O Crossed Out Novels & Stories

“They destroy you by making you trust them.” At seventeen, Adrian had assumed the words were simply the bitterness of a wounded man. Now they sounded different. Much different. He returned to the desk. His father's old file remained open. Adrian turned another page. There was a list of names connected to the investigation. He studied every one. Then his eyes stopped. One name had been heavily crossed out. Not marked confidential. Not removed officially. Crossed out. The pressure of the ink had nearly torn through the paper. Adrian stared at it.

I look back at my case study options and I add a fourth one and then immediately cross it out before I can finish writing it. But the two words are still visible under the single line. False testimony.

11:59. Trina’s phone buzzed—one, two, three times. The burner: : ) No link. A smile, of all things. The polite cruelty of it rocked her more than a threat. Keith swore under his breath. Noon. It started on the same gossip account that had lit the fuse the night before. A carousel post: “THE CROSS FILES.” The first slide was a blurred image of Trina, alone, head tipped back laughing at the Cross club weeks ago—innocent, familiar. The second slide was not.

*Cabroń* *Blyad* Xavier and Marcus, both cursed walking back to their cars, once their trucks had crossed the border without any further inquiry. ************

And if Matt doesn’t want to lose his own position he has to do this. I only nod, trying to not start sobbing like some idiot. Behind Matt, Jack and Lori are standing at attention. Lori looks like she’s about to cry at any moment and Jack looks the complete opposite. Prick… Matt suddenly stops in front of me and places a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it before he takes a step back. Here it comes… “I, Matthew Cole Graham hereby strip the title of omega from Chase Christoper Evans due to succumbing to temptation as well as not being able to fullfil his duties”

one of them whispered indiscreetly. With another sigh, Ceanna kept walking. She would have to talk to Keion about this girlfriend-boyfriend thing. It was one thing as an inside joke, but a declaration at Alcombey High was like world news and she wasn’t trying to be that. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than she bumped into something solid. Stumbling back, her bag fell off her shoulder and her lip gloss and keys fell out of the side pocket. She must have forgotten to close it while she was staring into space a moment ago.

" After the stream ended, the tide turned completely. Craig's company was buried under a wave of cancellations. Partners pulled out one after another. He posted a public apology that night, but it didn't matter. Police took him in for questioning the next morning. Aunt Sandra saw the stream from her hospital bed and tore out her oxygen tube, trying to get up and come after me. She made it as far as the edge of the bed before she went down hard, splitting her wound back open, screaming in pain. Wade's bank accounts were frozen. He slunk back to the hospital with nowhere else to go. I thought it was over. Then Aunt Sandra posted a video from her bed. She was crying, real tears this time, holdi

As always, Isabella used Finn as an excuse to get Lucas' attention. But this time, Lucas ignored her as he muttered to himself, "Home. She must be home." With that, he rushed out the door. But of course, I wouldn't be at home—not now, not ever. He tore through the entire villa, only to find that I had erased every trace of myself. In the end, the only thing he found was a document Sophia had brought back. The date was from last week. His heart began to pound violently, and Sophia's words from that day echoed in his mind.

I sat there for a long time after he was gone, my hand still tingling from where his fingers had touched my skin. I knew we had just crossed a line. Even if we hadn’t said a word.

"Claire, we received a tip that you plagiarized Emma Palmer's work for your graduation project. Is this true?" I was stunned and stepped back, protesting, "I didn't. You're slandering me!"