Breaking Surface

Grief doesn't ask permission. Neither does love.
Seven months after the sudden loss of her best friend Stassie, J Gonzalez is barely surviving. Haunted by painful memories, trapped by a toxic ex who refuses to let go, and watching the only place that feels like home slip through her fingers, she's drowning in her own sorrow.
Then she meets Evan Carter-steady, kind, and unafraid of the darkness she hides. Patiently, he begins to show J that healing doesn't mean forgetting, that opening her heart again doesn't erase the past. As the walls she's built around herself start to crumble, every choice feels impossible. Will she let fear keep her underwater, or will she finally break the surface and let life back in?
Breaking Surface is a deeply moving story of grief, resilience, and the fragile, transformative power of love-when it comes at the exact moment you least expect it.