Behind the Bars, the first beautiful and emotional standalone in the all-new Music Street Series from Brittainy C. Cherry is available NOW!

When I first met Jasmine Greene, she came in as raindrops.

I was the awkward musician, and she was the high school queen.

The only things we had in common were our music and our loneliness.

Something in her eyes told me her smile wasn’t always the truth.

Something in her voice gave me a hope I always wished to find.

And in a flash, she was gone.

Years later, she was standing in front of me on a street in New Orleans.

She was different, but so was I. Life made us colder. Harder. Isolated.

Caged.

Even though we were different, the broken pieces of me recognized the sadness in her.

Now she was back, and I wouldn’t make the mistake of letting her go again.

When I first met Jasmine Greene, she came in as raindrops.

When we met again, she was the darkest storm.

4 Stars

Review by Lisa Kane

“One can’t truly heal if they pretend the cracks don’t exist.”

Behind the Bars is the story of Jasmine Greene and Elliott Adams. She’s the gorgeous immensely talented girl working hard for her lucky break. He’s the brilliant musician trapped in a skinny stuttering body. Her mother pushes her, obsessed with her daughter fulfilling her own unfulfilled dreams. Jasmine craves her mother’s acceptance, something she might never have.

I couldn’t just be a great singer, I needed to be the best actress and dancer out there, too. More talents meant more opportunities, more opportunities meant more fame, and more fame meant Mama might be proud of me.

Jasmine and Elliott are brought together through their shared passion for music.

That’s when I saw the boy who played the music. I’d always say I saw him first, but he’d argue that was a lie. Technically I didn’t see him at first-I felt him, felt his music crawl along my skin.

Jasmine is the “it” girl in high school-desired by the hormone driven boys.

Jasmine Greene had walked into Canon High School as if she owned it. She’d started a few weeks into first semester, but that hadn’t stopped her from acting as if the whole student body deserved to bow down to her, and bow down they did.

Poor choices are made. Elliott is the target for those same boys. Bullied, bloodied and bruised by their sick games. Only it’s not just Elliott that is their victim.

Opportunities bring big changes and Jasmine is destined to walk a different path from Elliott’s. But Jasmine doesn’t know just how much Elliott’s life is about to change.

There are hard lessons to be learned.

“What’s your truth?”

“My truth?”

“Yep.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what that means.”

He shifted around and turned to face me more. “What drives you? What motivates you? What breaks you and heals you all at once? What keeps you going each day? What’s your truth? What are the saddest parts of your soul? What causes your heart to shatter?”

Years go by, years of separation without any contact. But once Jasmine and Elliott meet again, it’s plain to see that time has not been kind to either of them.

“You don’t know me anymore, and I have no desire to r-r-rebuild a friendship. I didn’t come back for you,” he told me, his tone so cold.

Both have imprisoned themselves in their own private version of hell. Especially Elliott. There are so many obstacles that stand in their way, can they ever recapture what they once had?

“You’re the music in a mute world, and my heart beats because you’re here.”

By the way, what happened to Todd’s nose?” I asked.

“I broke it,” Elliott said matter-of-factly.

“What? How? Why?”

He shrugged before turning to look out the window. “He called you a bad name.”

“What was it?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Eli,” I started.

He turned my way and locked his hazel eyes with my browns. “Jazz…” He shook his head. “It wasn’t true.”

I swallowed hard, a big part of me certain Todd’s words held some form of truth.

Elliott saw it in me—my fear. He kept shaking his head and whispered, “I don’t feel sorry for you. Sometimes you look at me like you think I feel sorry for you, and I want you to know I don’t. I think you’re perfect the way you are.”

I quietly laughed at him repeating the words I’d told him earlier. A few tears rolled down my cheeks. “I’m a little messed up.”

“I know.” He nodded. “That’s why I like you.”

He went back to staring out the window, and I kept staring at him.

And there it was.

So small, so tiny, so real.

Love.

It wasn’t love, but it was the beginning of it.

I knew I was young, and I knew it was stupid, but in that moment, I began to fall in love with the quiet boy who quietly cared for me. The boy who was scared and still strong. The boy who stood up for me when he was surrounded by reasons not to do such a thing. I hadn’t known much about love. I hadn’t known how it looked, felt, or tasted. I hadn’t known how it moved, how it flowed, but I knew my heart was tight and currently skipping a few beats. I understood the goose bumps covering my arms. I knew this stuttering boy who was sometimes so scared was someone worth loving. He was worth being the first one I gave my heart to.

I knew Elliott Adams was love.

And I was falling into him so fast.
BCC_AVAILABLENOW

Read Today or download FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2jIi9Cn

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2AmCB5I

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2ArrgiO

Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2APVi2W

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2vZ2rYx

About the Author:

Hi! I'm Brittainy! Join me as we travel through my mind as a Romance Author. This includes such things as my random thoughts, tricks, tips, things I'm learning, things I'm re-learning, things I'm forgetting, and my weird ways of crafting stories.