Heartbeat-Rafe Cameron

Heartbeat

Nerissa is a ghost of her own making-half Kook, half Pogue, but never enough of either. She drifts between the Cut and Figure Eight, between love and loneliness, between the past and the present, never letting anyone hold her still.

She is bitter, untouchable, a girl who craves affection but recoils at the thought of it. She stays up until 3 AM, drowning in the weight of her own thoughts, heart racing with things unsaid, hands reaching for something she'll never allow herself to hold. She loves the suffering, the ache of yearning-because longing is safer than losing again.

And then there's him.

Rafe Cameron. The boy she never speaks of, the mistake she never forgave. The last time they talked, he kissed her, and she left him in the past. But the past never stays buried. They speak again. Well-fight, he tells her to run again because that is what she does best anyway. But....

What if, this time, her heartbeat doesn't lie?

**Trigger Warnings:**
- Violence & physical fights
- Emotional suppression & self-destructive tendencies
- Toxic relationships & unresolved trauma
- Themes of loss, abandonment, and loneliness
- Smut & explicit sexual content
- Strong language & mature themes
- Mental illness & unhealthy coping mechanisms
- Murder, blood, & death
- Manipulation & gaslighting
- Stalking & unwanted attention
- Kidnapping & captivity
- Power imbalances & dangerous obsession
- Alcohol use, underage drinking, & intoxication
- Smoking, drug use, & addiction

This is not a love story. It's a storm-violent, reckless, and impossible to escape.