Kit Whitfield has a secret. After her father's rape conviction over a year ago, she left her mom and brothers in California to finish high school with a "clean slate" in Wyoming. But she's far from being a clean slate. Only her mom knows who her father was actually convicted of raping, and Kit plans to keep it that way. Which is why her mom allowed her to leave their small town, because small town people are of full of big talk, and Kit wasn't sure her sanity could take another moment.
Kadin Asal's life has been moving since the day he arrived in America as refugee when he was eight. Never staying in one place for more than a year, he's never been one to keep close friends. Having just come from California, Kadin is about to finish his final semester of high school in Wyoming.
When these two meet, it's anything but a welcome reunion. Kadin sees a rich girl with a secret and jumps at a way to make money. Kit, refusing to give up her secrets so easily, stalls as best as she can to avoid having to admit that she and her family no longer have the kind of money Kadin is asking for. But the more time they spend together, Kadin taking on the role of an angry debt collector constantly looking for his payout, the more they realize that the other is not so different after all. Kadin's prices are so outrageous, it's a little less impossible for them to fall in love, than for Kit to fully pay him off.
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]]