Category: Risa

Unchosen: The Quiet Heartbreak of the Friend ZoneBy Risa Starr There’s a particular kind of ache that doesn’t leave bruises, doesn’t get talked about much, and doesn’t come with a clean ending. It’s the ache of being almost—the one who was always there, but never quite there enough. They call it the “friend zone,” but… Read more

By Risa Starr Since 1955, West Virginia has carried a heartbreaking distinction: the only state in the nation to lose population every single year. Ask any high school senior in a small Appalachian town what they want most, and odds are you’ll hear it—to get out. Go anywhere else. See the world. Make a life… Read more

Carrie walks through The Ville like a ghost draped in sunlight—always just out of reach, but never far from anyone’s thoughts. She’s the kind of beautiful that doesn’t ask for attention—it just happens. Dark hair that falls like a secret. Eyes that seem to know more than she lets on. And a way of speaking… Read more

Jay didn’t ask to be part of the story. He was just born into it. Raised in the same small West Virginia town that made and broke Rodney LeMaster, Jay grew up watching the golden boy rise—and then unravel. He’s not the loudest in the room. Not the one chasing trouble. But trouble always seems… Read more