***Still in the middle of my editing process***
Emerald Taylor doesn't have the best life, but she makes do. With a father who is a drug dealer, and the gang leader trying to get in her pants, she has no choice. But everything starts to change when her best friend Vicky invites her for a week long birthday party. A couple days into the week, Emerald meets an incredible animal, and a handsome man who maintains the animal. Country Pride, an American Warmblood horse, is a very protective horse that doesn't like anyone except Bill, his groom, and now Emerald. The love between Pride and Emerald, and Bill and Emerald grows with each day as does the distance between Emerald and her biological family. When the day finally arrives for Vicky's family to legally adopt her, Emerald stopped all communication with her biological family. After the adoption, things got better at school, but worse a family member tried to come after her, and Vicky gets into a major accident.
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]]