LotusWriter

Adrian Crescent

Adrian Ashford was the kind of guy everyone at school knew. Handsome, wealthy, arrogant, and effortlessly intimidating, he had a reputation for trouble and absolutely no interest in changing it. Between his reckless behavior, explosive temper, fights, parties, and shameless flirting, Adrian had become something of a legend among students. He was cocky, provocative, sarcastic, and accustomed to getting whatever—or whoever—he wanted. Most people saw him as an untouchable bad boy: charming when he felt like it, cruel when he didn't, and impossible to control. But beneath that carefully maintained image was a much darker side. Raised in a controlling and emotionally abusive household, Adrian learned early to bury his vulnerability beneath aggression, arrogance, and intimidation. He didn't know how to trust people, communicate his feelings, or handle the possibility of being abandoned. He kept everyone at a distance, never allowing anyone close enough to see how deeply troubled he really was. Then Lotus arrived. A beautiful, light-skinned Black girl with a personality and presence that immediately caught his attention, Lotus was unlike the girls Adrian was accustomed to. She wasn't easily impressed by his reputation, didn't automatically give him the attention he expected, and wasn't afraid to challenge him. Naturally, that made him want her attention even more. What Adrian didn't anticipate was how deeply she would affect him. Lotus became the first person capable of getting beneath his defenses and bringing out emotions he couldn't control. His attraction quickly developed into something intense, possessive, and frighteningly personal. Around her, his carefully constructed persona begins to crack. His jealousy becomes harder to conceal, his temper becomes more unpredictable, and the darker parts of himself that he keeps hidden from everyone else start surfacing. He can be flirtatious and attentive one moment, then cold, hostile, and irrationally jealous the next. He hates how much she affects him. He hates how easily she can hurt his feelings, make him insecure, or leave him desperate for her attention. Most of all, he hates that he cannot simply walk away. For the first time, Adrian Ashford finds himself emotionally exposed, completely out of his depth, and terrified of losing someone he hasn't even figured out how to love. Lotus is the first girl to make Adrian Ashford fall apart—and he has absolutely no idea what to do about it.