What Happens In August

**Completed**

Stranded in the backwater, hillbilly-infested town of O'Connell county, Georgia, 17 year old, August Alder, has only ever had one wish: to put his hometown in his rearview mirror and never look back. Finally approaching his senior year of high school, with a flawless record of academic excellence under his belt, his one-way ticket to the outside world seems to be a guarantee.

But with the burden of maintaining the fragments of a shattered family bearing on his shoulders and a plague of loneliness consuming him - the prospects of making it to graduation are getting slimmer by the day.

Struggling to comes to terms with his sexuality, August finds himself attracted to the beautiful, yet troubled and untrusting Matteo - his long-time best friend and next door neighbor, fresh out of rehab and not looking to make a change.

As a devastating series of events unfold around him, August's resistance against insanity begins to desiccate. The only chance he has at surviving the pressure is to first face the secrets buried in the past of his dysfunctional family and gain the courage to finally stand up to the fears that have haunted him for years.

[Originally completed in November 2019]