Letting people in has always been a daunting task for Valerie Morrison and probably always will be. Confrontations are just never on her side, and she has enough scars—both physical and emotional—to prove it. That's why she chooses to avoid them whenever possible.

Now studying at a university not too far from home, Val's plan is simple: keep her head low. Should be easy…

Except it isn't.

Because there's this guy named Louis (Lou for short), who is as kind as he is beautiful. Somehow, he looks beyond her walls and reaches in… and has other plans of just letting her be.

Here's the problem: Val doesn't do relationships, and she isn't planning on getting into one anytime soon, regardless of how tempting it seems. At the end of the day, getting involved with Lou in any way can't be worth it… Right?