The Struggle — Kassandra Kush

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?