UT

Ashlee has always been good at pretending she’s okay. She smiles when she’s hurting, apologizes for taking up space, and gives pieces of herself away so freely that no one notices she’s slowly disappearing. When flowers begin appearing where blood should be, she quietly presses them between the pages of a journal, dates every bloom, and tells everyone she bought them from a florist. It’s easier than asking for help. As the illness spreads, so do the lies. By the time three stubborn men realize the truth, the flowers have already taken root—and saving someone who refuses to be saved may prove far more impossible than the disease itself. Some gardens are grown. Others are endured.