Novels by coachiboli

“Report it,” Talia said , pacing the bedroom with her phone clutched tight like a grenade. “He can’t just post that. You could report it.”I didn’t move. I sat at the edge of her bed, legs bouncing, heart cold. “No. Let it stay up.”Talia froze mid-step. “Are you insane?”I looked up slowly, my voice low but steady. “Let them talk. Let them see. The version of me they want to laugh at… she doesn’t exist anymore.”Talia blinked, stunned. “Okay, wow. Who are you and what did you do with Nova Carter?”“I’m done playing nice,” I muttered. “He’s poked the bear one too many times.”Talia sat beside me, brushing her auburn curls behind one ear. “You know Ryder’s going to see it, right? Half the school’s already sharing it.”I paused, anxiety twisting through my chest. “Let him. He doesn’t care what people think.”“But you do,” she said gently.I nodded once. “Not anymore.”It was a lie. Of course I cared. But I’d bled enough in private. Cried enough under covers. Starved enough dreams.If th

My feet froze as Jace stepped fully into the doorway, sunlight catching on the sharp lines of his lean body. It hit his hazel eyes just right, turning them almost gold—but there was nothing warm in them. His jaw clenched. His eyes burned. And his stare was locked on Ryder’s retreating back.I could feel the shift in the room, like the moment right before a downpour. Thick air. A hush before the thunder.“Since when,” Jace said tightly, “do you talk to him?”I gathered my books slowly, not looking at him. “Since it became a school assignment. Don’t make it a thing.”“It already is a thing, Nova,” he snapped. “You don’t even know him. That guy’s bad news.”I met his glare. “So was being dumped because I gained fifteen pounds. Funny how I survived that.”His face twisted like I’d slapped him. “That’s not what it was about—”“Oh, so it wasn’t about me not being good enough to stand beside the school’s favorite golden boy? Or was it the stretch marks? The soft stomach? Remind me, Jace.”He

My hands trembled in my lap, fingers digging into the fabric of my jeans as I clenched my fists. It wasn’t Jace. Not anymore. It was him—Ryder Black.He was a storm wrapped in denim and shadows, his eyes a deep golden blaze that had seen straight through me in the gym. Like he knew. Like he’d been there. My throat dried up.“Ryder Black?” I whispered, barely managing the name.Talia leaned in with a dramatic roll of her eyes, her thick curls bouncing. “Transfer. Rich troublemaker. Expelled from two schools. Rumor has it he broke a guy’s jaw with one punch, and his dad paid off the principal. Now he’s Crestwood’s problem.”I blinked at her. “And he’s in my class?”“More than that,” she said darkly. “He’s in every class.”I laughed nervously. “Well, that’s not terrifying.”Talia leaned back in her chair, arms folded, lips pursed. “Just stay away. He’s the kind of boy that doesn’t come with warning labels. He is the warning.”But she was wrong.Ryder didn’t feel like a warning.He felt l

I didn’t expect the crowd outside Crestwood’s gym to fall silent when I walked past, but they did. I heard a can drop. Shoes scuffed the tile floor as necks turned and eyes locked on me — not with mockery this time, but something far more dangerous: curiosity.“Nova… you look like someone who eats heartbreak for breakfast,” Talia muttered beside me, her voice a mix of admiration and disbelief. She nudged me with her elbow, flashing a grin. “He’s staring.”I didn’t need her to say who.Jace.He stood near the vending machine, flanked by two basketball teammates, trying too hard to look indifferent. His dark hair was buzzed shorter than I remembered, but the same cocky confidence clung to him — until our eyes met. His grip tightened around a soda can, jaw twitching slightly.It was petty, but I smiled. Not for him. For me.I tugged at the hem of my new denim jacket — cropped, cinched at the waist — a far cry from the oversized hoodies I used to hide behind. My wavy brown hair, now cut t

Days melted into weeks. The soreness in my thighs, the burning in my calves — it stopped being punishment and started to feel like proof. Proof that I was still here, still trying. Talia didn’t go easy on me, not for a second.We started small. Morning walks that turned into light jogs. Ten-minute home workouts that left me breathless and angry at my own body. I hated it at first — the sweat, the aching muscles, the mirror that showed too much belly and not enough progress. But I kept going.Talia tracked everything. Water intake. Steps. Meals. “We’re not aiming for skinny,” she told me while portioning grilled chicken and brown rice into boring little Tupperware containers. “We’re aiming for strong. Balanced. Sustainable.”That didn’t stop me from crying the first time I stepped on the scale and saw barely a change. “What’s the point?” I muttered, wiping my face with the hem of my shirt. “I’ve been killing myself, and nothing’s happening.”“You’re building from the inside out,” she s

Rain sounded on the broken pavement, cold and pitiless, as I sat on the curb in front of the gas station, my heart sinking a little more with each buzz of my phone. One cruel message from Jace lit up the screen:“We’re done. I can’t be with you when you’re like this anymore.”His words cut deeper than the cold. My fingers shook as I gazed at the illuminated text. The girl I’d been — the one who laughed, who believed — felt buried under layers of shame and doubt. The rain blurred the surroundings, but I could feel the needles that stung my flesh with each sharp raindrop.“Why?” I said to the empty street, my voice cracking. “Is it really because of me? Because of this…” I wrapped my oversized coat even more tightly around my body, the weight of his rejection too heavy for even my leather jacket to shield. Chubby. Ugly. Not enough.“Nova, you there?” a voice interrupted my downward spiral. I barely noticed at first, but then I saw a shape move next to me—tall, silent, standing near enou