One Manic Lie

One Manic Lie Addison Beck Copyright © 2023 by Addison Beck All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred. Contents Blurbs Credits Dedication Preface 1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapte r 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 1 7 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 22. Chapter 22 23. Chapter 23 Epilogue Afterword Acknowledgements 24. What Comes Next? 25. Chapter 1 Also By Blurbs Someone needs to knock some sense into me before I get expelled. Avery: I’m not a bad guy. I’m not even a particularly interesting guy but I am someone that always seems to find myself in…unfortunate situations. Eccentric, that’s what my friends call me. Some would say I’m just flat-out weird. Others would call me obsessive. I say life is short, so why not just live it like it’s your last day? Well, Headmaster Harding would disagree and that’s how I’ve found myself on the brink of expulsion after another one of my ridiculous stunts. I need a babysitter. A keeper. A handler. I need someone to keep me in check and tell me not to do all the crazy things my mind comes up with. And that’s when I see him. Sebastian. The new kid. It’s easy enough to see that he is just the man for the job. He’ll keep me balanced, he’ll keep me out of trouble, and in return, I’ll pay him for his services. But I never thought I’d find myself so captivated by the way he laughs or how he chews his food. I never imagined that I’d lay awake at night thinking about his brightly colored nails or his cute smile. Oh no. Let my newest obsession begin. One Manic Lie is a fast-paced, steamy, strangers-to-lovers romance with unusual hijinks, heart-melting moments, mental health positivity, and a HEA that’ll melt your heart. Content Warnings: Drug use, manic symptoms, depressive symptoms, a post suicide attempt, and thoughts of self-harm. Credits Editor: Angela O’Connell Cover Design and Formatting: Kari Monty Indie Author Creative Dedication For those of us that deal with a little well-dressed man in our heads. Here are some things that helped me: It’s Real but not Truth You’re not always your emotions There is an end to it Remember, you’re okay If all else fails, just breathe. Preface While writing One Lovely Lie, I immediately fell in love with Avery Smith. His story unfolded in front of my very eyes before I even finished Daniel and Magnus’s story. This story will have the same heart-stopping moments and steamy scenes, but it’ll deal with a topic that is closer to my own heart. Mental illness. As an individual, I suffer from mental illness. I think it’s important that we become comfortable understanding the dynamics of different mental illnesses, how they can present, and the positive ways that we can tackle the challenges they bring up. Avery shares the same mental illness I do but you have to remember that everybody experiences things differently. Just because I portray Avery the way I experience my illness does not mean that everyone will present that way. Hopefully, his story can bring a little bit of inspiration to us when we’re at our lowest low. Treat yourself with care. Love yourself. Believe in yourself. Like my Spotify link for songs that inspired this story! Chapter 1 A very “Avery, do you know why I called you in here today?” I gulp. I can’t lie and say this is the first time I’ve been called down to the headmaster’s office. I hate to admit that I find myself here more often than not. It’s not that I’m a bad kid but—as my friends call me—eccentric. Fuck, I hate that word. In my four years at Armory Prep, I’ve probably been called down to the office sixteen times. I instigated a food fight freshman year, I took all the school’s dry-erase markers for a project sophomore year, and I got caught trying to free the rats in our anatomy class junior year. I don’t do this maliciously. It’s just that sometimes when I get an idea in my head, I can’t help but do something about it. This time, however, I seriously don’t know why I’m here, but I can take a wild guess. “Um, I did something wrong?” I respond lamely as I scratch my head. The headmaster sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as he mumbles something under his breath. “Yes, Avery. You did something wrong. Can you tell me what you did today?” “Well, it started as usual. I woke up, I showered, I jerked off—” “Please, skip that part.” “Oh, okay,” I say. Jeez, he’s the one that asked. “Um, I went to meet Bambi—” “There!” he says, snapping his fingers in triumph as if I just solved a ridiculously difficult math problem. “Bambi. Who is Bambi?” “Oh, Bambi is my friend! Or, I guess she used to be. He? I’m not really sure how to determine the sex of a deer. Or gender. I don’t want to assume.” Bambi used to be my friend. She was this cute-as-fuck little deer that hung around the edge of campus by the woods. I used to sneak out and feed her Cheetos which made her my instant pal. She preferred the hot Cheetos, like me, so obviously that made us