When Marlena Vince's mom passed away when she was just a little girl, and her dad was put in jail for drugs when she was sixteen, she couldn't let her younger brother, Jason, and her get separated. She got emancipated and took Jason into her custody. They've lived happily for almost two years. Marlena is now seventeen and Jason is thirteen. But, when she meets the new guy, Nick, who transferred from a small high school in Germany, nothing is normal. Every day, she finds more and more about him, but she only gets the mysteries, never the answers. When Marlena keeps nagging and trying to persuade Nick for the burning answers, he doesn't budge. Marlena searches for weeks, trying for answers. She goes to his family, but they won't say anything. None of them will. Marlena finally figures out his last name, which no one but her knows she knows it. Marlena types it in on Google, and shocking results come up that will change the way she sees Nick forever.
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]]