TRIGGER WARNING⚠️
VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED, MENTIONS OF ABUSIVE PARENTS AND TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS
Heartbreak isn't the same as you see on social media, it isn't always fixing and working on yourself in order to heal, it isn't always the glow up and transformation that happens to you after the breakup.
Sometimes it's crying in the shower at 3 am, or staring at the person you would've died for knowing damn well they couldn't have cared less about you.
Here is the other side of heartbreak, the ugly side, the realistic side.
The side that is so ugly it actually turned out to be beautiful.
But beware, because the story doesn't only talk about them, it talks about her.
Because, it's not their story, it's her story, her struggle, her feelings, it's entirely her.
(most of the characters mentioned in this story are based on real people, the names are changed in respect for the people, some events are changed)
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]]