She wasn't sure what woke her, but she sat up in her bed. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she started slightly when she she saw him.

He was leaning against the door of her room, hidden partially by the shadows. His shoulders sagged, his hands tightly clenched into fists and she instantly knew something was wrong.

"Ryan?"

Getting out of her warm bed, she slowly went to him. He didn't look up, his hair flopping over his forehead. Reaching out, she gently put her hands on his face, raising it to her own.

Her eyes widened as she bit back a gasp.
His lower lip was split, blood smearing his chin. There were dark purple bruises all over his cheekbones and his nose, and a deep gash on his forehead, sprouting blood.

But that was not what took her breath away.
It was his eyes.

The walls she has always found within the grey depths had crumbled now, and he looked like a deer lost in headlights. She had always seen him as strong, powerful. He was always the Ryan who was fire, who was power.
Never had he looked so vulnerable, so lost. The look in his eyes was so haunted that she felt a deep ache within her. She wanted to reach out to him, but he seemed to be far, far away from her.

"Ryan? What happened?" The urgency and panic in her voice was evident, but he made no move to speak. "Talk to me, please." She whispered, tracing a particularly dark bruise on his cheekbone.
He closed his eyes, reaching out and taking her hands within his. "I'm sorry, Jennifer." He murmured as his knees buckled, losing consciousness.

Every love story has a hero and a heroine.
​This is the story of a princess without a crown and a prince who boxed underground. This is the story of a Not So Bad Boy and his Ms. Uptight.