Damn you, Quentin. I’m about to take a beer out of the fridge when I change my mind. I feel guilty about it. I start to take a soda and feel guilty about that, touching my stomach. The caffeine probably isn’t doing me any good either. Sighing, I take a bottle of water, tru...
I am exhausted even when I wake up and skip my morning run to instead drag myself to class half-dressed, still wearing pajama bottoms. Her course is the worst, because Jason is there and I can't speak to him, not in public. I am still nervous that he brought his team and t...
“Christine, it’s over.” “It’s not over. It’s never over.” I can’t stop screaming, and sobbing. I feel tracks on my cheeks, feather light scratches, and when I touch my fingers to my skin they come away pink. I’m weeping blood. I pinch my eyes shut and will it to stop but my eyes are burning. It w...
No matter how old I was, it was still “going to work with Dad” except there was no Dad to go with me. Everyone knew who I was, though, on sight. I wore a conservative dark suit and tie. The sleeves covered my tattoos. I’d designed them that way, to remain hidden in business attire. When I visited...
The work was trivial. I barely paid attention. My tutors did a masterful job of preparing me. My phone rang. “Evelyn,” my father said. “Hello, Father,” I said, cheerfully. “How are you?” “Shut up,” he growled. “Walk back to your dormitory. Now.” He hung up. I almost dropped the phone. My fingers ...
My parents are hippies. Especially cruel hippies. Sometimes, in my darker moments, I have wondered if that’s why he chose me: because I was named for the queen of Hell. “Penny?” Melissa’s voice shakes me out of my daydream. I...
Jennifer sat on a tall stool in the kitchen, slicing bits of cheese off a block and eating them with crackers, and washing it down with water. She swung her legs in front of the stool and chewed slowly. Now that she’d left the bedroom, the world was unreal, like there was a clear layer of plastic...