“So, how long are we going to be in Paris for?” Rachel asked, practically bouncing in her seat.“A week at most,” I replied. “Anything more than that, and I’ll be paying out of my pocket.”We were sitting in a secluded booth at an Italian restaurant, having the most amazing pasta I’d tasted in years. The bottle of champagne we’d opened to celebrate my promotion was almost entirely empty now, and I was already thinking about ordering another one. Joanna wasn’t coming to the office tomorrow, so I also wasn’t obligated to come in. I could just kick up my feet on the couch and watch reruns of The Office all day long. “Well, I don’t know about you,” Rachel said, “but I plan on staying an extra week. There’s no way I’m going to Paris and leaving in just one week. It’s not enough.”“I’m definitely not going to wait for you,” I said. “Unlike you, I don’t have flexible working hours.”“You know you could afford to retire early, right?” she said, twirling her pasta around her fork. “I mean I’v
I was running in the middle of the street, desperately trying to get away from something that was chasing me in the dark. I could hear its growls, and feel its sickening breath on my neck. But no matter how fast I tried to run, the shadow kept getting closer and closer. “You’re mine,” a cold voice whispered. “No matter where you go or where you try to hide, I will always find you. And you’re never going to get rid of me, no matter how hard you try.”I was screaming at the top of my lungs, desperately calling out for help. But no one was coming to get me. I was all alone, and sooner or later it was going to get me. A sharp pain suddenly pierced my ribs, and I collapsed to the ground as the darkness descended on me, and I heard Marcus laughing through the shadows. “I’ve got you now,” he whispered. “Nowhere to run anymore, little dove.”I screamed for my life, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up drenched in sweat, screaming while Rachel held me down and whispered soothing words
MARCUSIt was the waiting that killed me. Just sitting there and not knowing what was going on, while my demons ran freely in my head and made me question every decision I’d ever made, that was the brutal part. My hands were covered in blood, and even my shirt was stained with Emily’s blood from when I carried her straight to the hospital. I didn’t even want to look at that, because the guilt was eating up at me from the inside. I was sitting outside the OR, unable to look at anyone who walked past me. The only time I would look up was when the doors to the theatre swung open, and my heart would skip a beat as I braced myself for the inevitable. But then a nurse would come scurrying past with a worried expression on her face, and I would sink into depression once again. It was all my fault. Why couldn’t I just learn to control my anger? Why did I have to let the darkness take over? I knew it was wrong even in the moment, but I just couldn’t stop myself. No matter how badly I scream
"So, do you think Thanos was right?""Huh?""In wiping out half of all life on earth, do you think his actions were justified?""Chris, you can't keep asking me hypothetical questions like this," I said. "We're supposed to be having a fun evening.""We are," he chuckled, placing his hand on my knee gently before quickly pulling it away. "I just want to get an idea of how your mind works."We were sitting on a bench in Hyde Park, eating our burritos and enjoying the rare warmth that spring brought. After weeks of rainfall, the sun was finally out, and it felt nice to just sit there and allow the sunlight to heat us up. “Well,” I said, “I don’t exactly agree with his methods. But in a way, he was right. What I would have liked to see from him would be a smarter choice, like choosing to rid the universe of evil entirely. If he had done that, then he would have ensured that overpopulation was fixed while also bringing about the peace that he thought he would achieve.”For a moment, Chris
Sometimes, you don’t realise how little decisions can change your entire life. Looking back now, I sometimes wonder how an insignificant decision could suddenly set your life down an entirely different path. It started from the moment Rachel and I arrived at the airport. As soon as we walked into the lounge, we noticed a French couple arguing. Rachel immediately turned to face me, and we rolled our eyes. We sat as far away from them as possible, because we did not need to be a part of this drama. From what I could loosely tell from my abysmal French, the man had cheated on her with her friend, and she was breaking up with him after finding out just now. The boyfriend meanwhile was trying to plead with her and beg for her forgiveness, but she just wasn’t buying it.“I’d hate to be them right now,” Rachel said, glancing sideways at the couple. “Imagine having to fly with a partner who you just figured out is cheating on you.”“He seems like an asshole,” I said. “I despise men who cheat
ETHANA wise man once said that life was a collection of tiny, insignificant moments that would ultimately amount to the story of someone’s life. It wasn’t some sort of grand story that would inspire a generation. Just the simple, everyday things that stood out to you. And that’s what I always believed. My life could ultimately be boiled down to a few significant moments; at first, I wouldn’t even know that they were going to stand out. But then, thanks to the gift of hindsight, I would look back and realise that that single moment was a defining moment in my life. One such moment was the first day I saw Olivia. From the first moment I laid eyes on her, I knew that this wasn’t like any other woman I’d ever met. Something about her stood out, like a single rose blooming in a field of thorns. I don’t know what exactly drew my attention to her, but from the moment I saw her standing across the dance floor, I felt something shift inside me. It was as if something slotted into place, a
Paris was amazing. Something about the city just felt so...alive. You could feel it in the air, hear it in the music from street performers who set up shop along all the tourist attractions. You could smell it in the bakeries, with freshly baked bread every morning that made my mouth water. Waking up every morning and heading to the hotel where the event was holding always felt so soothing as I wished I could just sit there and have a nice cup of coffee with some fresh bread, some cheese, and the perfect music playing in the background. Rachel and I still hadn't gotten an opportunity to do all the things we planned on doing. I was always busy, working from early in the morning until late at night. Thankfully she'd met a French guy on her very first day at a restaurant, and he was keeping her busy. I, on the other hand, was a different kind of busy. I usually worked well with event planners and party managers, but something about the French crew was just so infuriating. They outrigh
It took me over three hours to decide what to wear. And after that, it took me another hour to finally convince myself to step out of the hotel. The result was that by the time I came downstairs, Ethan had been waiting for over thirty minutes. My heart stopped at the sight of him standing in the lobby, holding a bouquet of white roses and wearing a crisp black suit which hugged his frame nicely. He looked like he was waiting to escort the prettiest girl in school on her prom date, and when he ran his fingers through his hair, I had to stifle the shiver that was attempting to creep down my spine. In contrast, I was wearing a simple, sequinned black dress, with a low-cut neckline and a small slit reaching up to the middle of my thigh. I’d paired that with a pair of heels, and a silver purse which matched my necklace and earrings. I wasn’t sure where exactly we would be going, so I wanted to look presentable at least. It was better to be overdressed than underdressed anyway. Ethan tur
MARCUSI didn't want to do it initially. He didn't deserve a quick death, after all. But sometimes, when someone pisses you off too much, you just have to take care of things. And when you find out that the bastard who tried to harm the woman you love was only going to a mental institution instead of the jail he deserved, you just have to take care of things yourself. I stood on the balcony and stared down at the city sparkling beneath me while a cold breeze swept past. The sun had already set, but Manhattan was still as loud as ever, with horns blaring down below, people yelling constantly , and the wailing of a siren in the distance. No one would notice me up here, staring down at them and savoring my latest victory. I took a slow sip of my whiskey, letting the warmth roll down the back of my throat as I leaned on the cold steel railing. The evening was perfect, and I couldn’t have been happier after getting the call. Chris was dead, just like I intended. The report said he’d be
From the moment we pulled up in front of the mansion, my mouth fell open and it stayed like that permanently. The house looked like something out of a movie. It was so huge, and my eyes nearly rolled back into my skull as we walked in. There was a grand staircase which swept upward like it belonged in a castle, and sunlight streamed in through the large windows which made everything look so bright and golden."You've got to be kidding me," I whispered, taking in the beauty of the house. "This is actually insane.""Wait til you see the kitchen," Ethan said as he walked up behind me and took my hand in his. "You could set up a football game in it"When we walked into the kitchen, I knew he wasn't exaggerating. There were two kitchen islands which were so far apart that you probably couldn't even smell what someone was cooking from across the kitchen. There were so many shelves and drawers that it looked more like a convenience store than a home kitchen. Every room we walked into fel
Ethan was discharged the very next day, and I took him back to my apartment. Rachel had traveled down to Miami for a conference, so it was just the two of us in the house. After he’d taken a shower and eaten the lunch I prepared, he immediately sat down to call a real estate agent. “Is that really necessary?” I asked as I packed up the plates from the dining table. “Shouldn’t you be getting some rest?”“I’ll rest once we have our new home,” he said. “Buying a house usually takes a very long time to process, and I don’t have the time nor the patience to wait too long. The sooner we get started, the quicker we can be done with this.”I left him to his phone call, while I washed up in the kitchen. I could hear him talking in a sharp tone, using his CEO voice where he made it obvious that things were going to go his way, no matter what. I could have sat down and stared at him for hours when he talked like that, but I had other things to do. Like calling Richard Jones and telling him wha
I'd thought about seeing Marcus face to face again for a very long time now. I'd imagined standing across from him, looking dead into his eyes and showing him that I wasn't afraid of him anymore. I'd thought about how I was going to stand my ground, and not let him see the fear he'd once inflicted upon me. But standing right there in front of him, looking into those malicious eyes that had tormented me for years, I just couldn't do it. My knees began to shake, and I almost buckled to the ground in terror as the world fell away and it was just the two of us.And then he started to walk towards me. It took every bit of strength in me to not turn around and flee. I visibly shrank the closer he got, and a wave of panic washed over me as I realized that I had nowhere to go. If I turned and ran now, then I would be running for the rest of my life. And that was the last thing I wanted. So I stood my ground, stuck out my chin defiantly, and looked him dead in the eye. I took a deep breath
For a while, I just sat there and stared at Nate. I couldn't process the fact that he was here, and as my brain slowly booted up again, I felt Ethan tense beside me. "Nate, what are you doing here?" I asked. "Offering my condolences," he said. "I heard about the accident, and I just knew I had to come here as soon as I returned."He was more tanned than the last time I'd seen him, and his hair was a little bit longer. He looked like he'd come straight from the beach, in his plain white shirt and khaki pants. It was so different from the man in the tailored suit who strutted about like he owned the building. And yet, even now, there was an air of confidence about him as he stood in the middle of the room and stared at us. “Why the long faces?” he asked. “Did someone die?”“What the fuck are you doing here?” Ethan asked, attempting to stand up before I held him down. “I heard you were sick,” Nate said. “Oh, I mean shot. It’s all over the news. I just got back from Paris, so I though
Ethan ended up taking longer than we expected to get discharged, and he ended up staying in the hospital for two weeks. During that time, he had to get a lot of therapy so he could move his left arm again, because some nerves had been damaged and they needed to heal properly. I stayed with him the entire time, only leaving to shower and get a new batch of clean clothes when I had to. But otherwise, we just sat together and talked. He wasn't in too much pain, so mostly we had enough time to just sit and talk about life. It was on the thirteenth day that we spoke about what he told me in the cabin. He didn't want to talk about it when I brought it up, but I managed to convince him that it was necessary. This was the only way to clear his conscience, so he could finally be free of the guilt that he had carried after all these years. "But what if we find out that I was the one who killed him?" he asked quietly, staring out the window. "What if it's confirmed that I'm a murderer?""I kn
MARCUSI swear I could smell the pig even from outside the door. My blood was boiling even before I walked into the room, but it took a monumental effort to keep myself in check. I had to be quick. It shouldn't take longer than five minutes. Thankfully, the cop standing by the door didn't say anything as I walked in. He just gave me a polite nod, and he stepped aside as I walked in and shut the door behind me.Chris looked like a man who’d gotten into a cage fight with a gorilla. He was bruised all over, and several parts of his face were swollen, with one eye almost completely shut. His bottom lip was split open like a rotten fruit, and both of his hands were cuffed to the bedrails as if he was some sort of rabid animal. It was an amusing sight, which perfectly suited the bastard who’d tried to take Olivia from me. He shifted slightly when he saw me, then he flinched in terror. I saw the recognition in his bloodshot eyes, then confusion as he blinked several times, then something
The first thing on my mind when I woke up was Ethan. I bolted out of bed instantly, and I had to grip the bed frame as I swayed and nearly toppled to the ground. I felt like my brain was trying to explode from my skull, and the ringing in my ear was constant. I had to sit down on the bed once again, and it took me a few seconds to regain my breath and take in my surroundings. The room was eerily quiet, so much so that I could only hear the low humming of the air conditioning. I shifted slightly on the stiff bed, and I cursed aloud as my joints aches from how long I'd been curled up. My mouth was incredibly dry, and my skin felt so clammy. Every inch of me felt like it was protesting the simple act of waking up, and it was like I hadn't slept at all.But the guilt cut through the fog. How long had I been out? What if Ethan had woken up already? And I was just sitting here like a ditz and worrying about something ridiculous like hunger. Slowly, I dragged myself to my feet and made m
ETHANThe first thing I heard was the beeping. As I tried to open my eyes, a blinding pain shot up my entire body, and I almost couldn't breathe for a second. I felt like someone had smacked me in the face with a sledgehammer, and then gotten several bags of cement and laid them all over my body. I couldn't even lift a finger, and I could barely drag enough air into my lungs as I slowly forced my eyes open. I was lying in what appeared to be a hospital room, and the brightness of the room made my eyes throb. There were several wires and tubes all over my chest, and a large machine which was beeping to the side. The bed was so hard that I felt like I was lying on a wooden plank, and it somehow caused the pain to multiply a million times over. I tried to remember how I got here, but I couldn't. The last thing I remembered was being in the cabin with Liv, and beating the shit out of the guy who broke into our cabin. I didn't remember anything after that, except the relief I felt when