Tied (All Torn Up, #2)

by Carian Cole

Dead people should stay dead, especially the bad ones. But they don’t. They keep living in our heads and come out whenever they want to keep hurting us. I know Tyler tried, but he didn’t kill the bad man. He’s still here, torturing me, even from the grave. I won’t let him win. And I won’t give up on Tyler. The secret to fairy tales is believing in them. That’s what makes them come true.

I wanted to be responsible for igniting a feeling in a soul just as lonely and broken as my own.

“Scars don’t define you, Tyler. What you do—and how you treat others—does. You’re hurting. You’re mad at the world. I get it. More than you know.”

How bizarre. How stalkery. How romantic.

Holly: I would like to see Poppy Tyler: He says to be ready at noon. That a good time?

This lost girl with the stormy eyes has become my caffeine, my morphine, my new drug of choice. I can no longer get through a day without a shot of her, whether it be seeing her or just a simple text message.

She falls asleep snuggled up under the blanket, and I sit on the couch with her dog in my lap and try to pretend that having her in my house isn’t making me question my life of solitude. I want her to be part of my groove.

My heart jumps in the air, grabs her words, and runs back to the darkness to savor them.

Everyone knows there can only be one prince, and I’ve already found mine.

can almost believe this girl could love me, scars, damage, ugliness and all. And oh, how ferociously I would love her back if given the chance.

“I want to be yours,” she whispers. “Please let me be.”

She’s everything. My past. My present. My future. My twin flame—the one who shares the path of my soul.

And I guess we’re perfect together because her demons are strong enough to wrangle with mine.