Intentional Poisonings
Seventeen-year-old aspiring engineer Grayson Hicks would like to rebuild himself into a robot. No feelings? No problems. After his father walked out, shutting off his emotions was the only way to survive. Besides, if he ever gave in to something as useless as feelings, who would take care of his depressed, drugged-up mother? After all, she needs him.Yet the night he discovers Val, his way-too-trusting best friend, naked in the backseat of his coworker's car, Grayson is confronted with burgeoning feelings he never expected. But falling in love with Val proves to be a complication Grayson can't handle, especially when his mom's depression worsens and his grades plummet. With his emotions controlling him, Grayson's life is heading into a tailspin. Pretty soon, people are going to find out what's really happening in his house. If Grayson can't get his feelings under control, he could lose everything: his mother, his chance for a scholarship, and his best friend. Now it's Love versus Logic -- and the gloves have just come off.TW: I've marked this story "Mature" as it has some swearing, emotional and physical abuse, and sexual assault. Not overly graphic, but it's written for the older end of YA.Word count: 94,000๐ฅ First Place in the Nebula Awards 2023 teenfic/YA ๐ฅ First Place in The Sunset Awards 2023, Fiction/Other๐ฅFirst Place Blossom Awards, YA/Teen, 2023Nanowatt 2023 Winner for YA๐ฅ Second place in the Katana Awards 2023Featured on@StoriesUndiscovered@ContemporaryLit@YA"you're touching on such an important topic!! Men's mental health isn't spoken about as openly" @TheLostAndFoundPile"Intentional poisonings had me in a choke hold.... Can you blame me for completing it in 2 sittings?" @maplelatte7โฆ
