Summer of Strength

She escaped the danger.
Now she has to survive everything it left behind.

--

After the fight that changed everything, sixteen-year-old Ally loses her baby and Josh is sent to jail for the summer. Ben gives her a rental house so she can finally feel safe, and Chris moves in with her immediately-the boy she originally wanted, the boy who refuses to let her heal alone.

But safety doesn't erase trauma.

Leaving the Smith house breaks her heart. It was the safest place she ever lived, and she misses Mr. Jason every day. Still, the memories and nightmares make it impossible to stay in the neighborhood where everything happened.

Then comes the secret she never meant to share.

Chris has been coping in his own dangerous ways for years, and when Ally catches him, hurting and desperate to numb her grief, she pressures him into letting her try it too. What starts as a way to escape becomes a private struggle they face together-one that no one else sees when they look at their seemingly perfect relationship.

Meanwhile, Ally's mother files for custody out of spite, convinced getting remarried will fix everything. Mrs. Kim refuses to accept who Josh has become. Ally files for emancipation and Ben steps in without blinking. Nobody expects him to win-but he does.

For the first time, Ally has people choosing her.
For the first time, she isn't alone.
But Josh's obsession doesn't fade, even from jail. And healing gets harder when the past refuses to stay quiet.

She survived the danger.
Now she has to survive the aftermath.

Book 2 of the Rebel Heart series
Trigger Warnings: abuse, trauma, child loss, addiction, toxic family dynamics