I was a normal teenage girl.
Keyword: Was. They took everything from me. My father. My mother. My little brother. My only friends. If you're not careful, they'll take yours too. They're behind every corner, every window, every computer, watching you. They're not human, at least, not as you or I would perceive them. They're not known to us by any conceivable name, but they know us.
Be careful where you read this, if you dare. They're everywhere. They took my home. And they'll take yours.
The A.A.S., as they're known as, will destroy everything if I don't stop them.
I'm the last of us, and I can't do it on my own. I need your help. I need you to see the story, pick up where I left off-- maybe then they can be destroyed. The portals are more frequent, but we don't notice. I didn't.
I have nowhere to start but the beginning. And it is there you will learn.
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]]