At fifteen, Brody Belyaev did the unthinkable to stop his father from beating his mother—an act that saved her life and ruined theirs. Shielded by juvenile law, Brody walked free. His mother never forgave him. Ostracized at home and haunted by guilt, he drowned himself at eighteen — until he wakes again on the night his father returns drunk, five minutes before everything went wrong. This time Brody has a map: memories of a life that ended too soon. He vows not to repeat the mistakes—of love, of mercy, of silence. He moves into a boarding dorm, scrapes together tuition money scavenging city streets, studies like his future depends on it (because it does), and meets Jonas Burke — a scrappy, kind cybercafe regular who stumbles into Brody’s life when it matters most. Jonas becomes a tutor, a rival, a lifeline, and later, something Brody never expected to need. But ghosts don't stay buried. Brody’s father is a gambler with a temper, and his mother's loyalty is a religion that refuses to change. When a brutal act pushes the family past the edge, Brody must choose: defend, flee, or finally break the pattern. It’s a story about surviving toxic love, turning trauma into ambition, and finding a fragile, dangerous tenderness between two boys who learned early that the world could break them at any time. Second Chances, Harder Choices is a gritty, slow-burn LGBTQ+ coming-of-age about second chances, found family, and the cost of choosing life.