion from school.
With everything seemingly piling up, Jay is very close to his breaking point, and late one night he is blindsided by the unthinkable, pushing him much too far and effectively planting in his mind a cruel and horrific plan for revenge.