LOGINJUNE;“I… I am,” the answer stumbled out. The insides of my palm had grown damp, I rubbed it against the rough denim fabric of my shorts, the ones I had pulled on hurriedly after Mom’s call. “I am June.”“I see,” the older doctor nodded, pushing his glasses up a little. “It would definitely be hard not to recognize such a pretty face even in the worst case of TGA.” The doctor's lips parted softly, I saw what he did there. Our faces looked like the word tension itself, like the world was coming to an end, that man had made a mental note to soften the air just a little. But Mr. Grayson, my stepfather, wasn't having it. He shoved forward fast.“What are you playing at, Dr. Sterling? What's the bloody TGA you're talking about?” He grunted. “That's my son lying in there. And you're…. cracking jokes?” His voice was bouncing off the roof, my face fell to the floor. Doctor Sterling straightened up. “Calm down, Victor. I have been your family doctor for years now, you should…”“Exactly why
JUNE;The hospital hallway felt colder than it should have. Maybe not just from the cold air conditioners humming at the ends of the hallway; I could tell the chill sinking into my skin didn't come from the hallway's temperature. It came from somewhere much deeper. Somewhere beneath my ribs, where guilt had wrapped itself around my heart and refused to let go. I should have given him a listening ear. Ronan was lying on that bed, unconscious, and it's because of me, because I was always running away instead of fixing things.I stood beside the glass door of Ronan's room, my fingers curled around my elbows so tightly that my nails pressed into my skin. Through the narrow glass partition, I could see him, his clipped finger moving at intervals, the only assurance that he was still breathing.White sheets covered him up to his chest, a bandage was wrapped heavily around his forehead, disappearing beneath his dark hair like it was hiding a deadly secret. His face looked unusually pale,
JUNE;I lay there on my bed, turning and tossing around, the sheets tangling around my legs like they were trying to hold me down. Everything kept replaying in my mind no matter how hard I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn’t believe Ronan was still seeing that woman. That same woman who had looked at me with such open disdain in the parking lot. She had even sent him a nude picture. The image flashed behind my eyelids again… her bare breasts, the thin white thong disappearing between her legs in a way that made my stomach twist. I shut my eyes tighter, my fists curling into the pillow until my knuckles hurt. I hated admitting it, but that woman was hot. Too hot for her age. Confident in a way that made me feel small. On one side there was Selene…. pretty, sophisticated, rich, always knowing exactly how to cling to Ronan’s arm. On the other side was this experienced fifty-year-old with a banging body and a look that said she could ruin me just for standing too close to him. And right
RONAN;“June, wait, June.” My throat hitched, the words coming out rough and desperate but she slipped free from my grasp before I could hold her properly, her robe brushing against my fingers as she pulled away. The picture was still open on my phone screen, facing the roof of the car…. Natalie’s bare body sprawled across the sheets, that smug smile staring back at me like a taunt. My stomach dropped hard. I threw open the driver's door and ran after her, my sneakers pounding against tiny stones.“June!” I called again, louder this time, my voice bouncing off in the quiet dark. She didn’t stop, her shoulders stayed stiff, her bare feet moving fast toward the front porch of Romy's apartment.I reached out once more, fingertips grazing the back of her robe, but she twisted away. The door slammed shut in my face with a loud bang, the wood vibrating under my palm as I pressed against it. She had put all her anger into that slam, like the poor door was me.I stared at the phone again. My
JUNE; My mouth pouted, I searched for the anger that had formed inside me when I found out he was Blandon, but it was all gone, I looked away, right above his shoulder. “Oh! That! I haven’t forgiven you for that… Just so you know,” I shrugged lightly. “I know,” he answered. “None of these was to atone for my sins. I just wanted to do something nice.” The breeze picked up, making the candle flicker harder. I turned slightly, shielding it with my hand. “After watching Matthew hug me today, you still wanted to do something nice?” Ronan’s jaw tightened. He took another small step forward, the balcony suddenly feeling much smaller with him in it. “I saw that. The whole thing.” His voice dropped lower. “It hurt, June. Seeing his arms around you. Seeing you… pat his back like that.” I set the cupcake down on the wide railing, the flame still burning. “It wasn’t what it looked like. He said his girlfriend left him. He sounded broken. I was just… comforting him. Then I realized h
JUNE; I had just gotten off the phone with Romy, the girl was nowhere in the house. As a matter of fact, I had walked into the living room hoping to see her in her usual spot… the couch, seeing a movie when she should be studying. But when it became obvious she wasn't home, I picked up my phone and called. Lillian was kind enough to let me end my shift early while Mrs. Brown was gone. I had a fun ride back to the apartment with Mom, and my gift bags. I stepped onto the small balcony. The entire house felt lonely with Romy gone, a gentle breeze tugged at the edges of my thin robe. I held the small cupcake in one hand, its single candle flickering weakly. Romy had left it on my bed, alongside a gift bag, with a handwritten note that simply said “From someone who remembers.” I knew who it was from, or maybe I was just convincing myself it had to be him. When I slowly reached for the gift in the bag, I took out a ribboned box, my breath caught as I opened it. A delicate, pearly
RONAN;I stood there, right behind the door of my room, chest heaving as if I had just run a marathon. Just when I thought I was mending things, just when I believed I was standing in the gap for her, as a stepbrother, or maybe more than I could admit, everything came crashing down around me.I had
JUNE;I pulled my eyes open, heavy as lead, like someone had glued them shut all night. They hurt really badly, like I had tiny stones in them.The ceiling came into view first, white and smooth, just like I had always seen it every morning. My head felt fuzzy, spinning a little. I tossed on the s
RONAN; I stood leaning against the wall near the back of the party hall, a cold glass in my hand, pretending to sip slowly. The music filtered in slowly. We all waited for Selene to cut her cake. I didn’t want to be here, I didn’t want anything that made Selene see us as what we were not. Bu
JUNE;The moment we reached the top of the wide staircase that led down into the party hall, my stomach dropped like a stone. Bright lights flashed before my face, low music in the background, and the air smelled quite expensive. Then my eyes wandered to the celebrant already standing behind the h







