Emma Jenkins, a privileged, upscale, pretty girl from New York, is less than thrilled when her family moves to a small town in the middle of nowhere to start a new life, when she was perfectly happy with her old, harmonious life.
She goes into her new life expecting to hate it, and at first she does, but that's when her miracle happens; It's just a diary, left by the sad, sarcastic boy who used to live in the house before her, but soon, it becomes an obsession. A life within a life. Her escape.
She finds herself in his mind, fascinated by his thoughts and feelings. Each passage brings her closer to him. Each page reveals something new about him. He's just an ordinary teenage boy like any other, but he fascinates her beyond belief.
Emma, greedy to know more about this boy she only knows in her mind, starts the new year at her new High School. All she wants to do is find the boy and see his face. She can't stop thinking about him. Can't stop imagining him. What he looks like. How he talks or walks or laughs.
When she finally does see him, though, he's nothing like the boy in the diary. The funny, unusual teen she was beginning to fall for. He's different, so unlike who she read about that she starts to doubt it's actually him.
Perhaps, if she didn't know who he really was, she would leave him alone. Perhaps, if the diary was complete and she knew the reason why he changed the way he did, she wouldn't ask question. But she had gone to deep, she was to curious. She needed to know.
After all, he was her miracle. And miracles aren't supposed to be broken.
Ella is falling apart trying to live a "perfect" high school life. Then she meets Ren, who can see past her scars. Suddenly perfection isn't her only option.
*****
Ella Volkov is a gifted music student, but she's depressed and starting to crack under the pressure of high school. Her overbearing father won't even let her choose what instrument she plays. Then she finds herself alone at a party with Ren, her best friend's crush. She'd always thought he was rude, but after that night he's all Ella can think about. Now she's trapped. If Ella dates Ren, it will ruin her friendship with Jenny. But if she stays true to Jenny, she's losing the one person who can see past her scars. It's up to Ella to decide if she will forge her own path, or stay in the "perfect" box designed for her...
Content and/or Trigger Warning: depression, anxiety, self-harm, violence, sexual assault.
[[word count: 50,000-100,000 words]]