He Loves Me Not

An intimate look into the dark world of toxic relationships and teen dating violence. Sweet and self-conscious Sasha Collins has never had a boyfriend. She never would have imagined that anyone, much less the star of the varsity baseball team, would be interested in her unruly red hair and socially awkward tendencies. After years of floating invisibly through the hallways of her high school, Sasha is completely shocked when confident and handsome Adam Lincoln chooses her to be his Chemistry partner. Despite Sasha's best friend's skepticism, Sasha refuses to believe that Adam selected her solely because of her grade point average. As an unlikely relationship blooms, Sasha feels like she's living out a made for TV fairytale. Everyone, including her own mother, constantly reminds her how lucky she is to be dating a guy like Adam. But Sasha soon finds there's more to Adam than his classic good looks and athletic ability. Navigating his jealousy, mood swings and possessive behaviors prove just to be the tip of their complex relationship. Eager to love Adam and desperate to keep from losing him, Sasha devotes herself to keeping him happy, a task that proves to be infinitely harder than it seems. As pleasing Adam engulfs her whole world, she slips into depression for reasons that she can't quite put into words. Sasha is painfully aware that she can't continue living this way, but she can't imagine living without Adam, either. Even though one in three women will experience some form of dating violence during her lifetime, the red flags of toxic relationships are rarely openly talked about. The goal of this story is to spread awareness surrounding dating violence, sexual assault, consent, teen substance abuse and toxic relationship patterns.