Ripple Effect

She is pleading to forget; he is fighting for forgiveness.

She is the answer to my prayers, a promise I never knew worth keeping. She doesn't believe in me; the world wronged her, and I was among those to blame.

Alyeska "Aly" Suzuni, my beautiful nemesis, came to take away the perfect record and force me to bow my head at the consequences. I thought I could escape the secrets and keep them hidden long enough to not cause a ripple.

But my medals hang heavy around my neck, and the podium seems taller than I remember. If I fall from this height, will I survive if Aly won't stand by my side?

(There are too many words to describe us, yet we began as enemies; it twisted into my favorite description of affection.

She is bulletproof, and I am a field of dandelion wisps. Trusting me never used to be dangerous. Any evidence of purpose between us is now sinking to the bottom, finding its place along the dead, flat, black lines. )

There is love. There has to be; no matter what she says, I won't take it for granted. I may have been at the center of her tragedy, but the only thing left is a lost man holding out his broken heart with her name carved onto it.

Aly refuses my apologies, but no matter how deep the water gets or how long you have to tread water, if the chill makes your limbs grow frigid. You keep moving and making waves because hope has been lost when you stop, and it has to be rediscovered every time.

I'm no longer promising her; I am begging to make amends.

The trials I face ahead aren't worth losing her all over again. This time I am the one willing to sacrifice everything to gain credibility back if it means she'll give me one more day.

Can love heal a tattered soul?

Ripple Effect is the second part of the In The Water We Make Waves Duet. (First part is Butterfly Effect) Both are Enemies to Lovers Multicultural Sports Romance.

+18 Mature, Sexual Content. Explicit Scenes and Alcohol and Drug Use.

Trigger Warnings: Mention of eating disorders, death of a parent, opioid addiction