We were never meant to stay

Two broken souls. One impossible promise. Thirty days to fall in love with being alive.Elise Morgan hasn’t painted in three years-not since her younger brother’s overdose turned her world gray. Jonah Reid hasn’t swum since a rare nerve condition stole his Olympic career and left him in constant, invisible pain. They meet in a suicide support group, two strangers drowning in grief they can’t name, and make a desperate deal: thirty days. Thirty days of not dying, spent together, finding one small reason each day to stay.No last names. No romantic entanglements. No fixing each other.But rules are made to be broken when you’re learning how to want tomorrow.As winter deepens over their quiet city, Elise and Jonah embark on a series of small, stolen adventures-breaking into botanical gardens to feel tropical warmth in February, dancing in empty laundromats at 3 AM, watching the sunrise from parking garage roofs. With each shared moment, the walls they’ve built begin to crack. Elise starts sketching again, her hands remembering their purpose. Jonah laughs for the first time in years when she accidentally floods his kitchen attempting to cook.But survival is complicated. When Jonah’s condition worsens and he begins to withdraw, Elise must choose between respecting his boundaries and fighting for his life. When the thirty days end, they must decide whether their pact was a bridge to healing-or just a beautiful delay of the inevitable.