The Pain of One’s Love“Wake up, baby. You’ve been asleep for a while.”Lolita stirred. As usual, her vision was blurry when she opened her eyes. She was in her dream land again, with Hayden beside her. She’d seen him two times after the first time he showed up. Both times he could only stand and watch. He couldn’t say anything; Tessa was in at the moment injecting Lolita with the suspicious looking fluid. He seemed sad then, almost violent, like he wanted to bash Tessa’s head in and watch her bleed. “Baby,” she whispered to him, forcing herself to smile a bit.“You have cracked lips. Here…”Hayden knelt down beside her and kissed her. She felt something rush down her throat, so hot and scalding that it almost burned her. She gasped and pushed away from him, suddenly alert. He rocked back on his feet and smiled.“Better?”Lolita rigidly rubbed her fist on her chest, trying to soothe the burning sensation she felt there.“Yes, surprisingly better.”Hayden was proud. “I figured you nee

SAMMYSammy was in a really bad place. She was mostly driven by passion and determination, which her father really hated. He thought she was too self absorbed with the events in her life. Sammy would beg to disagree; the things and people in her life needed her touch. Only then would they be able to be fulfilled. She was the messiah for them. She made them feel better, just like she did Tessa.Oh, Tessa.Tessa was the first best friend she’d ever made. Sure, she had lots of friends, but most of them didn’t seem to want her. Tessa was the only one who actually needed her touch in her life. She was in a messy place then, obsessed with a man who would never love her. It took Sammy weeks—almost a month—to drag her out of that dark place. She showed her enough love to smother her, just enough for Tessa to be drawn to her.“He’s trash,” Sammy said to her the first time they talked about Tessa’s obsession. “He’s not worth it. You’re not supposed to fight a man who isn’t worth it to you.”Tes

Brother’s War“We found him.”“Oh yeah?” Hayden inhaled his smoke deeply before turning to face Burly. “If you’re here, then where the fuck is he?”“We found Jarrod Dane, sir. You said we should find them, not bring them in.”Hayden inhaled another puff of smoke to calm himself before he erupted. “Are you always like this, just waiting around for more instructions or you’re just plain stupid?”Burly smiled, somewhat insulted. “I only do what I’m instructed, and you sir, simply asked that we find them dead or alive.”“Find them and bring them to me! What the fuck is wrong with you? For goodness sake.” Hayden rubbed his face in distress. “Just tell me where he is and I’ll meet him myself.”Burly raised a brow. “Are you sure that is wise?”“You could have simply brought him to me if you’re so concerned for my safety.”“There was some information that you withheld from us. Perhaps if you had mentioned it, I would know what you wanted me to do in that situation.”Hayden took a deep breath.

Death Call The sounds above scared her. Sammy curled into herself, cold as ever. At least the man in the corner was gone and she didn’t have to hear his voice again. He whimpered all night long, even after Tessa left him alone. The next morning she came back into the room, chirpier than she usually was.“I’ll let him go now,” she’d said to Samantha. “Isn’t that right, my love?’ she tucked a finger under the man’s chin so he could look up at her. “You love me, don’t you?”He nodded urgently. Samantha’s heart squeezed at the sight. She knew that Tessa was going to do more horrible things to him, but at least she was considerate enough to not do it in her presence. While dozing off, she wondered what her friend had turned into. This wasn’t the person she knew. Perhaps she had rushed too fast into the friendship. She should have given it more time, studied her enough to prevent Lolita from befriending her too.The noise above started again. A whip slashing the air, a yelp and a particula

Love and Chaos“I’m sorry,” Lolita started to say, grasping Samantha’s hands to her chest. “I’m so sorry I dragged you into this. What did he do to you? Oh, my god…”Samantha looked away from Jarrod to focus on the frail being in front of her. “No, no. You didn’t do anything. I wanted to come here myself. I tracked you and now…”“You tracked me?”“Yes. I first went to Hayden—”“Oh, Hayden.” Lolita glanced momentarily at Jarrod, tears streaming down her face. “He’s changed so much, Sammy. He’s been torturing me. He’s real.”“He’s not here.”“He’s by the corner, Samantha, look.” Lolita paused and licked her lips, hope coming into her eyes. “He’s not here? He’s an illusion? He didn’t hurt me? Have I been dreaming all these while?” Her eyes brightened even further. “Have you come to save me?”Jarrod laughed by the corner. He remained where he was, watching the scene before him. Samantha was struck with how mad her friend looked and sounded. She held Lolita’s hands tightly, willing both th