Pretty Black

PRETTY BLACK PRETTY BROKEN BOOK FIVE J.R. GRAY CONTENTS Trigger Warning And Author Note KEEP IN TOUCH WITH GRAY 1. Present Day 2. Present Day 3. Present Day 4. Present Day 5. Two Years Ago 6. Present Day 7. Present Day 8. Present Day 9. Six Years Ago 10. Present Day 11. Two Years Ago 12. Present Day 13. Two Years Ago 14. Present Day 15. Present Day 16. Three Years Ago 17. Present Day 18. Present Day 19. Present Day 20. Present Day 21. Present Day 22. Present Day 23. Present Day 24. Present Day 25. Present Day 26. Present Day 27. Present Day 28. Present Day 29. Present Day 30. Present Day 31. Present Day 32. Five And A Half Years Ago 33. Present Day 34. Present Day 35. Present Day 36. Present Day Epilogue Epilogue Author’s Note Also by J.R. Gray About J.R. Gray Acknowledgments Copyright © 2023 by J.R. Gray All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Cover Image: Hazel Hoffman Cover Design: Rebel Ink Co Beta reading: Kerry Editing: Charlie Knight Proofing: Victoria & Kelly & Amy Formatting: GrayBooks ABOUT PRETTY BLACK Iris Black There are moments in music when the crowd becomes part of the song and we all lose ourselves to the energy. I wanted to drown myself in the music. It became my escape and my savior. I thought success was what I wanted, but it only intensified my misery. Fame is a monster, and it ate me alive. I tried it all to get out of my head: sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I’m living the dream, but it only numbs the pain. Caspian came into my life like a storm, and I knew he’d leave the same way. We were two vessels made to fit. Chemistry woven in creation. There’s no escape, there’s no surrender. His Pretty Black forever. But he broke me and I don’t know how to forgive him. Is it foolish to do it all again? To find our way back to the place it all began. I’ve mourned his leaving so many times, I don’t have it in me to do it again. TRIGGER WARNING AND AUTHOR NOTE Please skip if you don’t have triggers. Author Note will be included at the end, too. Possible spoilers about content. There is suicidal ideation, discussion of suicide, depression, drug use (weed, fet, ecstasy, cocaine, shrooms, 2C-B, Xanax, and others) and other heavy topics in this novel. I have deep feelings associated with these subjects because of the trauma I’ve dealt with in my own life, and my battle with anxiety, depression, and suicide, as well as my childhood filled with family members with substance abuse issues, unmanaged mental illnesses, and my sister’s suicide. I don’t take on these topics lightly or casually as they KEEP IN TOUCH WITH GRAY JOIN THE GRAY PACK GET J.R. GRAY’S NEWSLETTER JOIN J.R. GRAY’S PATREON LIKE J.R. GRAY ON FACEBOOK FOLLOW J.R. GRAY ON BOOKBUB FOLLOW J.R. GRAY ON TWITTER FOLLOW J.R. GRAY ON DEDICATION To my sister, who I lost far too early. There’s no escape There’s no surrender We go on blindly, Fighting a silent war with our minds. The torments of one’s own soul Are the hardest