What would it be like...
If you had a friend to guide you through all the mishaps in your life and tell you that everything will be okay?
A wife who loved you no matter what, even through all the problems that you two have faced?
Nick, a 27 year old man, has been through hell with his work and family, consisting of a single wife named Jessie who Nick has been in love with since college. At first everything was okay. Then at work, things went astray. His 'gold-digging' boss only has the insight of the company in their bridge project, not the community. If that wasn't bad enough, when he returns home with the decision to make lots of money or struggle feeding his wife and soon to be baby, there is a message; a message saying his wife has had a miscarriage.
Three months later he tries to kill himself, only to be stopped by a neighbor who lives directly above him. He helps Nick through his life and his relationship, making life worth living. But one day he has to go to the doctors because he is hearing things that aren't there and seeing things that disappear when he looks at them. The doctor diagnoses him with schizophrenia, telling him that his companion friend isn't real.
Now Nick has to go through this maze that his brain has put him through, discovering himself and the world around him, shaping it to his liking and living with this disease.
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]]