For as long as Skyler McDonald can remember, she can't remember much. She'll remember the big things. Her old address, the name of her elementary school, her favorite teacher, and the friends she held dear while she lived there but for the most part, Skyler lived with hardly any memories at all.
After the death of her friend, Zara Bazemore, Skyler and Hiro find themselves moved to Ohio, where they continue to live the rest of their high school lives. Sticky notes, note pads, constant alerts, and reminders make up Skyler's life until all she can see are the appointments she doesn't remember, the details that slip past her, and the memories she doesn't have. It felt like pages and chapters of her life were gone, lost in the void to never return.
And then she met the cat. Chloe that followed her home was now leading her to the abandoned house at the end of the road. The walls were peelings, the windows cracked and suddenly, Skyler is spiraling down a path she never would have expected. Memories long forgotten are appearing for seconds, slipping through her fingers only moments later. The voices in her head became that much more real. The trauma of Zara's death and others that she didn't even recall ever having before coming back full force.
Skyler's life is in shambles. She never expected a cat could reveal the truth of her childhood. But Chloe revealed a secret about her past that Skyler had been denied up until now. It's time to rearrange her identity.
(Copyright 2022 by Ursula Inc. All rights reserved. Full disclosure. This book is written with care and to the best of research and facts that are relevant currently. Am looking for a sensitivity reader in order to make this more accurate. Characters are written with care and research. Published for the Open Novella Contest 2022 under prompt 91.)
[BWWM]
I was only twelve years old when the world turned cold. The day my mom died in that car accident, I felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my heart.
My dad, who had always been my hero, suddenly became a stranger, filled with rage and blame. He couldn't see that I was hurting, too; he only saw me as a reminder of his loss.
The accusations cut deep. He said it was my fault for being there, for not doing something to save her. For being the reason she was in the car in the first place.
In the years that followed, things only got worse. The abuse started gradually-a harsh word here, a shove there-but it escalated, leaving scars that I carried long after the physical pain faded.
I was drowning in my own despair, struggling to keep my head above water while my father's anger raged like a storm around me.
I only had a break from his anger when I started living with Aunt Dina-my mom's older sister. Well, that was because she found me nearly dead on my bed after I took a dozen pills. I was tired of living.
I had hit rock bottom.
The harsh whispers that followed me around and the stares at school. I pretended not to notice, like it didn't bother me. But it did. I was alone.
Then came Athalia, a ray of sunshine cutting through my darkness. With her, I felt something I hadn't felt in years-happiness.
She became my light through the darkness and my lifeline.
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● Warnings ⚠️
~ Mention of suicide
~ Anxiety attacks
~ Rape attempt
~ Mention of self-harm
~ Depression