Kassandra Kush

A short, fun summer romance novella.Kaliyah Simon just broke up with her cheating boyfriend, and now that summer break is here, all she wants is a quiet, boy-free summer. To focus on work, reading, and her tan. But then she meets up with her old high school nemesis, Isaiah Winters, on the way home, and he seems more interested in being friends than enemies. Can Kaliyah lower her walls and get over seven years of pushing Isaiah away and find out what it would be like to actually be with him?With her best friend going boy-crazy, a twenty-first birthday looming on the horizon, Isaiah continually showing up on her doorstep, and an ex that seems to want her back, Kaliyah's summer promises to be anything but quiet.

The Summer I Gave Up Boys

Ezekiel Quain has learned over the years that love and family are nothing to be depended on. After standing strong next to his mom through her cancer, she ran off, leaving Zeke, his dad and little sister to struggle with the leftover medical bills, and a bad taste in Zeke's mouth about counting on anybody. His relationship with his father is strained, and the only person he cares for is his little sister, Cindy. With looks, attitude, and words, Zeke keeps everyone at arm's length. Evangeline Parker has it all: money, beauty, brains, and the perfect boyfriend, Tony. What everyone doesn't see is that she's trapped, and has been for two years. She lives every day in fear, hiding the fact that Tony isn't the perfect man everyone thinks that he is. She walks a tightrope, trying to reconcile the Tony of the past with the Tony of the present, and to never, ever upset him. Terrified of anyone finding out the truth, she doesn't get too close to anyone and has been struggling through the past two years alone. When Zeke stumbles upon Tony and Evie one night and learns of her secret, their worlds begin to collide in a way neither of them expected. Before he can stop himself, Zeke finds himself stepping uninvited into Evie's life, and urges her to tell someone. Evie refuses, terrified of the repercussions from Tony. Not even sure why he cares, Zeke can only watch from a distance, until disaster strikes and Evie's secret comes to light, and they are both forced to take action.

The Prologue

Evie and Zeke just want to forget. Now that her secret is out and Tony is unable to come near her, Evie just wants to heal and move on. But with Tony's last words embedded in her brain and guilt dominating her mind, she's finding it hard to release the hold Tony still seems to have over her. She's getting worse, sinking deeper, and no one seems able to help. Zeke wants to forget it all and not feel a thing. After Cindy's accident, his resolve to care for nothing and no one is stronger than ever. Desperate to separate himself and escape feeling, he's thrown himself into the bad crowd he always used to avoid sinking into, doing more smoking and drinking and graffiti than ever. But nothing seems to stop the nightmares. When Zeke goes too far and is caught, Evie's dad is able to step in and offer a deal to repay Zeke for saving Evie; go to juvie, or work all summer for the Parkers. Seeing anything as better than juvie, Zeke agrees to work for the Parkers. What he didn't count on was the close proximity to Evie, the only person who seems to give him feelings that he's not sure he wants to push away. What Evie didn't count on was Zeke still being the only person aside from her dad who makes her feel safe. How far can two people fall before meeting at the bottom... and finally helping each other back up?

The Struggle

Evie and Zeke have healed--or so they think. But with the start of the school year comes new challenges and new problems.They have bared their souls, found a connection, and worked on their problems. They have come to terms with their grief and are learning to move on and still go on with life, even though it's without two of the people they loved the most. And yet with one kiss, everything changes yet again and they learn that their healing isn't quite complete.Not only do they have to return to school, face down the rumors and the peer pressure and old and new friends, but they have to learn about love.Evie and Zeke have healed--but now they must learn how to love with their healed hearts.

The Love Story

The Things We Can't Change Part Four

Devastated by the loss of her father, Evie is floundering, drowning, and reaching out desperately for a lifeline-and finding absolutely nothing to cling to. Still unable to come to terms with the death of his sister, Zeke is going on mindlessly, with no thought of tomorrow, only living in the now and trying furiously to bury and deny his emotions. Two people who have both lost and suffered so much can only ignore each other's pain for so long before seeing the similarities in what they are feeling. As Evie clings to Zeke as the one thing that makes her feel safe and grounded, Zeke can't deny that she's the one person who makes him feel-and feel emotions that he's not sure he wants to push away. Against both their better judgment and wishes, Evie and Zeke begin sharing their problems and grief, and they discover things that startle both of them; understanding. Empathy. Affinity. Compassion. And maybe, if they are willing to dig deep enough and try hard enough and trust enough, the most important thing of all. Healing.

Kassandra Kush

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