Yes, I'm the smartest in my school. Yes, I have no friends. No, I am not bullied. Yes, I'm asked to tutor the dumbest kid in school. Yes, he's a football star, "popular", and the "hottest" guy in school. No, I do not fall hopelessly in love with him. No, he's neither the "Mama's boy" or "Bad-Boy" type. Yes, he's actually not bad looking. Yes, he tries to make me "fall hopelessly in love" with him. And no, this is NOT ANOTHER CLICHE.
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Ari Beldogni. Smart, rich, everything a guy could want in a girl. Except that she has no friends whatsoever, absolutely hates sports with all her being, and never ever wants to be in love. Or so she tells herself.
Ryder Griffin. Bad boy by day, Mama's boy by night. As everyone thinks. He's a football prodigy, every girl's dream boyfriend, "everyone's" best friend, but what he "isn't" is smart. And football doesn't allow idiots on their team. Since his grades are going down a slippery slope, and fast, he needs help.
He wants to pass his classes and she has to help him, but he helped her in return.
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"It's not that I don't want to love someone, it's just that," she paused. Contemplating what to say next without sounding weak, but gave up. "It's just that I'm afraid to." She cast her eyes to her worn brown combat boots.
He chuckled, to her complete and utter surprise. "Aren't we all." Was all he said before he walked off and unknowing to the both of them set something into motion. But whether it was good, or if it was bad, was to be determined in later events.
BOOK 1 in the Drowning/Bully Standalone Series.
WARNING: This book contains intense bullying, explicit scenes, triggering language, violence, and psychological content.
I told Caden to cancel his stupid party.
He told me, with that infuriating smirk, "Why? Planning to be my snack tonight?"
Caden has made my life hell for four years, ever since our parents got married.
He's gorgeous, arrogant, and the kind of boy Stanford girls trip over themselves for.
Me? I'm the only one who sees right through him.
He's a blatant bully, the devil who turned me into a surreptitious one.
And now we're stuck sharing the same off-campus apartment for our entire freshman year.
Living together means new rules, no boundaries... and a tension I never expected.
The closer we get, the harder it becomes to remember why we ever hated each other in the first place-
and nothing threatens our pride more than that.
***
Step into an adventure of passion, forgiveness, and second chances.
This is Caden and Madison's story.