"I've been waiting for you," he mumbles beneath his breath. I finally found him. After so many years of searching, we were finally reunited. I could feel the energy buzzing around us, a faint glow of particles surrounding our bodies.
"You brought me back to you," I reply, my eyes searching his. The webbing of our minds began to weave together; no matter how much I wound up hating him or loving him in the future, I would never be able to let him go. He dipped his head down, our lips slowly meeting. Energy surged throughout my body as we touched; it was finally done, the mission had begun.
For twelve years he was mine and I was his. And now, this marked the beginning of forever.
Baeleigh Breckenwald has never known what "normal" is. Growing up hearing voices in the night, she grew accustomed to sharing her mind with those that were wandering, waiting. It all started after her sixth birthday, when her grandmother passed away. She started seeing the boy in her dreams, the whistler. It's twelve years, and countless voices, later when her best friend passes away. Bae has reached wits end and wants out of her town. She relocates to Whitley Oakshire, an elite boarding school nestled away in Maine. The voices disappear for a while. That is, until she's walking to class one morning and hears the whistle.
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]]