Deviations

For seventeen-year-old Miho, the long war with her own mind is becoming too much to bear. Between the unending nightmares, PTSD, depression, and isolation, the mental skirmishes never end. Those sweet whispers of the dark wisps promise freedom from the pain, and it's getting harder to say no.

When she witnesses a tragic accident, she catches the interest of her classmates Taka and Shinji, two boys with reputations for being casual playboys. But they let Miho see what no one else bothers to notice, like the regular abuse Shinji hides behind a sweet smile and easy-going laugh and Taka's barely leashed rage and frustration over his inability to protect his best friend or even control his own destiny.

What starts as a hesitant friendship becomes a deep connection the three can't ignore, but do they dare dream of happiness when the world around them seems bent on destroying them?

Deviations is an upper YA romance that includes a positive exploration of alternative relationships and a realistic portrayal of abuse and teens battling mental health issues.

According to society, it would be immoral, an unacceptable departure from the norm... but it just may be the key to finding happiness at last...

Taka is self-assured, smart, a born leader who could charm his way with anyone, especially when it comes to talking a girl into his bed. Shinji is a sweet guy with a ready smile whose blonde hair and blue eyes were so easy on the eyes.

Life-life friends, they are two playboys doing things most high schoolers never would and who normally be reviled for their lifestyles, yet they drew people in and were beloved in our school. Loved by people who didn't really know them at all.

I'd believed the facades too, but that was before. Before I saw Taka crying in the rain, before I got a taste of his sardonic and acerbic tongue and his potty mouth. Before Shinji and I stood face to face and truly looked at each other, and saw that same soul-eating darkness mirrored in each other's eyes.

By some miracle, these two guys let me see the real them, let me see the secret sides to themselves they carefully hide from the rest of the world. But such openness comes with a price. Do I dare trust them enough to do the same, to let them see my own dark secrets?

With them will I finally find the acceptance and forgiveness I've longed for or will giving myself over to these seemingly unscrupulous rogues shatter what's left of my fragile heart?

Deviations is a standalone contemporary upper young-adult romance that includes explores alternative relationships from a positive view.

Note: Deviations includes realistic portrayals of abuse and mental health issues, strong language, and sexual situations.

The first accident destroyed my life, could the second be the key to building a new one?

Taka is self-assured, smart, a born leader who could charm his way with anyone, especially when it comes to talking a girl into his bed. Shinji is a sweet guy with a ready smile whose blonde hair and blue eyes were so easy on the eyes.

Life-life friends, they are two playboys doing things most high schoolers never would and who normally be reviled for their lifestyles, yet they drew people in and were beloved in our school. Loved by people who didn't really know them at all.

I'd believed the facades too, but that was before. Before I saw Taka crying in the rain, before I got a taste of his acerbic tongue and his potty mouth. Before Shinji and I stood face to face and truly looked at each other, and saw that same soul-eating darkness mirrored in each other's eyes.

By some miracle, these two guys let me see the real them, let me see the secret sides to themselves they carefully hide from the rest of the world. But such openness comes with a price. Do I dare trust them enough to do the same, to let them see my own dark secrets?

With them will I finally find the acceptance and forgiveness I've longed for or will giving myself over to these seemingly unscrupulous rogues shatter what's left of my fragile heart?

Deviations is a contemporary upper young-adult romance that explores alternative relationships from a positive view.

Note: This story does include realistic portrayals of abuse and mental health issues, strong language, and sexual situations.