Brief Reminder For Short Novels & Stories

Back then, I would have made a feast and downloaded her favorite movie, waiting for her no matter how late she returned. Now, though, even if my mind was willing, my flesh was weak. I suppressed my temper, explaining patiently. “I’m tired after a long day, and I still have to get up early tomorrow for work. That’s why I went to sleep early.” Nia tossed the present onto the bed irritably. “Whatever. I’m going to shower!” I picked up the present and looked at it. It was the same watch, only with new packaging. Even the new box was left over from her company’s annual party last year.

Another message. I open it before I can stop myself.

A faint blinking light pulsed at the base of the bracelet. A hidden communicator. Her hand shook as she tapped it. The device flared once, then displayed a single line of text: “You were warned. You have one day.”

On the screen: a message. Upload scheduled in 6 minutes.Welcome to Gboard clipboard, any text you copy will be saved here.

It was a reminder notification: ANGEL'S BALLET RECITAL - IN THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES. My eyes went wide. "Oh my God—"

The recording timer stretched across the screen. 14 HOURS 07 MINUTES. A storage warning flashed repeatedly at the top. My breathing slowed. And suddenly, I remembered. I set it up before the knock. My thumb hovered over the screen slowly. If it had been recording this entire time, then it recorded last night.

He licks his lips like he’s about to devour a meal, or just me, and says, “Everything’s fine, just wanted to run something by you really quick. We have a launch party scheduled for Friday night, and you leave on Wednesday. I was wondering if I could convince you to stay an extra few days so you could come with me? It only gives you 3 or 4 days of downtime though, so I understand if you don’t want to.” “Of course! I’d love to,” cutting him off, eager to extend my stay with him however I can. I probably responded way to fast, my cheeks redden again. “Great! I’m glad to hear it. Moonlight Security has a product reveal, and I would really love for you to be there for it. I’ll let you finish gett

Keep that important thing in mind! See you 👋 LOVE ALL❤️

Minus Waking up next to Cricket this morning was at the top of my list of life’s great moments. Unfortunately, the feeling was short lived as a sense of dread crept over me. We hadn’t exactly finished our conversation last night. Far from it. I still had one key detail to fill her in on, and I knew she wasn’t going to be happy about it.