**My unedited, terrible, in progress July Camp NaNo story.
Imagine: you're skydiving. You just jumped off the plane with a parachute prolonging your fall. It's sunset, and the colors of the sky are striking. The fall is taking a while, and eventually, you realize that it's going to be an eternity. You sit down. Your only way of traveling anyway other than down is by moving through the wind.
Now, pretend like you never dived off of a plane. Pretend that you have no parachute.
You have now entered Edlene, Roan, and Grant's world. Living their life in the Falls has its drawbacks, but they've always managed to stick through it together, until a vicious wind tears them apart. And while desperately searching for each other to overcome their extreme desolation, they uncover secrets that were never meant to be found.
With the help of a man who is far too fond of the word okay, they realize that the Falls is not a paradise, but rather a prison. And their captors, maddened by the sense of exile, want nothing more than to keep them there and under control.
Thanks to @thekingd0m for the lovely cover.
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]]