Bleeding Chaos

CONTENTS Author’s Note Playlist Prologue 1. Gage 2. Sadie 3. Gage 4. Sadie 5. Gage 6. Sadie 7. Gage 8. Sadie 9. Gage 10. Gage 11. Gage 12. Sadie 13. Gage 14. Gage 15. Gage 16. Sadie 17. Gage 18. Sadie 19. Gage 20. Sadie 21. Gage 22. Sadie 23. Sadie 24. Gage 25. Gage 26. Sadie 27. Gage 28. Gage 29. Sadie Epilogue About the Author Bleeding Chaos Copyright © 2021 Nikki Ash Cover Design and Formatting: Jersey Girl Designs Photo: Wander Aguiar Photography Editor: Jenny Sims with Editing 4 Indies ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information and retrieval system without express written permission from the Author/Publisher. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. AUTHOR’S NOTE Like real life, the characters in Bleeding Chaos are far from perfect, make morally gray decisions, and deal with subjects that may be sensitive for some readers. If you are looking for a safe romance, this story is not for you. Trigger warnings (which contain spoilers) can be found on my website: Love & Lyrics Trigger Warnings. PLAYLIST “The Bones”- Maren Morris “All of Me”- John Legend “Too Good at Goodbyes”- Sam Smith “Love The Way You Lie”- Eminem feat. Rihanna “Whatcha Say”- Jason Derulo “Don’t Let Me Down”- The Chainsmokers “Leave Before You Love Me”- Jonas Brothers and Marshmello “Without Me”- Halsey “You Should Be Sad”- Halsey “Breakeven”- The Script “Sorry”- Justin Bieber “Arcade”- Duncan Lawrence “Memory”- Kane Brown x Black Bear “Too Much to Ask”-Niall Horan “Ghost”- Justin Bieber Listen to all my playlists here: Nikki Ash’s Playlists Someone like me doesn’t deserve her time But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to take what’s mine From wanting her heart to be mine Her body, her soul, all mine - Gage, Raging Chaos PROLOGUE GAGE Summer Before Senior Year “It’s so fucking hot out,” I say, dropping into a seat outside the coffee shop where Declan and Braxton are already sitting and drinking their iced coffees. They’ve got a shit ton of papers strewn everywhere—lyrics, songs, and sheets of music—since we spend most of our time writing or playing music. When we graduate from high school in June, our goal is to get signed by Camden’s parents’ record label, Blackwood Records. When I was little and banging on the drums my uncle bought me for Christmas, I never imagined I’d have a chance to play professionally one day. Every night, when my mom would leave for work, I’d use our neighbor’s Wi-Fi to watch YouTube videos on how to play. I never thought it’d go anywhere until I met Camden, Declan, and Braxton, who were hell-bent on starting a band and in need of a drummer. I played for them—and Camden’s dad—and learned, according to him, I was damn good, and if I stuck with them, I’d make a living one day from beating on those drums. My thoughts go back to my uncle. He was the only decent person in my life… until he died from heart disease only a few short months before my mom died, leaving me alone in this fucking world. “It’s too damn hot,” Declan agrees, snapping me from my thoughts as he lifts a paper and takes a look at a song Braxton wrote. “I think I saw it’s going to be in the hundreds today.” He drops the paper and takes a sip of his coffee. “Fuck, it’s too hot to work on music.” “It’s too hot to move,” I say, wiping the sweat beading across my forehead. “Who the hell can even think in this heat?” I’ve lived in New York my entire life, and I’m still not used to the few months a year when the heat waves come through and knock us all on our asses. Thankfully, fall and then winter will hit in a few months, and this ridiculous weather will be replaced with snow and ice. I’d take that over the humidity any day. “You know what we should do?” Declan says, turning his phone around and showing us an image of a bunch of our classmates at the beach. I’m about to tell him he’s lost his mind when I spot one classmate in particular. Bright red hair, piercing green eyes, and the body of a damn goddess, Tori Spears is the definition of a teenage wet dream. “I’m in,” I say without hesitation. I’ve had my eye on her for months. The only problem is, she and her best friends, Layla and Kaylee, have been on a no dating kick the past year since Layla’s boyfriend cheated on her and broke her heart. Since the school year is over and we’re about to start our senior year, I’m hoping that shit will be over, and I can slide in and take my chance. “You don’t even like any of those assholes,” Braxton says with a laugh, reading my mind. “I don’t need to like them to get in the water and cool down.” I stand, down the last of my iced coffee, and chuck the cup into the trash. “It’s too hot to even smoke. Fuck it, let’s go.” Declan chuckles. “He saw Tori in the picture. He’s been eyeing that cheerleader for months.” “Tori?” Braxton says with a laugh. “Actually, I can totally see it. She’s all cheerleader meets emo with her short skirts, black lipstick, and fishnet stockings. She’s like the least peppy cheerleader on the squad. It’s the perfect match made in hell.” Declan nods, and I punch Braxton in the arm. “Fuck you,