Meet Emily Parker.

She moved to Houston for Nate—the boy she bet her future on. And lost. He cheated. And just like that, the version of her life she’d been holding onto cracked wide open.

So she stayed. Not for him. For the story she hadn’t finished writing yet.

By day, she teaches first grade—bulletin boards, tiny hands, and a kind of quiet purpose that keeps her afloat.

By night, she drifts. She smiles. She tries to keep up with girls who make it look easy—Jess, her new best friend who always knows what to say, what to wear, who to impress.

And then there’s Bobby.

Bobby is heat and chaos. The kind of boy who looks like a dare and kisses like a secret. With him, it’s never steady. It’s charged. Addictive.

He reels her in, then pulls away. Sees her, then disappears. He makes her feel like the only girl in the room—until he doesn’t.

Their relationship is a series of almosts. Almost something real. Almost enough.

And Emily keeps chasing the version of herself she thinks he might love—cooler, sharper, quieter, prettier. She shrinks. She bends. She breaks her own rules just to feel wanted. She mistakes attention for affection. Desire for devotion.

But Bobby isn’t the whole story.

There’s also Graham. Soft, steady, unexpected.
There’s Jess—her mirror and her wake-up call.
There’s a whole city glittering with possibility, pressure, and the kind of curated perfection that’s easy to fall for but impossible to sustain.

Emily isn’t a mess.

She’s a girl who’s been burned, who keeps reaching anyway.

She’s learning the difference between survival and self-worth. Between being wanted and being whole.

This isn’t a story about getting the guy.
It’s a story about getting yourself back—even if you have to fall apart first.

***

HTX is my debut novel, currently out on submission as I explore both traditional and independent publishing routes. I’ll share updates as soon as I can.

Follow along as I pair all 28 chapters with a Taylor Swift song—right here, every day in August.