The Fairness I Never Got Novels & Stories

I paused, then turned and asked my assistant for a lighter, and lit one corner of the paper. The flame consumed the words. The ashes scattered in the wind, like our past, now reduced to dust. I didn't forgive him. Never. But I won. I looked down at the city that had once tried to consume me. Now, it lay at my feet. I was the queen here, and that man was merely a stain on my crown, easily wiped away. Meanwhile, in the maximum-security wing of Rikers Island. The solitary cell had no windows. Only suffocating silence filled it.

My brows knitted together in a frown. I lifted Misouer Hippo up. His beady eyes gazed down on me. I bet if he could talk he would have said something like “Are you being fair by not choosing—or just stalling because choosing one means losing the other?” The question slapped harder than it should have. Maybe because it was true. Was I afraid?

Somewhere in the middle of it I realized I was smiling, not the controlled kind I use in negotiations. She caught me at it. "You're allowed to find things funny, you know," she said. "It won't ruin your reputation." "I have a reputation to maintain." "Clearly. The caterpillar story was very threatening to it." I laughed before I decided to allow it. Brian looked between the two of us like he just confirmed something he had already suspected. "You guys are being weird," he announced. "We are not being weird," Camille said. "You are. You keep looking at each other and then looking away fast." He said with total confidence.

Having grown up with her parents favoring her brother over her, my mother hates it when parents don't treat their children equally. For as long as I can remember, our family has operated by pursuing equality over everything else. When my older twin sister, Cheryl Moore, fails to make the final round of a competition, I'm forced to withdraw even though I've been chosen. Even though my shoe size is smaller than Cheryl's, our parents insist on buying the same size for both of us. When Cheryl falls sick, I'm forced to take the same medication even though I'm not sick. Then the SATs come along. I can't help but do my best and net a great score. Instead of doing as Mom and Dad demanded and app

Every time my foster sister, Lindsay Hartley, and I disagreed, Carl Curran and my brother Mark Hartley would settle it with a vote. When Carl and I were choosing our future home, I wanted somewhere in the southern district, close to our parents. Lindsay wanted the busier northern district instead. Neither of us would budge, so we put it to a vote. Carl was the first to raise his hand. "You're being so narrow-minded. You don't understand anything about actually living your life. Go with Lindsay's pick." Mark patted my head. "Don't be so selfish. The north side is close to Lindsay's office, so she can come stay with us whenever she wants." Three to one. I was forced to give in again. The

On the day of our family trip, I woke up early, only to be shocked to find the house completely empty. While I was still wondering what was going on, a message from my younger sister, Cynthia, popped up in the family group chat. "Oh no, I forgot to tell everyone in this group that the departure time had been moved up!" The next second, the message was recalled. As I stared blankly at the now-empty chat, I felt my eyes sting. At that moment, I realized they had another family group chat—one that did not include me. While I was still in a daze, Mom called. "I'm sorry, Yesenia. We moved the departure time up by an hour and forgot to tell you. Hurry and get a cab over here. Maybe you can

“How many points do I currently have? Are you sure you’re not cheating me?” “No, I am not. You’ve zero points. Because you haven’t done anything yet.” “Is that not unfair?” I want to enter and interrupt the moment, but a part of me holds me back. “Life isn’t fair, Sir.” She says it like she’s repeating something she once heard someone say. And I know exactly where. “Where did you learn that phrase?”

The luxury items and new sneakers he had dreamed of ultimately amounted to nothing, and he ended up owing even more in penalties. Before I left the station, I heard Caleb's broken and resentful inner voice one last time. [Why? Why did everyone's money go back, but only I lost money?] [I didn't get anything out of it. Now I have a stain on my record and penalties to pay. Why is Julian completely fine? It's so unfair!] I did not slow my steps. I walked calmly out through the police station doors. The fairest thing in this world has always been that good and evil meet their proper returns.

The silence welcomed me as it always did. I heated some water for tea, had a shower, changed into my favourite pyjamas, and settled onto the sofa with my phone beside me. Tasha’s word returned to me, uninvited. Have you simply become so good at managing your life that you’ve forgotten you can want something different? I frowned at the television, which I’d switched on without paying the slightest attention to what was playing. It wasn’t that I believed love was impossible. I had seen people fall in love, watched friends build relationships, and celebrate engagements and weddings with genuine happiness. I simply didn’t think it was something I needed to pursue with any particular urgency.

The night I gave birth, the entire hospital lost power. Soon after delivery, I started bleeding heavily. The backup power could only keep two operating rooms running. My mom, Marsha Gibson, was the head of obstetrics. A nurse asked if I needed emergency surgery right away. Mom glanced at Natalie Graham, my adoptive sister, in the next bed. Then she shook her head. "Help Natalie first. She's already sensitive about being adopted. What will people think if I put my own daughter first at a time like this?" I lay on the gurney, listening to my blood drip onto the floor. When my husband, Elijah Colton, arrived, I thought someone would finally help me. He was an anesthesiologist, after all.