Realization Novels & Stories

She was gone. Didn't want him anymore. Vincent charged it, ripped it down, smashed it to the floor. He punched his own smiling face, over and over. Even when the glass sliced deep and blood dripped, he didn't stop. Like breaking it could undo everything. Only when it was unrecognizable did he finally quit. He staggered toward the living room—then froze. Next to the trash, something caught his eye. He knelt, picked up a few torn scraps. And then he saw it—two words that knocked the air out of him: [Marriage Certificate].

/

*** Ready for more football with a visit from Killian? END OF PART ONE

It makes sense, and by the flicker of fear that dances in Revel’s eyes momentarily, my suspicions are confirmed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Luella,” he says slowly, eyes narrowing slightly. I blink, as I realise there is only one thing I can do, only one way I can know for sure what Revel’s intentions are. I tense, concentrating all my energy to summoning my ability. I’ve never done is so successfully as I have with Thought, so I’m hoping since then, I’ve only improved. I simply think of being him, inside his head, and in a flash of light between my eyes, and a spark of pain, I realise I’m staring at myself through another's eyes.

Then, she turned to me guiltily and whispered, "I'll… I'll buy you another one next time." I nodded indifferently. I'd heard her make promises like that countless times and never seen her follow through. … At the photography studio, Marcus went first and even took several photos with Jessica. When it was my turn with her, the photographer raised his camera but awkwardly lowered it again. "Oops. Sorry, but I'm all out of film." I secretly cheered, but kept a straight face, saying calmly, "Oh. Forget it, then." As we left the studio, Jessica pulled a train ticket from her pocket and handed it to me. It was a standing-room-only ticket to Lisbeth, departing in four days.

"You've been doing it for two weeks. You're just now acknowledging it instead of pretending it doesn't exist." "Acknowledgment doesn't solve the problem," I said. "No," Eli said. "But denial was never going to either. At least now you're working with the actual situation instead of an illusion of professional distance." By Friday, I'd accepted that I couldn't maintain the illusion of professional-only interaction. Something had shifted in how I was experiencing Eli, and pretending otherwise was just creating cognitive dissonance. I could still maintain professionalism. I could still make good decisions. I could still deliver a breakthrough campaign.

I'm pretty sure he currently sat in his place in heaven, smirking down at me, in the same way he always did whenever he knew he had someone on checkmate. Corny bastard. I ran my hand through my hair frustratedly, trying my hardest not to blow up at the world for playing a tough one with me. Dad one, Simon zero. "Okay fine. Since it's in the will, and he's already dead, there's no way we could change it. I might as well accept defeat. How much time does it say that I have?" I asked, resignation and acceptance of my defeat evident in my voice. At this, my mother, my sister Melvin, and my late father's barrister, all exhaled deeply, now finally able to let go of their tenseness.

I shouted at nobody, realizing that swearing wouldn't do anything, but feeling too emotionally overwhelmed to stay silent. Just as I thought things couldn't get any worse, I noticed a car speeding up behind me. I recognized immediately that the car was one from the store parking lot, and I could only assume it was the shooters coming to finish what they started. Knowing this could end badly, I reached over, fastening my seatbelt before punching the gas; Luckily for me, there weren't a lot of cars in town tonight that I needed to avoid.

I believed in the right, based on the situation. I tried to again brush all the stupid realisation I felt I was realising at the moment because sure I couldn't be attracted to a person I just met, let alone love. I ain't like that. I tried thinking I was just tired and thinking stupid thoughts about a guy whom I hadn't even spoken a word with. I tried telling myself again and again that I was going crazy but in vain.

“So what do you think?” I opened my eyes. The city was gone, but that hushed voice remained in the back of my mind, lurking from the shadows. Bobby nodded. “It’s got a weird timing to it, but that’s not a bad thing.” “I think the bass will drive the song,” Hank said. “What about you, Aidan?” “I dig it,” I said. “What’re you calling it?” Johnny smiled. “This one’s called ‘The Final Reconciliation.’ I think the whole album will be called that.”