Ruin

RUIN A FLAWED SERIES BOOK 1 AURYN HADLEY KITTY COX SPOTTED HORSE PRODUCTIONS CONTENTS Trigger Warning & Lifelines Author's Note Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Epilogue Preview Brutal - Book Two Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Check out Another Book Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Check Out Another Series Chapter 1 - Violet Chapter 2 - Luke Books by Auryn Hadley More About - Auryn Hadley Books by Kitty Cox More About - Kitty Cox Ruin is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/ use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Copyright © 2023 by Auryn Hadley / Kitty Cox All Rights Reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher and the copyright owner constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights. ISBN: 978-1-956455-99-1 Cover Art by DAZED designs Edited by Sarah Williams DEDICATION This book is NOT for the patriarchy. It is not for the men who abuse women. It most certainly is not for the assholes who think women are somehow "lesser" or "worthless." Fuck them! Instead, it's for the women who stand up to speak their minds, break the rules, and are true to themselves - even if that's in the "girliest" way possible. You do you, ladies. No matter what, you are perfect just like you are. TRIGGER WARNING & LIFELINES TRIGGER WARNING: Discussions of off-screen suicide, rape and assault, bullying, cyber harassment, violence, and more. * * * National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - If you or someone you know is struggling with drug/alcohol addiction or having thoughts of suicide, please reach out to 1-800-273-8255 ( suicidepreventionlifeline.org ) * * * The 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States. Dial - 988 or Text STRENGTH to 741741 ( 988lifeline.org ) * * * Trevor Project - If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgment-free place to talk, call the TrevorLifeline now at 1-866-488-7386 or over text message: Text START to 678678. The Trevor Project ( thetrevorproject.org ) is an American non-profit organization focused on suicide prevention among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth. * * * Trans Lifeline's Hotline ( translifeline.org/hotline ) is a peer support phone service run by trans people for our trans and questioning peers. We believe that some of the best support that trans people can receive is from trans community members with shared lived experience. AUTHOR'S NOTE Some events in A Flawed Series overlap those of Gamer Girls and Shades of Trouble. Many details mentioned within will allow the reader to understand what happened, but for those of you who want the in depth details, you will find them in the Gamer Girls and Shades of Trouble series. Spoiler Alert - each series has spoilers for the other. PROLOGUE JERICHO I can't remember what I was dreaming about, but I didn't want to wake up. Whatever it was had been good, in a warm and comfortable way. When "I bet you think this song is about you" blared out of my phone, I wanted to kill Grayson. That bastard might get to stay up all night playing games, but some of us still had school to worry about. Never mind that Mom would freak out if she woke up. My oldest - and closest - friend knew this better than anyone. She'd screamed at him enough times herself! "What?" I grumbled into the phone, imagining countless ways to dismember him. The sound on the other end made me sit up in bed. Sobbing. The big tough guy was crying like I'd never heard before. He was crying so hard he could barely speak. Twice he tried to say my name but couldn't quite manage. All that came out was a strangled sound. "Grayson? What's wrong!" For a moment he fell completely silent. I could hear him breathing. It was as if the world had just gotten much too quiet. Then he answered. "She's dead. Nina's dead, and I don't know who else..." Terror washed over me like a bucket of ice water. My skin shivered. The back of my neck tensed. Nina was like a sister to me. In a few months, when she married Grayson, she would be! But that wasn't going to happen now, and my mind couldn't comprehend it. I wanted to hang up the phone. I wanted to find somewhere to run and hide - but right now, my best friend and the closest thing I had to a brother came first. I had no