Seventeen year old Elias is less than happy when his family decides to up and move to a small, dreary town. Of course, his opinion doesn't matter. Not when all his dad cares about is his dutiful stepmom and do-no-wrong little sister. Compared to them, Elias' feelings are worth about as much as dust in the wind. But he quickly discovers that his new home is much more than it seems...when he stumbles upon a dead body-the morbid work of the local serial killer, La Mort Noire. Suddenly, Elias finds himself locked out of his comfort zone; tutoring a creepy rich kid that draws skeletons, hanging with a bubbly boy who sticks to him like glue, staking out criminal houses, and taking the biggest risks he'll ever take in his life, all in an effort to solve the towns mysterious deaths. Because to gain his fathers favor, Elias will do anything. Even hunt down and unveil a twisted murderer.

| a true story about a boy who hides his pain behind his smile and a girl determined to see it | - FREE story with paid Exclusive Chapters and Writer Reveals - Twice Featured - Taylor Ming is trying to cope with the aftermath of her twin brother's suicide, and her depressed mother and avoidant father aren't really helping. With one of her friends' self-harming while another deals with a chronically ill boyfriend, being diagnosed with Diabetes and forced to use insulin thrice a day is Taylor's worst nightmare. When she catches the school's golden boy Shane Gray popping pills in a bathroom, then, Taylor is sure she's in a living hell. Is he depressed? Is he using drugs? She's afraid of losing more people and strikes a deal with Shane. He'll tell her if he ever has the urge to hurt himself and she'll keep his secret. What neither of them knows, however, is that he's already hurting himself without knowing it. And Shane's life is falling apart quicker than Taylor's. Because life isn't black and white and, sometimes, seeing gray can make all the difference. Warning: The story talks about suicide, self-harm, drug use, and mental health problems which may be triggering for some readers.