Hello, I am Ember Montgomery, and this is my (short) story.
I'm not exactly popular, yet not exactly not popular either. I'm known by people, but I'm mostly independent. I have friends. Just the few, but they're enough. I love reading and I love social media, Tumblr, especially. I surround myself with things and people whom I love. I've always had a thing for photography. I'm average. I get good grades, I lead a normal life. I want to get into a good college and just have a good life.
Yet on the day after Spring Break, that's when my expectations go down from there.
"You tell yourself, 'I'm not going to be that kind of person,' but it never really works out that way, does it?"
Life doesn't always give you what you want, but good things can come out of the bad.
You have to learn to make the most of it.
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]]