Four years ago, Jamie Hayes disappeared from her best friend's life without a word. She had her reasons. She was fourteen, terrified, and carrying a secret she didn't have language for yet.

Now she's eighteen, standing on a doorstep she used to walk through without knocking—a trans girl only just beginning her transition, still learning how to take up space in a body that's finally starting to feel like hers.

She came back expecting to apologize. She didn't expect Lena Vance to pull her inside like no time had passed at all.

*The Way Back* is a story about the girl you were before you had the words, the people who loved you anyway, and the terrifying, beautiful act of letting them love you again.

cover art by bsky.app/profile/cmctits.bsky.social