Light Me Up

Stare into the void, and the void will stare back.

And it will eat you alive.

Teaching assistant Jacob saves Connor from the edge -- literally -- the night he pulls him from the overpass. The despondent boy in his front seat is an enigma -- one Jacob wants nothing more than to unravel -- but when he drops him at his door, Jacob assumes he's seen the last of the strange, silent boy with the dead eyes and the pretty smile.

Then he takes a job at the local college, and what began as a random act of kindness quickly takes on a new dimension. Connor is a student -- and, as far as Jacob can tell, he's fine. Between his irrepressible smile and disarming sense of humour, he's /better/ than fine -- and to top it all off, he has Jacob's number.

But something is not right. Despite his outward charm, Jacob can't shake the memory of Connor's expression the night they first met. His student is hiding something -- and the closer they grow, the more Jacob's determined to discover what it is.

Connor does have a secret. The trouble is, it's not the one Jacob expects.

And Connor's determined to keep it from him.

Even if it means burning them both.

~~~"You can't save everyone."~~~