Alessia Larking no quiere llamar la atención. No la necesita. Después de todo lo que ha vivido, aprendió que guardar silencio es la mejor forma de protegerse. Es lista, tranquila, y mucho más fuerte de lo que parece. Llega a Tommen College con una sola idea en la cabeza: aguantar. Nueva ciudad, nuevo colegio, nuevas reglas. Alessia solo quiere pasar desapercibida, pero en un lugar donde a todos les importa lo que piensen los demás, quedarse en silencio a veces puede ser más peligroso que hablar. En Tommen, entre pasillos llenos de secretos y sonrisas que no siempre son sinceras, va conociendo gente que empieza a importarle más de lo que pensaba. Entre ellos está Tadhg Lynch. Frío, cortante, y desde el primer momento... tan lejano como si fuera imposible de alcanzar. Eran polos opuestos. Pero algo los unía. ¿Podrá Tadhg ayudar a Alessia a salir del agujero donde ha estado atrapada toda su vida?

Brendan Clearly. He was the lad I liked since I was barely out of pigtails, the one who never slagged me off when the rest of the boys thought it was gas. He was different. Always smiling, always asking me if I'd eaten, like some little mammy trapped in a seventeen-year-old fella's body. It sounds stupid, but those tiny things kept me going. And then I went and wrecked it. Not just with him-no, I managed to shatter it with all of them. My friends, the ones who made the halls feel less lonely, the ones who kept me tethered here when the world felt too heavy. Gone. Because of me. Just a mistake, that's all it was, but a mistake that cost me everything. And now when I see him across the yard, laughing with the others, it's like a knife. He doesn't even look my way. And I deserve that, don't I? *** Caoimhe Kavanagh. Once upon a time she was my best mate. The kind of girl you'd sit on a wall with for hours, talking about nothing and everything. She was soft, kind, never the type to go looking for trouble. But now? I hardly recognise her. She's gone cold, sharp, always hanging 'round with that crowd-the type of people you know are only bad news. Ciggies tucked in their sleeves, mouths full of poison. And she's right there in the middle of it, like she belongs to them now. Part of me wants to write her off, tell myself she's not the Caoimhe I knew. That girl's dead and gone. But... I can't. I remember too much. The way she used to laugh, the way she'd defend you even when you were being a gobshite, the way she cared more than she ever let on. That's still inside her, I swear it is. I don't care how hard she tries to hide behind the mask she's wearing now-I know my friend is in there somewhere. And I'll drag her back if I have to. Because she's worth it.

She is under water, but he will pull her out. Whatever it takes. Tadgh Lynch doesn't do distractions. He's guarded, sharp, and has more baggage than he lets on. But starting at Tommen College, nothing's supposed to shake him-not even her. Jaylana Pierce is quiet, bruised, and hiding something no one else sees. Secrets are second nature to her. Survival depends on them. Tadgh knows he should stay away. But the more he sees through her walls, the harder that becomes. And saving her might just cost him everything.

Ivy Lynch wanted more. It was selfish of her, but she wanted more than the hand she was dealt in life. She wanted to be great. She wanted to write to her heart's content. She wanted to heal people. She wanted to dance. She wanted to be happy. But she couldn't be. Not when her past haunted her with memories she couldn't shake. Not when her present tormented her with expectations she could never meet. No one would have been able to tell, though. Not that Ivy was majorly struggling every day. Then Ivy Lynch disappeared at the end of Fourth Year, and no one knew why. Johnny Kavanagh was perfect. That was how everyone described him. The golden boy. He was also desperately in love with one of his best friends. Not that he would ever admit that out loud or even to himself. He had bigger things to worry about. Like Rugby. Like living up to the expectations that seemed to grow heavier with each passing day. But then Ivy disappeared, and no one could tell him why. So, Johnny got over it. Or at least, he told himself he did. He focused on Rugby and moved on to other girls, which was a mistake, and he knew that, but he needed to get over Ivy and fast. Each meaningless encounter was another attempt to fill the Ivy-shaped hole she'd left behind, but nothing worked. Then everything came crashing down when Johnny got injured, and that was slowly killing him. But then everything changes when Johnny accidentally hits Shannon Lynch in the head with a rugby ball, and the girl that disappeared came back into his life. Ivy Lynch was back. She looked different. She looked older, more guarded, with shadows in her eyes that hadn't been there before. She was back, and suddenly Johnny was thrown right back into his feelings. All those months of trying to forget her crumbled in an instant, like they'd never happened at all. Because God, Ivy Lynch was going to ruin him, and he had no idea how to stop it. And maybe, just maybe, he didn't want to.

✷ ━ 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗐𝖾𝗅𝗏𝖾 ◞ ⌞ ❛ 𝗉𝖺𝗍𝗋𝗂𝖼𝗄 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅𝗒 ❜