You’ve Found Oliver by Dustin Thao (Paperback)

Oliver is still learning to live with the gap left by Sam’s death. A year has passed, yet his days feel shaped by the habits he can’t break, including sending messages to the number Sam once used. Each text becomes a way to hold on, even though he never expects anything in return. As the anniversary nears, the silence feels heavier, and his grip on the past grows tighter.

Everything shifts when a call connects and a stranger answers. The number has been reassigned, and Ben, a college student in Seattle, has been receiving Oliver’s deepest thoughts without knowing who they were meant for. Their first conversation brings confusion, embarrassment, and a pull neither of them expects. Oliver knows he should step back now that the truth is out, but the space Ben creates in his life brings a sense of comfort he hasn’t felt in a long time.

Their messages begin to form a steady rhythm. Oliver faces the tension between honouring the past and opening himself to something new. Ben brings warmth and patience during a time marked by loss, offering steady ground when Oliver’s emotions run high. As they grow closer, both must decide what they want from the connection forming between them and how it fits into the lives they are rebuilding.

This story traces grief, renewal, and the courage needed to move forward, even when holding on feels safer.