EPIGRAPH

"In one aspect, yes, I believe in ghosts, but we create them. We haunt ourselves."

― Laurie Halse Anderson, Wintergirls

"Maybe you were trying to mastermind matters of the heart again. You've gotten lost in the labyrinth of your head, where the fear wraps its claws around the fragile throat of true love. Will you be able to save it in time? Save it from who? Well, it's obvious. From you."

— Taylor Swift

"In a way, grief is a marker of time. There was this, and then there wasn't this, but you're still here."

— Aaron Schwartz

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SYNOPSIS

          PAIGE DE HAAN has one goal for her senior year of college: to be left alone. 

          After a devastating summer and a period of deep isolation, all she wants is to graduate, cut ties with her past, and leave behind the friends she pushed away, her little sister, and the painful memories that haunt her. Everything is going according to plan—that is, until she's paired for her senior project with the last person she wants to see: her former best friend.

          KEANE MAHONEY has spent months staying away from Paige, honoring the unspoken wish she seemed to have for distance. It broke his heart, but he figured it was better than hurting her even more. Now, thanks to an unavoidable senior project—a ghost-hunting web series—they're forced to work together, reviving unresolved tension and emotions they both thought were buried.

          As the two navigate their awkward reunion, old feelings resurface, and they're forced to confront not only their past but also what the newfound proximity means to them. 

          The project brings them closer, but as they dig deeper into both paranormal investigations and their own fractured relationship, one question remains: can they rebuild what was broken, or should they let the past stay buried?

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CAST

grace van patten as paige de haan

logan lerman as keane mahoney

madelyn cline as lucy ripley

charles melton as scott 'jeff' jefferson

cailee spaeny as isolde 'izzy' de haan

diana silvers as jackie caulfield

madelaine petsch as brooke 'brie' sheridan

cody christian as rhett price

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CONTENTS

GHOST HUNTING CONTENT!!! buzzfeed unsolved you'll always be famous

skeptic x believer dynamic. paige is very much the skeptic. can you tell

the supposedly haunted places and situations described are FICTIONAL unless i state otherwise in the author's notes

grumpy x sunshine / black cat x golden retriever

best friends to estranged friends to partners to ??? to lovers

forced proximity

this is a fluffy romance book but the stakes are a bit higher this time

grief. yeah. we're soooo back baby

dual pov (you're welcome)

jeff jefferson

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

this is book 2 in the bennington university series (BU), the first one being FEMALE GAZE. you DO NOT have to read FEMALE GAZE to read this one, but keep in mind this one will spoil that one. 

if you've read it, good! welcome! i love you! they can definitely be read as standalones, but you get the added bonus of knowing the lore and the easter eggs if you've read FG first.

although this is still a romance and we're all rooting for paige and keane to figure their shit out, it's more introspective and character-focused than FEMALE GAZE was. you'll find that paige is very different from brie and from how she used to be in book one (see: trauma), so, if you're expecting a carbon copy of that . . . sorry to disappoint, but that's not what you're getting here.

you'll probably be angry at her. you'll probably be frustrated. that's understandable. all i ask is for empathy and kindness. rudeness in my comments section will be deleted and you will be blocked. i understand people might get invested while they read and a bit of screaming is acceptable, but read the room. if you're asked to stop, stop.

remember: paige is a fictional character, but these are real things that happen to real people. however, each experience is different for everyone. it's not my experience, it's not your experience. please don't try to project your experience onto her.

with that being said, DO NOT MAKE FANDOM REFERENCES IN MY COMMENTS SECTION. YOU CAN MENTION BUZZFEED UNSOLVED/GHOST FILES/SHANE AND RYAN, BUT THAT'S IT. i'll warn you once. if you're rude to me and/or do it again, you're out.

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DISCLAIMER & COPYRIGHT

          My characters' opinions don't necessarily reflect mine.

          This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, corporations, establishments and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

          COPYRIGHT © 2024 CATERINA GEORGE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

          No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author. Feel free to quote it, but give me the proper credit.