The building was old. It had been a factory of some sort one hundred, maybe one hundred fifty years ago. Its sturdy brick and steel construction had weathered the years well enough, and after so very long sitting abandoned, forgotten on the edges of the city, it was reclaimed by […]
Melinda hated driving at night. She did her best to avoid it. Short trips to the store if she just realized she ran out of tampons or had nothing for dinner after getting home; that sort of thing happened now and then. But she did her best not to go […]
On the last night of my honeymoon, my husband Ricky and I were soaking in the beach resort’s outdoor hot tub. It was December, you see, and there were maybe only five rooms occupied in the whole resort. Although the fire pit was burning hot and bright one lot over, […]
Call me a misanthrope, an introvert, whatever. The fact is, I always thought I preferred being alone. I had a couple of friends. Well, mainly acquaintances. People I worked with. People I lived near. Family. But I had tried doing the companionship thing, and it never seemed to be for […]
He and his girlfriend weren’t the most romantic couple – their idea of spicing up their relationship was making out in the dark. He came over to her house late one night, when her parents were out of town, and they lay down on her bed together. He turned off […]
I woke up that Saturday morning to an unexpected breeze, cool and pleasant, against my cheek. I kept a fan on myself while I slept during the warmer seasons, but the fan was packed deep in my closet during the heart of winter. I wiped my eyes and looked towards […]
My parents died in a car crash when I was fourteen. Don’t feel bad for me or anything. I’ve made my peace with that years ago. Life with them was never great, but I do miss them. It’s just that if they taught me one thing it’s to not sit […]
I’ve always found it particularly difficult to start a story. It’s easy to end one, but ever since grade school when my teachers would make me write a short story, I could never make a good start. I suppose I’ll start by saying this is a story. A story about […]
Tessa stepped onto the stage. Her whole body shook as she walked across it to the podium. She had to hold onto the hard mahogany structure to keep herself from falling. Her hands were slick with sweat. She looked over at the president, “I’m not sure that I can do […]
I have no idea how much longer I’ll be able to do this. If I can no longer continue my aimless escape from simply running out of money, I could at least count my blessings. It’s too difficult for me to say in confidence why the visions I’ve been having […]
Detention. Joel hated detention. Detention and Mr. Briars. And his classmates. Detention, Mr. Briars and his classmates. And school in general. Pretty much anything and anyone associated with school he hated. Not that he showed it though – he was pretty good at playing the game in company and to […]
The broken blade flashed as it streaked above the desert, circling end over end then striking the rocky ground with a clink. It lay there gleaming in the slanted rays of the sun like lost treasure. The other half of the blade remained lodged firmly between spiky ranks of spines […]
I bolted upright in the bed not sure what I expected to see, but knowing that something had startled me awake. Moonlight filtered in through the window and I shivered despite the unseasonably warm temperature. After a few moments I heard it; a soft tapping of fingers against glass. Slowly […]
You ever have a song pop into your head that you just didn’t want to hear? Whatever song you’re thinking of, mine’s worse: it’s Katie’s song. Katie. Yeah, I knew her. The parts of my life where our paths cross flash before my eyes: Katie eyeballing me in class; Katie […]
1. I’m looking at myself in the mirror, not really realizing how bad I look. My skin looks extremely pale and I got dark bags under my eyes. What on earth happened to me? I’ve been leaning forward, clenching my hands around the sink. I don’t really know how long […]