Even When I'm Gone

Ollie has been away for seven months. When he returns, nothing is as Mia left it: he is facing tests on every side, and the demons he walked away from are waiting for him. He treats his own downfall as something that has to happen, and he names Mia as the one thing he is fighting toward.

Mia remembers the day Ollie gave in to the darkness and left her behind. He had taken down her defences, and his leaving put her back out in the open with none of them. Now he is back, but new people and new obstacles come with him.

Ollie tells her to trust no one, and that includes him. Mia is left holding on while her own footing slips, and she has to decide how to stay strong for both of them when she is not sure she can manage it for herself.

This is the second book in a series, told in the voices of both Ollie and Mia, so the first book matters here. The mood is dark and emotionally raw, and it turns on one exchange: whether Mia can stay with him even when he is gone.