NOT EDITED****
Akira Rosehas only ever had a life of pain and heartbreak, everywhere she looks she's surrounded by it, it consumes her. It makes her... her.
Rylan Parker just can't seem to stop finding trouble everywhere he goes, it's as though it follows him. Maybe it's the only thing keeping him sane, now though, maybe she's the only thing keeping him sane.
Maybe one day he can learn to accept that it's okay to love.
Maybe one day she can learn to accept love, From the Heart of Another.
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"Did you actually think I was worth something?" I shout in his face.
"Because I'm pretty sure that I made it very clear. Everyone that has come into my life, even the people that brought me into life, have left at some point in time, and you are no exception."
I blink a few times fast to keep the tears at bay and then stare straight into his eyes, some unidentifiable emotion reflects back at me.
"You think your not worth something?" He whispers, pain clawing its way out of his tone.
"You saved me. If it weren't for you I wouldn't be here right now. And, yeah, sometimes I hate you for it, I hate you so much. But then I look in your eyes and I think, maybe I saved you, too. Maybe I'm not totally useless. And then I love you for it because I'm not me without you."
I stare at him with my mouth gaping open, awestruck, my eyes filling with tears that I can't blink back this time.
"Y-you what?" I stutter, my heart racing a mile a minute.
"You're so clueless sometimes." He chuckles dryly.
" I love you Akira Rose."
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]]