Collided (Dirty Air, #2)

by Lauren Asher

“My beautiful angel. Too wicked for heaven, too good for hell.”

I may be his beautiful angel, but he’s my masked devil—too naughty for my heart, too irresistible for my body.

“You’re so beautiful.” His simple sentence means the world to me. And it scares me to death, the way his words wrap around my heart and grip onto me.

Our story fits a tragedy. It’s ironic how, while exploring myself and learning who I am, I discovered someone else who brought out the absolute best and the downright worst in me. Falling in love is ugly like that. And damn if ours turns out to be the ugliest of them all.

Stupid me for choosing someone with a history of collecting hearts like trophies.

“Ready to fly, Sunshine?” It’s not my fault she looks and acts like the sun. Like the destructive yellow orb in the sky, she eats away at my protective layer while lighting up my darkest corners.

Liking Sophie is kind of like jumping out of a plane. Exhilarating, addicting, and damn near impossible to forget.

She stamps herself onto my heart like she fucking belongs there.

Because life is funny that way, fucking you over without your consent.

Despite his inability to decide if he loves me, I still love him with everything inside of me.

Welcome to my disaster ever after. Pull up a chair, bust out the popcorn, and enjoy the show.

“I’d buy you the whole damn night sky if I could.”

She’s my star in the dark sky, shining bright and guiding me back from the shadows.

“I love you. I have for months but you’ve been too blind to see it, unable to acknowledge me and my feelings. To see me.”

I may be stupid enough to have fallen in love with him, but I’m not blind to the way he looks at me, or how he fucks me, staring into my eyes like he wants to hold on to the moment.

Vulnerability isn’t a weakness, it’s a strength amongst those who are too scared to live.

She set me free so I could keep living my dream. It was a selfless act that crushed us both, me because I’m a coward and afraid of love. And her because she loves me and wants the best for me.

“I do love you. I swear. I’ve done a shit job at realizing it, and an even shittier job admitting it to you. I love you more than racing itself. I’ve been miserable since you started avoiding me, where even spending a week without you is fucking torture. My chest aches, my sleep cycle blows, and my head throbs every fucking day. I can’t stand how I feel without you around. And I don’t want to anymore.”

The prince can’t be saved if he’s too stubborn about staying locked up in his castle.

“I love you so fucking much. I never want to go another day without saying it or a moment without you knowing it. Fuck friends with benefits. Give me all the damn benefits, love included because I’m a stupid fucker for thinking I could let you walk away from me.”

“I researched all about stars. And the funny thing was how I thought you were my star—a bright spot in my life keeping me constant company no matter how dark everything else got. But in reality, we’re stars because they are born in pairs. They’re created by a big fucking boom of dust and shit, forming into something beautiful and eternal. You’re stuck with me for life because we’re a duo.”

He’s the man I want to spend all my time with. The man who continues to grow into a better person each day, no longer plagued by his past. The same one I dream of marrying one day.

Liam is right. I don’t need to wish on stars when I already have everything I could dream of.

I lift the tarp up to reveal a baby blue kart with a yellow sticky note. Does this kart make me look like my daddy?

AAAAAAA

I love this girl with everything in me. The girl who captured my heart and never let go.