Realistically, breathing seems like the easiest thing to do in the world, it's as easy as, well, breathing. It's something we're never really taught how to do, it just happens. It's instinct. From the time we're born to the time that we die, we breathe. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. A pattern forever repeated 'til our deathbed invites us to itself. For some, however it might seem difficult, you're probably thinking about asthmatic people or something along the lines of that, you'd be correct, but that's not the kind of difficulty being referred to. Sometimes it's the mental difficulties that make breathing the most difficult. Suddenly breathing takes more effort than it should, and some even urge to stop doing the natural thing that is breathing. To those people it might be a temporary feeling, rushed away by the endorphins of the day to come, but for others it could be a permanent thing, plaguing them until they take their last breath.
This story is for those people, the ones constantly plagued by the idea that everything would be so much easier if they would stop breathing. For them, this story will mean more than to those who don't live this way. Hopefully, you can enjoy the story all the same and take something out of it.
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.
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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.
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