Dive Scars

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The first time I saw Luke Carter cry, he was trying to drown himself in a pool at midnight.

I didn't stop him. I just watched.

𖹭.ᐟ Oliver Reyes is the boy who seems fine. Star swimmer. Perfect grades. Empty house. He's learned to hold his breath-in the pool, in the pills he counts like prayers, in the silence of being left behind by parents who love him from a distance.

Luke Carter is the boy everyone wants but nobody saves. Golden, reckless, burning out fast. He fights like he's trying to feel something and drowns like he's trying to stop.

愛 When they collide, it's not love at first sight. It's recognition. Two boys who understand that water accepts what people can't. Two boys who've been treading water their whole lives, waiting for someone to notice they're sinking.

But loving someone who's drowning doesn't save them. Sometimes it just means you both go under.

𖹭.ᐟ This is a story about the versions of ourselves we perform for other people. About being everyone's hero when you can barely save yourself. About the fine line between swimming and drowning, between love and destruction, between staying and letting go.

愛 Not all love stories have happy endings.
Some just have honest ones.

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★ A devastating exploration of teen mental health, trauma, and what it means to be truly seen
★ Multiple POVs: Oliver, Luke, and Ava
★ For fans of "All The Bright Places" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

⚠️ Content warnings: suicide, self-harm, substance abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, drowning

#26 teenager, out of 74,8k stories💕
#108 teen, out of 380k stories 💕
#277 gay, out of 392k stories 💕
#249 teenromance, out of 127k stories 💕