saltwater wounds

Seventeen-year-old Ryan Miller was raised in the fast, fractured heartbeat of New York City. A place that matched the chaos inside her home. Her dad was violent. Her mom was fragile. And Ryan was the quiet storm caught in between.

When her parents finally split, it was supposed to be for the better. But "better" didn't last. Her mom spiraled , into mood swings, into pills, into blaming Ryan for everything she couldn't fix in herself. The city turned from an escape into a prison. So when her dad offered her a way out , a new start in the Outer Banks. Ryan took it.

But nothing about her father's smile was safe.
And nothing about the Outer Banks was simple.

In Kildare County, everyone is either rich, reckless, or running from something. Ryan finds herself caught between it all, between the manic charm of Rafe Cameron, whose darkness feels familiar in a terrifying way... and the wild loyalty of JJ Maybank, who makes her feel seen when she'd rather disappear.

As she tries to navigate her new life, Ryan uncovers more than just secrets in her father's beach house. The same patterns. The same fear. The same man in a different mask.

Now, with trauma nipping at her heels and two broken boys pulling her in opposite directions. Ryan has to choose.