The Body Keeps The Score Novels & Stories

QUINN Quinn: Hey, are you busy? Leo: No. Just laying here hoping to die. Quinn: Why?? What's wrong? Are you okay? Leo: Yeah, sorry. Spring conditioning is brutal. Just got back home, made it as far as my couch. Not sure I'll move again tonight. Quinn: Oh, you poor thing. What did they make you do? Leo: Sprints. Bear crawls. Burpees. You know, the trifecta.

Amber leaned forward and watched her foster mom with concern. This was the third day she had been bedridden with a ‘cold’. The other day, she was coughing up blood into the kitchen sink. Whenever she questions her about her health, Mrs Bryce just responds with a weak, “I’m fine honey. No need to worry, it’s just a cold.” Yet she had been losing weight steadily for the past three days. She now looks so frail compared to her old self.

The wearer of the jacket was a huddled figure slumped by the side wall of the long, stubby building hosting the ticket counters. He approached and sat on his haunches in front of the unconscious man. The man's legs were limp, splayed before him. The open sides of the jacket revealed a threadbare shirt with so many stains of eatables and more, that its true color was lost. The head leaned into the wall at an uncomfortable angle. An expression of agony was fixed on the ridged hard-skinned face. It was a dead body. The fingers of both hands had adopted different angles, positions, and distances from each other in permanent repose. They seemed to reflect the pain of parting from this pointless l

"We're treating the top scorer. Who are you to stop us?" "I haven't checked my score yet." "There's no need to check." Zonday grabbed my wrist. "I told you I would support you financially." "Wow, Yunara sure is lucky to have a childhood friend like Zonday." "Right? Everyone knows her scores have been slipping. Why does she want to humiliate herself?" I said nothing. I pushed past everyone and entered my student ID. Before long, the score popped up on the computer screen. "Zero points?!"

"What did you do? Why haven't I gotten mine?" I smiled. "Why are you asking me about your score?" One of his followers quickly jumped in. "It has to be in the top 50 in the state. They always delay those." I almost laughed. In my last life, my score really had been in the top 50. But this time, I had written everything in red ink. There was no way that was happening. Still, everyone bought it instantly and started congratulating Tyson in advance. He hesitated for a moment, then firecrackers went off outside.

But they smiled at me and said, "This is what we want to do, Chloe. You're our daughter, and we're supposed to support you." Time flew by. One year later, the next SAT came around, and unsurprisingly, I scored an incredible 1600.

A row of dark gun barrels was aimed straight at their heads. I slowly removed my sunglasses and smiled at them. "I just heard someone say they wanted to settle a score with me. I'm here," I said quietly. "It's time to put an end to this."

I feel rejected. "Alright. Thanks," I mutter, sibilantly. He leaves without looking back. "Oh God." I lean recklessly against the cold tiled-wall, my palms on my burning cheeks. I feel hot and cold at the same time, angered and shortchanged. What's happening? Why am I angry at this lost moment? My heart beats rapidly as fear engulfs me. Am I falling for my bodyguard? No, it can't be. I'm just physically attracted to him. He's an irresistible man, that's all.