Three Wrong Turns

"Counting down the days until he can escape his violent home, eighteen-year-old Pika never planned on falling in love— and it’s by far the most terrifying human connection he’s ever wanted to hold onto."An emotionally devastating queer coming-of-age story featuring a hard-earned HEA. Three Wrong TurnsPika Keanu Mawae’aloha Aire never wanted to leave Hawai‘i. But after the death of his mother, the state handed custody to a father he barely knew— a bitter, hard-drinking man who tore him away from the only home he’d ever loved and dropped him into a world where innocence didn’t survive for long.At home, Pika lives beneath the threat of his ol’man’s fists and the venom of a drug-addicted stepmother whose chaos poisons every room she enters. Still, he’s learned to endure by keeping his head down and his eyes fixed on the horizon where freedom and a better life wait for him. Graduate. Save every dollar he can. Endure just a little longer. Then book it.Except there’s one bad wave tearing through his otherwise perfect escape plan— Ripley. Because no matter how badly he wants out, how is he supposed to leave his sixteen-year-old stepsister behind in that house? And even if he tried to take her with him— who would ever let him?If Pika has learned anything, it’s how to dodge ninety-nine problems— right up until Tosh rolled his Jaguar F-type coupe into Pika’s repair bay for an oil change for the third time that week.Toshiro Scottslei is everything dangerous to a boy like Pika— wealthy, fearless, openly affectionate, and impossible to ignore. What begins as weekends spent repairing Tosh’s moto race bikes quickly becomes something far more terrifying: a taste for affection and something even worse—Hope.For the first time in years, someone sees Pika not as broken, but as someone worth loving.But hope has a cost.The closer Pika gets to the life he wants, the more violent home becomes. Bruises stop healing before new ones take their place, and even the people beginning to notice —the shop boss who sees too much, Tosh’s powerful father quietly pulling strings behind the scenes— may not be enough to stop what’s coming once the truth finally claws its way into the light.Because breaking free doesn’t mean you get to leave the scars behind.And when the people meant to protect children become part of the nightmare instead, Pika finds himself dragged through a darkness no amount of wishful thinking, first love, or escape plans can survive untouched.The only question left is whether there’s still enough of him remaining to rebuild a life worth living on the other side of all those wrong turns.Coming-of-Age Gay Fiction / YA for Adult Readers / Drama / Teen Trauma / Mixed Race / Wallflower Teen / Surviving Abuse / Hawai’ian Culture, Language & Pidgin Dialect / Endure for a Better Life / Life Against all Odds / Psychological / Protects a Step-Sibling / First Dates / Toxic Home / Abuse / Trauma / Refuse to be Broken / Best of Best-friends / Love is a Simple Life / Overcoming Hate / Meet-Cute-First love / Everyone Can See It / Grief & Coping / Finding a New Beginning / Bittersweet Survival / Gut-wrenching / Ugly cries / Bittersweet HEA / Hard Earned HEA Reader Advisory: This story contains emotionally intense themes and depictions of trauma that may be difficult for some readers. While deeply painful at times, this is ultimately a story about survival, healing, and finding hope after unimaginable circumstances.Perfect for readers searching for emotionally devastating queer fiction, trauma recovery stories, emotionally intense romance, hurt/comfort dynamics, protective love interests, and hard-earned HEAs that fight their way toward healing and hope. Read more