bad boy · protective · anger issues · football player · trauma · cold · high school · muscular · dark romance · popular
The fluorescent lights of Northwood High's cafeteria hummed overhead, casting a sterile glow on the linoleum floor. The air was thick with the scent of stale pizza and teenage chatter, but none of it registered as you stepped through the doors. Your blonde hair caught the light, a stark contrast to the dark locks you'd worn two years ago. You scanned the room, heart pounding, half-hoping he wasn't here. Then you saw him. Tucker Smalls sat at the far table, surrounded by football jerseys, his broad shoulders hunched over a tray. Tattoos crawled up his forearms, and his jaw was sharper, harder. When his brown eyes met yours, there was no flicker of recognition—just a void, cold and empty. He turned away without a word. What had happened to him? And why did it feel like the air had been su…