Barely Tolerable Novels & Stories

"wear something good" his words still echoed in my head but what do I have that fits with the word "good". "I'll guess, you don't have something good enough to wear" he said while his hands were relaxed on the steering wheel. He was sounding rude but I didn't see a hint of rudeness or sarcasm on his face, perhaps this was his preferred way of talking. "Sorta" I replied. He kept quiet and I felt uncomfortable, I whined down the window of the car for fresh air since the atmosphere of the car was getting heated and suffocating.

Not one to ever be caught slacking and giving up control, he immediately put her in her place. "If I say no, will you refund my money?" He gave her his characteristic cold glare, the same one his friends had been complaining about. If they were here, he was sure they'd have a problem with it. Ria pulled back as if she'd been slapped, her eyes widening before they immediately narrowed. "I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable. You didn't have to be rude." He felt the heat of her gaze as her temper rose, but she was doing a fine job of keeping it under control. If she didn't have such expressive eyes, he wouldn't have been able to tell she was offended.

It stabilized again. Her chest tightened. “So it is reactive now,” she said. “Yes,” Adrian replied. A pause. “And fragile.” Silence. Anna pressed her fingers lightly against her palm. The sensation required focus to remain consistent. If she drifted mentally, even touch became uncertain. She frowned. “This is unbearable.” Elsewhere, Adrian answered softly. “Yes.” A pause. “But still functional.” Silence. Anna let out a slow breath. “I think functional is becoming meaningless.” Adrian did not disagree.

It's from Monika. *How is your little peanut doing?* She texts. This little whore did not! ... (to be continued)

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Lenora said as I felt her approach me. I could feel her hand on my hair and a tear fell down my cheek. “She must be in a catatonic state. We will have to wait until she wakes up. Hopefully not too long,” Alaric mentioned as they all walked out of the room. Catatonic state? Does that mean I won’t be able to wake up? I tried to open my eyes again, but still failed. Noises all around me were getting loud. As if my hearing was the only thing I was able to use.

/

Barely. But it holds. The figure looks up. “Test… successful.” I exhale slowly. Because it didn’t break anything. Not completely. But it came close. Too close. “That’s your limit,” I say immediately. “You don’t go beyond that.” “Limit… observed.” “Good.” But I don’t relax. Because now— Now they know they can draw from the system. And if they push too far— If they take too much— We’re right back at collapse.

She just wanted to look them in the eyes one more time to let them know she was doing fine without them. “Kill them,” Arianna spat. “Gladly,” Amber replied with a huge grin. “Those with a weak constitution might want to exit the basement.”

Leo said, his ledger tucked into his waistband. "It is," Raven replied. "Everything has a 'Tolerance of the Joint'. If you bind a thing too tight, it has no room to grow. If you leave it too loose, it has no ground to stand on. We’re looking for the 'Middle Tension'—the place where the building can move but still know where home is."