Perfunctory Affection

Is it better to live a lie of perfection when the truth is too ugly to survive?

Meg wants a normal life. Her new artistic style, born in the depression of her mother's death, is poised to take the art world by storm, if she could just overcome the debilitating anxiety caused by the car accident that scarred her boyfriend, Austin. Encouraged by her therapist, Meg pushes outside her comfort zone to befriend Haley, a guest instructor at the university where Meg teaches. Haley is everything Meg wants to be: charismatic, confident, and perfect, but when Austin expresses his worry that Haley is changing Meg too fast and leads her to realize that Austin is trying to keep her afraid and needing him, Meg kicks him out of her life. Or at least, she tries.

This story brings to life a world terrifyingly near to our own, where what's real and what shouldn't exist twine together in the madness of a troubled mind desperate for a way out. But when the truth is revealed, the question remains: is it better to live a lie of perfection, or cleave to an ugly reality that will destroy you?