Dobby Lines Novels & Stories

A robe hung on the door. “Take your time,” Dmitri said. He left and closed the door. I looked at the tub. The water stayed still. Steam rose in slow curls. I took off my clothes, the sweater with the hole in the sleeve and the jeans I had worn for three days. I stepped into the water and sank down until it covered my shoulders. The heat moved into my muscles. My ankle stopped throbbing. My hands stopped stinging. I watched the water turn pink with my blood and did not care.

This isn’t you, calm down. As we stared to each other, his crimson eyes was burning red and its orbs were shining as if it’s scanning all of my inner soul. My heart’s throbbing fast as I looked back at him with my blue sea eyes. “What are you doing?” Finally, I asked without hesitation. His eyes distracted me and I forgot what we’ve been talking about. He moved away from me and replied, “Nothing. Put this one away from your mind. Don’t remember everything what happened.” “You’re really acting weird, Doom. Are you sure you’re still Doom?”

"Imogen, why are you pretending not to know me?" He pouted, a look of grievance on his face. From his tone, it sounded like they were quite familiar with each other, and all eyes turned toward them. Those volunteers wrinkled their noses, looking disgusted, while I waited quietly for the drama to unfold. Imogen blinked, genuine confusion clouding her features. "Who are you?" Thomas's hopeful expression cracked, replaced by disbelief. "You don't recognize me?" Imogen scratched her head, taking a hesitant step back. "I don't think we've met. Are you from one of our subsidiary companies?"

I tapped accept. A line appeared on the screen. [Assignment term: three years. Destination: Havenmist branch. Please report to your assigned location by this Saturday.] Today was Wednesday. There were three days left before both my wedding and my departure. Simon Carver saw me looking down at my phone, and his frown deepened. "Maren, I'm talking to you." I locked my phone and looked up at him. "Mm. I heard you." He probably hadn't expected me to be so calm.

“That’s eight figures, Cross. Real money. Even for us.” Julian’s smile is slow and cruel. “They’re calling it the Black Run. A full sweep. Clean through Twelve. Sponsors are salivating. She’s hot, she’s new, she’s got trauma written all over her. They think she’s the first wildcard to actually make it.”

"Annie! Annie Carter! Wake up! You, the boy next to her—give her a nudge." Someone gently nudged my elbow, pulling me out of the endless darkness. The blurry scene in front of me slowly cleared. I turned my head and saw Wade's face, and my heart skipped a beat. "For question sixteen, the answer's C," Wade whispered, covering his mouth. I ignored the answer and just stared straight at Wade, reaching out to touch his face. It was warm.

His eyes were wide, a deep, searching brown that seemed to be trying to process a thousand different timelines at once. "Two lines," he whispered, looking back down at the plastic. "That’s… that’s a positive." "Yes." He let out a breath that sounded like a shudder. He leaned back against the counter, his legs looking suddenly heavy. He didn't drop the test; he held it like it was made of thin glass. "Are you… how are you feeling?" he asked. His voice was trembling. It was the first time I had ever heard Ethan’s voice shake.