"Shared trauma doesn’t just stay with you—it bears you forward. Shapes you. Lets you begin again."
Elias Wood didn’t have time to brace. He was halfway up the stairs when the ship tore sideways. Metal screamed against stone. His leg caught the edge of a step—low, fast. More bruised ego than blood.He hauled himself upright, breath...
"Internet fame was her escape plan. Antarctica wasn’t. But down there, what numbed her wasn’t the cold—it was seeing her own hurt in someone else."
Ivy Murrow watched the world through her iPhone lens, the same way she’d learned to watch everything over the past few years—arm’s length, slightly filtered, always recording. The Solstice VI dipped lazily in the ocean slush while the crew moved...
"The day the Devil filled herself with the love of God, the angels fell, and Heaven learned to revere sodomy."
"Your one o’clock appointment is here, Chief," Angelica, the ever-dutiful receptionist, chattered through the Heavenly intercom.God sighed.And somewhere on Earth, a thunderstorm brewed.This meeting had been on His agenda every Thursday since the beginning of time.Why would today be any...
"The end of pain, the start of the journey"
The morning had broken with a solemn draw, something that lingered and pulsated under my skin. There were no jitters around the breakfast table. My body screamed rejection at everything we were about to do.To the point of feeling sick.Again.Food...
"Before I could soar, I had to suffocate—expelling David in one final, gutsy move."
She sat on the floor in the middle of the room. Books were piled, notes were checked and double-checked, and her hair was tied up in a knot, but strands were escaping, trailing, and waving. Glasses on her nose, lost...
"Chasing rainbows through the cracks of in-between, where the ghosts of who we were still whisper."
It was Henry who still fought.He served breakfast in bed. Strong, motherfucking coffee for me, honeyed tea for her. Bacon and pancakes laced in syrup. And on my plate, a small square of Belgian chocolate. The ones that would have...
"Love can break you, even when it’s the only thing keeping you alive."
I saw it in her eyes as she topped my coffee.Finish this, then let’s get to it.Henry peered over his newspaper, giving us that look telling us he knew we were up to something on the weekends, that he wouldn’t...
"The scarlet whore, her broken beast, and desire driven beyond the final restraint."
The bar buzzed with life; everyone knew my name by now.Alice didn’t keep her protective eye on me at all times now, but it was still girls' night. And if anyone lingered too long or got too close, the cat...
"March became April. Winter surrendered. Desire became hunger. And waiting? The waiting is the hardest part."
The soft glow of streetlights filtered through the window, casting flickering shadows on the ceiling. The air was thick with the slow, curling tendrils of smoke, the sharp, earthy scent of weed wrapping around us like a blanket.The big rift...
"Alice had unwrapped my cocoon, and now, the world trembled under the flutter of my wings"
I woke with a jolt, stirred from a dream that wasn’t mine.Alice was murmuring in her sleep, words tangled and soft, lost in the haze of unconsciousness. Her nose twitched, delicate and restless. Then, suddenly—her eyes fluttered open.For a moment,...