WARNING:
brief mentions of
abuse and rape.
authors note shows
more in depth of
triggering topics
such as drugs, rape,
and ptsd. please be
safe.

OCTOBER 30

MUSIC BLARED THROUGH LIA'S house, a group of drunken kids dancing as they wished to get further into their tipsy sensation. Weed lingered, the smell making the blonde want to use again but luckily she was too distracted by the fact her pink dress wouldn't zip, a groan of annoyance slipping from her mouth.

"Are you okay in there?" Olivia questioned with a slight knock on the door, her voice gentle as to not upset the girl.

"I need your help! The costume won't fit!"

The brunette turned the door knob and went behind the girl, a pink wig sitting on top of her hair as the couple went as Bubble Gum and Marceline. The zipper finally bugged, the pink girl settling down once more. Her fingers holding a pink vape to her mouth as she inhaled the strawberry ice flavor.

"I thought you were going to quit?" Liv asked as she placed her arms around her lover, the feeling of safety settling into Lia as she felt the warmth of the brunette against her skin.

"I am, this is the first use since i've started therapy." Lia said honestly, holding her pinky out to the girl as a form of sincerity, "I'm only using as a way to calm down when around a bunch of people. I'll never let that addiction grow again."

Liv wrapped her pink around Lia's, her head nodding in an understanding way as she knew how anxious social events made the girl. "Thank you." A wave of relief had overcame the girl, her stomach returning to its normal state as the two began to make their way downstairs to the party.

"This party is amazing Lia!" Rue commented as she jumped down from the table, using her girlfriend Faye to sturdy herself as she seemed to have one too many drinks, "On top of that I'm so excited for your album's release!"

The blondes lips curled into genuine, finally somewhat happy at where she was in life. She placed a solo cup to her lips, the bitter taste of alcohol corrupting her tastebuds as she gagged slightly, "God, how can you stand drinking this?"

"It kinda gets better with every sip." Faye explained, holding her girlfriend close to her as the clock ticked down to midnight. The euphoria of Lia's first album release clouding the air as she genuinely felt so alive.

Livs eyes lingered on her phone, bouncing slightly as she turned to Lia, "Less than a minute!" She called, wrapping an arm around her soon to be girlfriend. The seconds finally dispersed as 'happier than ever' began to play.

The guests crowded around the blonde as she melancholic song played on, the four girls sitting upon the white leather couch as Liv rested in her arms.

For the first time in her life she truly felt alive. The feeling of safety hung close to her heart as the realization that Liv was her home, her feeling of safety, finally hitting her.

"Your voice is so beautiful." The brunette commented from below her, admiration lining her eyes as the two locked hands. Lia's thumb gently ran in circles as a form of sincerity.

The bridge finally built up, Lia's heart crushing within her chest as her lyrics reflected perfectly how she felt towards her abusive ex and her terrible parents. It seemed as Liv felt it too, her grip on the girl tightening almost as a reassurance that she would no longer be a phase in her life. That this love they held for each other was never fading, never seeming to be temporary like the love others had held for Lia in the past.

"I'm so proud of you." Liv whispered to the girls, applause breaking out as everyone held such a deep compassion for the girls pain.

Lia's smile was finally real, no longer filled with ill intention or fear of abandonment. Her feelings towards Liv stronger than any trauma that had strangled her in the past.

"You don't know how much that means to me." Finally, the blonde spoke her thoughts. No longer afraid to let Liv in to see all the broken, used, parts of her. "I'm so thankful for you. You saved me more than you know."

The two girls closed the space within them, motion sickness playing in the background as the song the blonde wrote towards her abusive, rapist ex lingered in the background.

Everything about the girls was so gentle, so real. But instead of focusing on how delicate the two were, Lia couldn't help but be so happy that every moment in her life had led to this moment.

"I'm so in love with you." Lia whispered, their foreheads touching, the two smiling as their lips collided once more. The feeling of their joy could be felt through the soft skin, their relationship symbolizing growth and healing.

"And i'm so in love with you."

The rest of the night was filled with moments like those, no worries from her past haunting of her as they listened to Lia's trauma in the form of art. The blonde finally at the point in her life that she had longed to be at.

recovery.

liked by fayewindsor, oliviarodrigo, and 1,726,927 others
liasterling: bittersweet is out now. liv and i could never thank you enough for the support and love you've shown towards us.

see all 986,826 comments

user1: crying over how cute they are
liasterling: don't worry, we are too

oliviarodrigo: i'm so proud of you.
liasterling: i love you more than words can describe
oliviarodrigo: i love you to the moon & saturn
user1: i cant do this rn
user2: THE TAYKOR SEIFT REFrence

user3: album made me piss, shit, and cry uncontrollably. you are now blocked ☹️☹️
liasterling: STOP UR SO FUNNY

fayewindsor: favorite fags

user9: lia's finally healing guys :,)

ruealderidge: you have such a talent for writing. i'm so happy for both your album release and growth.

-authors note

as much as i hate to admit it, Lia is heavily based off of me. her pain and trauma almost exact to mine with the exception of her being at her aunts & her father being a drug addict.

i grew up in such an explosive house hold, where safety never felt real to me. i delt with my drug addicted brother trying to kill himself, the police lining my neighborhood due to a physical fight that broke out against my brother and father. he didn't love with us for a few nights and me and my mother left the house and stayed at my grandmas overnight.

i endured an abusive relationship where boundaries were no longer a thing, consent was faked, that ultimately ended with rape. i didn't know it at the time until my own liv told me that it was statutory rape. that i didn't consent to it because she had to beg for her.

i had struggles with abandonment issues and ptsd. i feared getting close to people for a long time and had such a struggle with being a phase in other peoples life. i coped with this behavior with vapes and edibles and my therapist didn't help me. i'm growing as a person and relate more to the lia i am becoming.

i was once a bad person but i've grown and hold such strong feelings towards mady, my girlfriend, who saved me and provided me such a real love that could never be recreated.

this book is not over, i just wanted to explain why this book is so close to me and why lia was such a terrible, manipulative person within the past. she's a good person deep down but through all her trauma she had such a hard time showing it and knowing who she was.

i thank everyone who loves this book and feels for me. i am trying to see a new therapist and i have such a strong support system. i'm doing the best i've ever done. i love you all.

-lia.