olivegarden__10
Orelia Jones moves to a quiet cul-de-sac just before her freshman year, hoping for a fresh start after a past that still lingers heavier than she lets on. She doesn't expect much from the town, definitely not the boy who lives across the street.
Atticus Barsotti has been there his whole life. Same house, same street, same routine. Until Orelia shows up. What starts as a simple welcome (and his mom's infamous peach pie) turns into something neither of them planned: an easy, unspoken bond that carries them through the first years of high school. Close enough that everyone assumes, but never quite crossing that line.
Until junior year.
As things at home begin to unravel, Atticus starts slipping. Quietly, carefully, in ways no one at school seems to notice. Everyone, except Orelia who feels the shift before she understands it. The late nights. The distance. The silence where there used to be something steady.
Then, without explanation, he's gone.. from her life, at least.
Cut off and left with nothing but questions, Orelia is forced to face something she's always feared: losing someone without knowing why. But this time, the answers are right across the street. If she's willing to look close enough.
And if she's not too late.