Standing Next To You Novels & Stories

⁠ At our ho‍me. In the living room. Smiling. But not alon‌e. A man s⁠tands beside her — tall⁠, dark-suited, an⁠d leaning closer than comfort allows. The im‍age isn’t‍ clear enough t‍o see faces fully, but the intimacy of the angle burns li‌ke acid.

"What are you going to do about it now?" "I am going to sort it out but... You are going to be by my side."

"You were with your friends." "I'm alone now." I looked at her. She was standing close and her eyes were bright and her cheeks were pink and she was looking at me like she was trying to figure something out. "I know," I said. We stood side by side. The music was loud and the lights were low and she was next to me with the coffee I had brought her and she was not asking me to leave. "I notice," she said. "I know." "I'm not going to ask you to stop."

I look at him. "I know," I say. "Do you?" "I know it here." I put my hand over my chest. "And sometimes it takes a minute to get from here to here." I move my hand to my head. He almost smiles. "Then take the minute." "I already did." "And?" "And you're still the only person in this clearing I want to be standing next to."

The room felt different with just the two of us. He stepped closer. “You didn’t sleep,” he observed. “Neither did you.” A faint curve touched his lips. “Today changes things,” he said. “Yes.” He studied my face carefully. “You’re afraid.” I considered lying. “I’m… aware.” His brow lifted slightly. “Of what?” “Of what this means.” He stepped closer, stopping just inches away. “It means you stand beside me,” he said calmly. “Not behind me.” “I know.” “It means no one questions your place.”

Kinsley promises. “Every step of what way?” I hear to my left. Standing between Stan and I is Tamara. “Is it okay if I join you?” she asks as she makes her way to sit beside Elizabeth. I see Elizabeth tense up and would be asking her about that later. For now, Tamara sat down before anyone could reply.

Summer shouts as we approach an expanse living room I guess and just then I stop as I sight three familiar figures standing right there. But not only that, there's someone else standing beside them “Daphne?”

Rosa. She stood beside Marcus with the six inches of practised adjacency that had been present since the gravel drive in British Columbia and which had been gradually, unhurriedly closing until it was now something different — not adjacency but simply beside. The way two people stand when they have been given back the right to stand together and have been using it every morning without treating it as remarkable because unremarkable was exactly what they had been waiting to be. Dominic was beside Elena. His hand found hers at the second intersection without either of them arranging it.

“I trust patterns.” I laughed quietly at that. After a moment he said, "You are correct." "We won't rely on her alone." I tilted my head. "You had no intention of doing so already." "No," he said. "But hearing you say it is good. It is good to know that the person standing next to me sees the same dangers I see. That we are walking into this with eyes open." Then he stood up and walked toward me lightly placing his hands on either side of my hips. Not ensnaring. Not pulling me close in a way that left no space. Just there. Present. Steady.

Finally, I stand near him against the elevator wall and breathe heavily. "Are you guys already leaving?" That voice shudders me from the core. My eyes shoot up and I look beside me. That's Stanford, standing literally near me while Kane is on the left side. My heart stops beating.