Title: Don't Say Sorry If You Meant It
Summary:
Jay doesn't say "please." He steals, spits, and survives. Kicked out after his dad caught him with a boy, he's been couch-surfing and scraping by, knife in one hand and trauma in the other. He trusts no one, fucks for warmth, and dreams about burning down his past.
Milo says "sorry" even when he's silent. The perfect preacher's son with blood on his knees and verses carved into his back. When he runs from the church and lands in a halfway house for queer kids, the last thing he expects is Jay-foul-mouthed, reckless, and hotter than sin.
Their first meeting ends with a bloody lip.
Their second? A kiss that tastes like defiance.
Two broken boys. One promise: No love. Just survival.
But when their pasts claw back-one with fists, the other with holy fire-Jay and Milo have to decide:
Do we run again?
Or do we finally stand our ground... together?
Trigger warnings⚠️: trauma, abusive parents, religious guilt, violence, mental health themes, heavy spice, sexual assault, sexual abuse, rape, lots of messy queer love, and boys who heal by ruining each other in all the right ways.
Aurora's life had always been about survival, each day a quiet battle against fear and pain. When her stepfather was finally arrested, she thought the fight was over. But leaving one dangerous world meant stepping into another-one she didn't fully understand.
Now, she's living with seven older brothers she barely knows, their lives a tangle of secrets and shadows they never speak of. Their house is loud, protective, and filled with rules she's afraid to break.
For Aurora, it's a new kind of survival. For her brothers, it's a chance to keep her safe-no matter what it takes.