emmiemarshauthor
Through the relentless waves of grief and guilt, a young woman returns home to face the love she left behind and must decide whether to keep treading water or to finally swim toward a future where it no longer defines her. IT COMES IN WAVES is a story about second chances, overcoming past pain, and overcoming your grief enough to love someone else.
In the present timeline, twenty-three-year-old Waverly comes home for her sister's wedding after years of avoiding her family and the town she fled. She tells herself the visit is temporary, but the truth is harder to ignore: Max Hunter, the boy she loved and abandoned, is still there and still knows her better than anyone ever has. Waverly thought she would have her life figured out by now, yet returning home forces her to confront a painful truth: the only time she ever felt whole was the year she spent with Max.
In the past timeline, Waverly is a high school senior desperate to escape her toxic household and emotionally abusive mother. Lost and unsure of her future, she finds refuge first in movies, and then in Max. Awkward, gentle, and unwaveringly kind, Max sees Waverly for who she is beneath her defenses. Their relationship unfolds with the intensity of first love, offering Waverly safety, hope, and the belief that she might be worthy of more than the life she's been handed.
When Waverly unexpectedly runs into Max at her sister's pre-wedding party, the past collides with the present. Forced to face the choices that drove her away and the love she never truly left, Waverly must decide whether she'll continue running from her pain or finally stay and fight for the life she wants. As guilt, grief, and longing rise and fall, both timelines reveal that healing isn't about outrunning the waves, but learning how to weather them together. In choosing each other again, Max and Waverly build a future that honors who they were and who they've become.