Nineteen Minutes Novels & Stories

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.

And I am tired of being so grown up. "What about the bus?" I ask. He checks his phone. "Ten twenty three. We have twenty seven minutes before the next one. That is enough time for pie." Twenty seven minutes. "Okay," I say. "Pie." He stands up first. He is taller than I thought. He must be six feet tall, maybe a little more. He holds out his hand to help me up, and I look at it for a moment. Long fingers. Pencil bump on the thumb.

My boyfriend, Julian Vance, always said that people in relationships shouldn't use their partners as emotional dumping grounds. So he set a rule. I got ten minutes a day to unload on him. He said his job wore him out and he hoped I'd understand. I agreed. I even thought he simply had strong boundaries. Then my grandmother died, the woman who had raised me on her own. I came back from the funeral home still gripping the reading glasses she never got to put on. All I wanted was for Julian to hold me for a while. He sighed instead. "It isn't that I won't stay with you. It's that you've used up your quota for today." I asked through tears, "Can't today be an exception?" He said, "Once there's a

One moment at a time. ***

After Melody cheated and returned to the family, I started posting online every day. [Is cheating addictive?] [Just how thrilling is cheating, really?] [When a woman cheats, does she feel worse for her kids or her lover?] … I tagged her school in every post, making sure each one appeared right in front of her students, her colleagues, and even her lover. Everyone told me to stop making such an ugly scene and be the bigger person. Only Melody stood up for me. "I'm the one who did something wrong. It's only fair to let Tony vent a little." That lasted until my 99th post. Then Melody stormed in as if she'd lost her mind and smashed my computer. "Anthony, are you ever going to stop? I alr

I'm just going to sleep. Alexander: 19 minutes now. Unlock your door.

“...Fair point.” Vivian looked like she was about to add something, then decided against it. Riley had already moved on. “Next.” “Riley.” “What?” “Let’s take a break.” “Yes!” She immediately stood. “Fifteen minutes.” “That’s too short!” “You lasted ten minutes before collapsing on the table.” “Then twenty.” “Fifteen.” “Eighteen.” “Fifteen.” “Seventeen.” “Fifteen.” “You’re not even negotiating!”

“What does that mean?” Charles looked over his shoulder. “It means the rate is increasing.” A new calculation appeared. ESTIMATED COMPLETE INTEGRATION: 41 MINUTES Elena's face hardened. “We have forty-one minutes.” “No,” Zero said. She turned. “What?” “At fifty percent, Lucas won't be able to resist her.” Elena stared at the counter. “Then we have less.” Lucas suddenly appeared on the central screen. He stood in the white space. Mother Zero stood behind him.

This was the dignity expected of a Donna. Downstairs, the family dinner had already started. The long table was covered with food, and servants stood in the corners waiting. Chiara sat next to Enzo, leaning against him slightly with one hand on her swollen belly. My mother kept putting food into her bowl. “Eat more. You need nutrition.” Across the table, Enzo reached over to adjust Chiara’s position. “Be careful. Do not tire yourself.” Chiara gave him a sweet smile. “I am fine. You are here.”

The timer appeared on screen. Fifty-nine minutes. Fifty-eight minutes. And the world waited to see what we would do.