Adrift Book Paul Griffin Novels & Stories

Caitlin nearly lunged across the room, grabbing the book and holding it up to the candlelight with shaking hands. Please God, let this be it, she thought. She pulled back the cover and nervously flipped to the title page: De Fascino Libri Tres. Her heart flooded with relief. She could hardly believe it. She had actually found it. Caitlin quickly thumbed through the pages, going as fast as she could to the missing page. Please, please be there. Please be the matching page. She started to worry about what she would do if the matching page weren’t there. Or if this was all a hoax. She was shaking with anticipation as she got closer. 530, 532….

PROJECT ALPHA_002: STATUS—ACTIVE PRIMARY HOST CONFIRMED: ADRIAN ASHFORD SECONDARY COMMAND: ENGAGE GENESIS MODE Somewhere upstairs, Adrian stirred in his sleep. Grace’s Dream Grace didn’t know why she was crying in her dream, only that everything around her was falling. A ballroom. A chandelier crashing. A voice screaming her name. She turned and saw Adrian… not as he was, but younger. A child, barely ten, shackled to a chair with wires in his skin. Behind him stood a man in shadows. Faceless. Watching. “You can’t save him,” the voice said her own, but twisted. “I can try,” she whispered.

Adrain was suddenly pulling her up. “Let me go!” she didn’t want to end up in his house again. “Let me go Adrain, I don’t need you to save me.” She struggled against him and gasped when she lost her balance. Adrain’s eyes were opened wide as he went first falling down the cliff. “Adrain!”

I chose three books: a literary novel about a woman reinventing herself after divorce, a poetry collection, and a thick fantasy epic I'd been meaning to read for years. Adrian bought them without looking at the prices, along with a novel for himself—something dark and literary that I made a mental note to ask him about later. "Next stop," he said as we left the bookstore, "requires trust." "Why does that sound ominous?" "Because you're smart." He grinned. "Come on." He drove us to the cliffs south of town and parked near a trailhead. "We're hiking?" "Just a short one. I promise it's worth it."

As the days passed peacefully and fulfillingly, I gradually became convinced that the Grants wouldn't ever cross paths with me. That was until one day, when my assistant Claire knocked on my office door and told me, "Dr. Simpson? You have a consultation. It's a Mr. Harry Grant, who wants our most expensive specialist to examine his younger sister." My heart couldn't help skipping a beat at the mere mention of that name, but I took a deep breath to compose myself and said calmly, "Show him in."

I gripped the sheets. “Paul never told me where he got it.” Adrian scoffed. Not amused. Not surprised. “Of course he didn’t.” There was bitterness in his tone… but something else too. Sadness. Old pain. “Paul’s mother sold almost everything after Liv died, even burnt some,” he continued. “Her clothes. Her books. The journals she wrote in from when she was twelve.” “Sold?” I whispered. “Out of spite,” he said. “Out of jealousy. Out of whatever darkness is in that woman.”

Although this shouldn’t be her concern, her heart was beating hard, and she kept hoping that she would find something that could lead Adro back home. The strap came loose, and Grace immediately opened the first page of the book, revealing only a blank, wrinkled page. She then turned through several pages to see its contents. Grace and Adro read the book, but both clenched their jaws. It was truly a formula. But it was a formula for pot roast, pumpkin pie, and other dishes. "Disappointing, huh?" Grace muttered, weakly glancing at Adro. Sighing, Adro replied. "I can’t say it’s not." Then he straightened his back, shining his flashlight randomly around the room. "It seems there's nothing else w

And so, somewhere high above the Atlantic, Adrian and I drifted off like two broken souls who were bound together, wrapped up in each other's sorrow and heading home to bury the people we loved. ___________________________________________ The wheels touched down with a heavy thud that rattled through my bones, and for the first time in hours, Adrian stirred beside me. He hadn't said much after we drifted into that exhausted sleep, and just held on like he was afraid that if he let go the whole world might fall apart again.

In her place stood a stranger with eyes brimming with indifference. He felt a sharp, stinging ache spread across his chest at that realization. He stated hoarsely, "I've realized my mistakes now—I shouldn't have taken your love for granted and been so reckless with other women. Is it possible for you to forgive me, Nat? I swear I'll only love you from now on." Natalie didn't actually regret the seven years she had spent with Lester. They had shared real beauty and sincere love—it was simply that time had eroded that affection until it turned toxic.

The boat, fully adorned with fresh roses, hit the water, and people immediately began shoving me forward playfully. “Austin, get on the boat already!” “Aussie! It’s been seven years, and you two are finally making it official!” My close friend, Marcus Bell, spoke with genuine excitement. He was truly happy for me. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Sarah Granger stepped off the boat and walked over in my direction. However, she paused beside me for a split second before walking right past. Instead, she stopped right in front of Logan, her voice soft and filled with affection.