Alex Anarchy is broken. A 17 year old emo girl. Starting young, her parents get divorced, her mom remarries, along comes the step dad. Shortly after, her dad comes back, and her mom and him take off, leaving her with her step dad. I guess they didn't think they'd be hit by a car and die that same night, leaving their beloved daughter in the hands of a monster. She lives life being raped and beaten, and it only gets worse when her step father forces her to date his friend, sending her into a life of drugs, cutting, and when she's forced to, having sex for money.
She hides her life from everybody, but as they get curious in her home town about her bruises, her step dad, her forced boyfriend and herself move to a new town. After her whole life of abuse, she's bitter and hates the world, refusing to speak unless necessary and has temper issues, with everyone but her step father and forced boyfriend, too scared to fight against them.
What happens when the bad boy of the school takes interest in her? She vows to never let him in, but he see's something he's not supposed too, and keeping him in the dark is harder to do as he always shows up at the wrong moments. But he has a secret too. Will he be able to fix her?
And what is he hiding?
This most definitely is not your typical 'abused then finds love' romance story. This is story of hate, pain, betrayal, heart break, and possibly freedom, but who knows with all the bullshit thrown their way.
Antique store owner Liz brings home a Victorian taxidermy hound from auction, unwittingly unleashing dark forces on her wife and son.
*****
Nat Loman has finally married the love of her life, Liz, and is getting used to her role as stepmother to Liz's 5-year-old son, Liam. The Loman family runs a bustling antique business so they attend a sale where a striking, black taxidermied hound is up for auction. Liz picks it up for the business, but it ends up being stored in their home, where Nat notices strange things occurring. She quickly discovers the past residents had died violently. Then she hears from a friend about the myth of "the devil's dog", a hound that perches in the shadows, tearing families apart from the inside. Soon, people around the Lomans are dying, and Liz is changing, darkening. It's up to Nat to save the woman she loves from the darkness closing in, and to save Liam from danger no matter what she has to sacrifice.
[[Winner of the 2018 Wattys "Hidden Gems" category]]
[[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]