Ava by Ali Parker

My brother thinks a rehabilitation retreat in Montana will finally be the thing that fixes me. I’m only agreeing to go because I can’t let him down. Not again. He’s put too much faith in me—faith I don’t deserve.

When Piper was in my life she gave me the reprieve I needed to let down my walls and remember who I was without the alcohol or drugs. But when she chose the cowboy and married him?

I spiralled and drowned myself in vodka.

So now here I am, sitting in group therapy with a bunch of other lost souls pretending to believe this place can save me.

But maybe she can.

I don’t deserve my brother’s faith, and I definitely don’t deserve the radiant joy the beautiful yoga instructor shares with me. Her positivity is almost annoying, but there’s something magnetic about her, too. She’s good to her core and it’s been a long time since I looked into a pair of eyes that took my breath away.

For the first time since I lost Piper it feels like I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s brighter than I ever imagined.