Short Stories
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It happened in a blink. One moment, she strode along the hall, her steps swift and sure. A few minor concerns rattled through her head, distracting her from her surroundings. Not that it really mattered—she’d walked this hall since she was a child. The twenty steps it took to get from one room to another…
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They told him not to go out on the rocks, even when the sea was soft. The waters were still deep, and it only took a moment to lose your footing, with the shock to drag you down whenever the waves weren’t around to do so. Nonetheless, Quinn defied the warnings of his elders and…
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She pushed into her chair, arching her back until her muscles rippled with a satisfying burn. Then she glanced out the window. Her stomach folded into a knot. The sky had never been that color before—flat, inky, and impenetrable. She fought down a flare of anxiety as she sent her final file, entered her time…
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November the 21st—an afternoon that had started just about as unremarkable as any other. It was one of those blustery days where winter had just begun to wrestle the hold of the weather away from fall. The sky blanketed in a bright but heavy shroud; a fog that inspired nothing but unease. I sat on…
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Normally, she liked the cool touch of the stone beneath her bare feet; but tonight, it only felt stiff and icy—like a foreshadowing of the mood that awaited her. She fidgeted with the skirt of her dress as she waited for the council to settle into their seats. She knew she wasn’t going to lie…she…
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She carefully hefted the ball, admiring the way it glittered in the light from the museum’s distant windows. Greed flooded her chest, filling her head with a buoyancy. She declined against the gallery wall, allowing herself a moment to reflect on another well-executed plan. From petty cons and small-time robberies, to orchestrating the entire scheme…
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“Are you ready?” If there was ever a pair of eyes she could face with the truth, they’d be his. Ivy searched them for a moment, sifting through the memories in those soft blue irises. Then she reached for Kaiden’s hands, drawing on the warmth that closed around her fingers. A small smile twitched her…
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For a moment, my presence towers over the room, unable to be smothered. They’re not all staring at you— I prepare a disarming grin. No matter how many times my arrival heralds wide eyes, hushed whispers, and coyly disguised smiles, I’ll show up. “It’s been so long,” I announce into the silence that’s temporarily taken…
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They didn’t want me here, but tough shit. I’m an adult. And I’m not here for them, anyway—I’m here for Max. The room is packed, with good reason. I linger near the back, concealed by the distraction of the trial. Today, a new defendant sits behind the table. Her eyes are sharp, and her brow…
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The Cane house—the stuff of small-town legends. A wreck that had been condemned long before all but the town’s oldest residents had been born. Misguided souls sometimes attempted to arrange a petition to have the site preserved; but they were always mocked out of possibility, and their efforts faded to be recycled when the town…
