Abby Penn is your typical teenage girl. She's 16 and likes to stay awake all night scrolling on her tumblr - wishing she looked like them. She loves pizza but with only very few friends and a family who doesn't care, how does she manage to face the fear that's been following her around? How does she manage to cover it up? All with the pain of her brother... She has the option to start over, but will she risk losing everyone around her for her own safety? She's broken but the funny part is, she looks happy on the outside.
'Hey Abby?'
'Y-Yes?' i whispered, my heart thudding. He was drunk. Great. My head whipped to the side as he landed a punch on my already bruised jaw. I let the tears fall, wincing in pain whilst he kept hitting me. One to the face, two to the belly. I fell to the floor only to be grabbed by my hair and hoisted back up and pinned against the wall. 'I love you.' he whispered. You're probably wondering why I didn't run? There's no point. I'm trapped.
Ella is falling apart trying to live a "perfect" high school life. Then she meets Ren, who can see past her scars. Suddenly perfection isn't her only option.
*****
Ella Volkov is a gifted music student, but she's depressed and starting to crack under the pressure of high school. Her overbearing father won't even let her choose what instrument she plays. Then she finds herself alone at a party with Ren, her best friend's crush. She'd always thought he was rude, but after that night he's all Ella can think about. Now she's trapped. If Ella dates Ren, it will ruin her friendship with Jenny. But if she stays true to Jenny, she's losing the one person who can see past her scars. It's up to Ella to decide if she will forge her own path, or stay in the "perfect" box designed for her...
Content and/or Trigger Warning: depression, anxiety, self-harm, violence, sexual assault.
[[word count: 50,000-100,000 words]]