Romans & histoires A Little Pinprick

The next day, Gabe updated his Instagram with a new photo. A blanket covered his lower abdomen. One hand held up the camera, deliberately revealing his chest and the ambiguous marks along his neck. On the other pillow, a woman's profile could be seen—eyes still closed. Caption: [So what? She's still mine.] The post was made visible only to me. No—also to Carrie. Because she had liked it. I glanced at it casually, then tapped "like" myself before going to sleep.

It was meant for me. The knowledge made my skin tighten. I pressed my thumb against the seam again, more slowly this time. The raised point in the centre of the lock looked almost delicate now, like a needle buried in a tooth. And then it happened. Sharp. Sudden. I hissed and jerked my hand back, but too late. The lock had pricked my finger cleanly. Not deep. Just enough. A bead of blood welled instantly and fell before I could wipe it away. It landed on the lock.

The morphine helped her sleep comfortably. Her body looked tiny on the colossal bed and it pinched me on the inside to see her life diminishing day by day. There was a grey pallor to her face and her knuckles and collarbones protruded like door knobs. Her wispy hair poked in different directions and she always looked at us with droopy eyes like she was half-dreaming. Still, I never heard her complain once and it made me proud to have such a strong little sister.

The brooch went further into her dress and the pin pricked her at different places but she couldn't bring them out by herself because she was wearing a tight dress and her long nails wouldn't allow her to grab it. Kirklin instantly pulled her dress a little and dug his hand deep down to bring out the pin. He eventually found it under her left breast as it was a tussle to get there due to the size of her boobs. Although he hurt himself in the process as the pin pricked him, he was relieved that she didn't sustain any piercing into her skin. Without thinking, he angrily scolded her not to use that kind of tiny brooch for her heavy chest next time.

What Bree did was arrange a little demonstration that shared that information with the rest of the student body. Bumping into Matilda in a crowded hallway during first period, Bree surreptitiously stuck a long straight pin into her breast, or more precisely the piles of tissue paper surrounding it. That the pin was there, but not who had placed it, was almost common knowledge by third period.

It meant he wasn't in but it also left me thinking, if he wasn't in, how long had he been gone for and how long would it be before he came back? I needed to act quick. Grateful for the light bulb that had just appeared in my mind, I smiled widely. It disappeared almost immediately as my hands fumbled around my locs for the hair pin I'd stuck in there before leaving. If it wasn't there, then I was doomed. I couldn't imagine running to and fro just to go get it. My mini paranoia finally gave way to ease as I located it. A sharp prick pierced through the skin of my finger and I bit down on my lips to keep me from screaming. I unveiled the pin and its tip was bright red with my blood on its silv

Sebastian aggressively pinched Aino’s little cheeks as he said that. “Ouch, that hurts…Dad, that hurts a loth!” Aino shouted sharply. However, Sebastian smiled. “It’s real. I am not dreaming. That’s not right. I can’t pinch you. I have to pinch myself. Only then can I ensure that you’re really back.” After saying that, Sebastian raised his hand, put it in his mouth, and he bit himself aggressively. “Ouch!” He felt so painful that he suddenly shouted. When he pulled his hand away, his thumb was already tinged with blood from his bite. However, this little bit of injury did not bother Sebastian at all.

No flutter of life. That's when I saw it. A tiny pinprick on her neck, just below her ear. The skin around it was red and inflamed instead of healing clean like a shifter wound should. Next to it, tucked against the baseboard, was a small plastic cap. The kind that covered a syringe needle. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely keep up the compressions. The text message she'd sent flashed through my mind: This is all your fault. Whatever I do to myself, you should know you pushed me to this.

“Wanted to ask… about something.” Riven tilted his head. “Something… important?” “Yes. Extremely important,” I said, fumbling with my pocket as if the hairpin was the key to literally everything in the universe—which, honestly, it kind of felt like it was. “It’s… a pin. A small, metallic, extremely incriminating pin.” He raised an eyebrow again. “A pin? You’ve got my attention. Do explain.”

There were neat, small sticky notes poking out from almost every single chapter. I opened to the first marked page. In Maverick’s handwriting, there was a note that read: “Does page 14 mean the data moves faster if you shorten the string? Let me know if I got that right.” I stared at the note, my heart feeling so light that I felt like a teenager again. I looked up at him, completely stunned. "Maverick... did you buy a coding textbook?"