Alex stared at the blank page in her journal, the pen shaking slightly in her hand. The words refused to flow, trapped somewhere deep inside her. It wasn’t that she didn’t know what to write—it was that she knew too well. Her thoughts, dark and overwhelming, felt too heavy to put down on paper. The anxiety clawed at her chest, her heart pounding like it was trying to break free.
At fourteen, Alex felt like she was drowning in a sea of emotions she couldn’t name or control. As a bisexual demigirl, she had always struggled to understand where she fit in. But more than that, she was terrified that if anyone knew the truth about what went on inside her head, they’d see her as broken, just like she sometimes did.
Her crush on Jessie was the worst part. Jessie, her best friend since forever, who was everything Alex wasn’t—confident, carefree, and straight. Every smile from Jessie sent Alex's heart fluttering, but she knew it was a hopeless dream. Jessie would never feel the same way, and it tore Alex apart inside. But how could she let go? Jessie was the one bright spot in her world of darkness.
At school, things weren’t much better. The bullying had started in middle school and had only gotten worse. The whispers, the insults, the cruel jokes—they haunted her every step. And then there were the nights when the intrusive thoughts would creep in, whispering in her ear that she wasn’t good enough, that she’d never be loved. Those nights were the hardest, the ones where she would lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering if the world would be better off without her.
Her parents didn’t help. They were cold, distant, and cruel, never missing a chance to remind her of how much of a burden she was. The bruises, the cuts—those were easier to hide than the mental scars. Alex had learned to keep it all inside, even from her brothers, Jordan and Max. They were the only family she could count on, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell them the truth. She couldn’t bear the thought of burdening them with her pain.
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Crossing Oceans
Teen Fiction14 year old Alex, a bisexual demigirl, struggles with unrequited love for her best friend Jessie, as well as anxiety, bullying, and abusive parents. Seeking solace online, she befriends Avery, a genderfluid lesbian from New Zealand, who offers the a...
