Nine Minutes Novels & Stories

The message is clear. I sit down again, legs crossed, falsely relaxed. But my eyes remain fixed on the front door. My fingers drum on the armrest. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Nine minutes. This little shit better get his ass out of the way.

His steps were confident like he knew exactly where he was going, which was good, because the place was a maze and I swore at one point we’d gone in a circle. Sitting in a central bar was a man who hadn’t changed a bit in the weeks since I’d last seen him. In fact, he looked the same as when I first met him almost two months ago. Unlike Six, the only difference I saw in Nine was the green eyes I’d seen in Paris versus the brown of Tennessee. “There you are!” Nine gave a broad smile and held out his hand. “So good to see you again.” Six smiled back and took his hand. “How are you doing?”

Thane’s Pov 11: 48 pm I stared at my watch, my eyes burning from the effort not to blink. I tapped my finger impatiently against the dashboard, Two more minutes till midnight. I couldn’t sit still. I couldn’t breathe properly. Knowing that Andera, Timmy, and Tiffany were in there sliced through me like a blade Nine hours. Nine goddamn hours since that text turned my world inside out. Come on, come on, come on Midnight.

The morning sun climbed higher and the light through the window turned from pale to gold. "Can I ask you something?" I said. "Anything." "The first time you ever did that. Were you nervous?" He set down his fork. "Terrified. I was seventeen. Her name was Claire. We were in her basement. It lasted about thirty seconds." I laughed. "Thirty seconds?" "Maybe less. I was so embarrassed I did not talk to her for a week." "That makes me feel better." "Good. First times are always awkward. That is the point. They are not about being perfect. They are about being new."

] [I was not angry about that night, so do not be angry either. [Is this because of the photo Angelina posted? It was a misunderstanding. I will explain.] [Today is our wedding, Leticia. Do not forget.] [I will be waiting at the chapel at ten.] I checked my watch. It was exactly ten. I blocked James's number, removed the SIM card from my phone, dropped it into the trash, and boarded the plane. Goodbye, James.

Miranda walked over and drove the heel of her shoe straight down onto the back of my hand. "You're just a grease monkey. What makes you think you're some kind of savior? Leon, don't waste time talking to him. Lock him in solitary. We'll deal with him after the alarm stops." I looked at the timer on the wall. Seventeen minutes left before the core blew. "If the core blows up, none of us will make it out alive!" I shouted at Leon, spit hitting his boots.

Inez added. “Bring wine, too,” Cass pleads. “Okay, Cass, now this is brilliant. Inez giggled with excitement. Cassandra ended the call and quickly went back to her baking. Inez had allocated twenty minutes for Cassandra, but it all passed too quickly, and she wasn’t there yet. As she began to doubt, the doorbell went off and interrupted her thoughts.

The paper slipped from his fingers and scattered across the floor. The contract clearly stated: Zoey had been given 99 chances. If he chose her even once, she’d be allowed to stay and marry him. If not—she’d be forced to leave the country and never return. And he… He had chosen Claire. Every. Single. Time. He had ignored Zoey. Let her get hurt. Rejected her. Again and again. What the hell had he done? Adrian leaned against the wall, stunned, unable to breathe. Linda finally spoke.

I looked into his eyes. The arrogance that had always lived behind Julian's gaze was gone. What was left was just sorrow. I didn't answer his question right away. I undid the buttons at my collar and pulled the fabric aside until the scar showed. A long, raised line ran down toward my heart. "Julian. Do you remember this scar?" "The night before our ninety-eighth engagement. You took me out to see a movie. On the way there, a car hit me. The driver fled the scene. They never found him."