DylanOBrienss24
Description "The Secrets She Carries"
Gia Bell has spent years mastering the art of pretending.
Pretending the constant questions don't bother her. Pretending the reminders don't exhaust her. Pretending she doesn't hate being known as "the diabetic girl" instead of simply being Gia.
Everyone knows she has Type 1 diabetes.
They know about the insulin pump, the emergency snacks, the appointments, and the precautions. They know what she lives with, but they don't know what it feels like.
Nobody knows about the nights she struggles alone.
Nobody knows the pressure she carries to always be strong.
Nobody knows how badly she wants someone to see the person behind the diagnosis.
When Gia's world begins to change, she finds herself surrounded by people who are carrying secrets of their own. Baylee, Alba, Sienna, Avi, AJ, Sabina, Atlas, Adrian, Nikhil, and Kaia all have battles they keep hidden beneath their smiles.
And then there's Kade Allan.
Kaia's older brother.
The person who has known Gia for years. The person who notices the things everyone else misses; the moments when her smile fades, when she goes quiet, and when she's pretending she's okay.
But being seen is terrifying when you've spent so long convincing everyone you're fine.
As friendships shift, relationships become complicated, and old wounds begin to surface, Gia must decide whether letting people in is worth the risk of being hurt.
Because sometimes the hardest secret to admit isn't what you've been hiding from everyone else.
It's admitting that you were never meant to carry everything alone.