"Have you had a longing for something so strongly, it slowly begins haunting you. No matter how hard you try to resent this part of you, it's forever ongoing. You spend years pretending your over it, acting as if you feel nothing towards it. All the while it slowly eats at you. Every time you think you see that thing your eyes immediately dart in that direction, only to find it's not true. You can't help but wonder if they resents you for what you did. Over the years it begins taking over your mind, the dreams start. It begins as something in the background to becoming the main lead every time. The story different but always ends the same, with the burdened of regret."
The Distance Between Us is a story about Milo, a 17 year old, high school junior who moves to a small town after the death of his Mother.
Struggling with grief and adjusting to his new life, Milo reconnects with Ren, a childhood friend who has quietly harbored feelings for him.
As they navigate school, friendships, and emotions, Milo begins to question his own feelings and the distance between him and Ren.
The story explores themes of love, loss, and self-discovery, with a slow-burn romance at its heart.
Nia Evans feels as though her kidney disease is ruining every aspect of her life. In particular, her last year of school. So, rather than return to the whispers full of lies that suffocate her, she opts to resit her final year at a different school. Where, she hopes, her disease won't consume her so she can pretend to be just like everyone else and get past the resentment she hides from her dad.
But on her first day, her photo is taken by the one boy who will ruin her chances to blend in.
All Milo Thompson has ever wanted to do is swim. As a child, the Olympics was his dream. But now, he understands his dreams were unrealistic. Caught between his parents' abusive relationship, he's left to look after his eight-year-old sister. Afraid of exposing weakness, he hides behind a reputation that no longer belongs to him. All at the expense of the future he still dreams of.
When they meet and find art as a common ground, they open up to each other more than they ever intended through their work. Milo learns to express his true emotions in more than just his drawings. And Nia discovers that perhaps there is more to life than her disease.
But as their attraction for one another becomes impossible to ignore, they both hide behind their insecurities, unwilling to accept what the other is so desperate for them to see, their self-worth.