Bright Stars, Broken Compass

"I didn't know if you'd come," I say softly.

He looks up, startled, eyes wide and sharp and the light, clear green I remember. The color of new jade. Of the river in early summer that is the only place he calls home.

"Where else would I go?" he asks, gone still and careful in his movements, as if I am a wild bird he might scare away.

Or maybe he's afraid I'll attack him.
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Will Parker has been fending for himself since age twelve. Now in college, he's finally begun to cobble together a life of his own, with his own rules, and a circle of friends who know nothing about his past.

Then he meets Abbey Banks, and everything changes

He can't stay away from her. A girl of light and shadow, soft kisses and sharp wit, Will finally feels like he can breathe. Being with Abbey makes life vibrant: Waffle feasts at midnight. Running away to the French Quarter. Skinny dipping in the snow. Soon, he feels like he needs her more than oxygen, and she seems to feel the same way.

Until the day she disappears, taking nothing but the clothes on her back and her bank card.

Will embarks on a desperate quest where finding her won't be enough; He must decide if he can be the refuge for her that he's never had himself.