Stella Rose lives a life of secrets and half truths. But she's  never had to lie to Zach Mitchell before. He's her best friend. When they start to explore a romantic relationship, everything comes crashing down around them. Betrayals take place, secrets spill, and hearts get stomped on. Now, a few years later, and about to graduate high school, will we see the wounds heal? Will Stella and Zach get a second chance?


[WARNING: Contains triggers for eating disorders, emotional and physical abuse, suicidal thoughts, harmful language]

**This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. **

Is This Our Second Chance

I can't help but glance over at Zach while he drives us out of the neighborhood. I notice how his body is tense and that he's gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles are white, a telling sign that he's equally as anxious as I am. My hands feel clammy and my heart is racing as I think about the conversation that we are about to finally have. I give a silent prayer that I remain strong enough to get through it without breaking down. 


I stare out the window watching the fields and country life fly past us. My memories feel like the weighted words of someone I thought I once knew. I have discovered, in the most sardonic way, that I, in fact, do not know what it feels like now. What it feels like now in comparison to how it felt then. Scenes replay like the surface of a broken record spinning sluggishly, permanently tracing along the inside of my mind. 


Chapter 7