From: Lost To: The Universe

Quinn takes a deep drag from her cigarette and blows the smoke forcefully upward into the sky where it wavers for a moment before dissipating into the evening heat. The August sun casts long shadows across the parking lot as it threatens to retire below the low buildings slouching on the avenue across from us.
"Does it help?" I ask suddenly, trying not to look directly into her eyes.
"Group?" Quinn seems to understand me without prompting. "Sometimes," she replies thoughtfully, staring up at another stream of smoke as it bulges, quivering, and disappears just like the first. "Sometimes it doesn't but you have to pretend, or you'll never get better." One last puff and she grinds the stub of cigarette into the wall beside her before slipping the filter into one of her shoes. "My parents check my pockets," she says with a wan smile. "But I'm not just gonna leave it there." She pulls another cigarette from the pack and lights it again, staring unblinkingly into my eyes.
"I'm not a fucking monster."

"From: Lost, To: The Universe" invites readers to embark on a cosmic odyssey through the intertwined destinies of Elliot Bishop and Quinn Langley. In the arid expanses of Sunview, a desert town nestled off the interstate, seventeen-year-old Elliot finds refuge in the boundless wonders of astronomy, a sanctuary from a horrific shadow that scars his past. Across the celestial tapestry, Quinn blazes her own trail, a rebel spirit tethered to the scars of her history. As they navigate the labyrinth of their shared vulnerabilities, their paths converge in the crucible of group therapy, where the constellations of their lives intersect. Through the echo of their struggles, Elliot and Quinn discover that while the universe offers infinite vistas, true liberation lies in confronting the gravitational pull of their own stories. Join them on a voyage of self-discovery, where the stars illuminate the way home.