Tomorrow Will Be Better: A Novel Novels & Stories

Now, all at once, it hit me that everything I had given over the years had been nothing more than a one-sided effort. I was just about to book a flight when I realized I had forgotten my ID and passport, so I had no choice but to return home. The moment I opened the door, I was greeted by a mess all over the floor. Leftover snacks were scattered everywhere, along with half-finished dishes left behind. Right by the bedroom door lay something impossible to miss—a box of levonorgestrel pills and a piece of wine-red lingerie. Willow had never liked being physically intimate with me. Even Naomi's existence had come from a drunken incident.

“Tell tomorrow. Give book. Answer questions. Trust Lucia plan was love.” We stood. I hugged old woman. She hugged back soft. “Thank you,” I said quiet. “For wisdom. For wait when we scared.” “Not scared. Fear. Fear from love is okay fear.” She back and looked us. “Go. Ready. Tomorrow give children back to each other.” Marcus and I walked back to house. Book heavy in arms. I felt big weight of tomorrow. “Tomorrow,” Marcus said quiet. “We tell tomorrow.” “Together,” I said. “Both same time.”

Over power. Tomorrow, we find out if I was right or wrong. If the man walking into that conference room is capable of being a father. Or if he’s still the same man who walked away. Tomorrow, my children meet their father. Not the idea of him. The real one. Tomorrow, everything changes. There is no version of tomorrow where things stay the same. For better or worse. Ready or not. Here we go.

“I’m such a horrible friend. Amanda has come to my house a number of times, but I have never gone to hers. I think I will pay her a visit tomorrow.” “I think that will be nice,” Todd said, kissing my hand, which he was still holding. Then he groans sadly, and my eyebrows fly up in worry. “What’s wrong?” I asked him with concern. “Nothing,” he said with a shrug. “I just don’t like remembering that there is something called tomorrow. It makes me sad.” I did not need to ask why he felt sad when he heard the word ‘tomorrow’. It was quite obvious.

“Tomorrow is a new day. This is your page, not his! Come tomorrow you can clear off every misconception and take back control!” That’s right. I could. I could do that. Tomorrow. I already lived a messed-up life physically, I can’t live a messed up one online too. Tomorrow, I take back control! A sound plan. Absolutely solid, but who knew taking back control wasn’t so easy? Waking up the next day was nothing short of what I had expected. The mansion buzzing with Sunday’s specials like we usually do, May-Miss Prego, parading her pregnant self. Attempting to play besties with me at every turn, but who is falling for that? Definitely not me.

The city's charm seemed incongruent with the mysteries that lay within the mansion's walls. The door opened, revealing Nathan, a composed demeanor masking the complexity of emotions beneath the surface. The stage was set for a confrontation that held the potential to unravel truths, reshape relationships, or plunge them deeper into the abyss of uncertainty. In the heart of Esmea, the threads of their interconnected fates hung delicately, awaiting the tug that would redefine the course of their lives.

“It feels like when you come home.” Nova looked at her son. She looked at the table. “Tomorrow,” she said. “We’re ready.”  [End of Chapter 24]

Snow poked his head out from the top of his new terrarium, his tiny crimson eyes darting around inquisitively, as if carefully surveying this pristine, magnificent new world. My phone vibrated once more in my palm. “See you tomorrow, Hill.” It was a collection of just a few brief words, yet a soft, uncontrollable smile tugged at the corners of my lips. What did the future hold for us? I couldn’t say for certain. But I knew with clarity that regardless of what came next, it would be a radiant, entirely unwritten future that belonged completely to me. (The End)

He bought me a muffin and instructed me like a child: "Brenda, be good and eat your muffin. By the time you finish, I'll be done moving the boxes, and we can go home together!" Back then, the young man's arms weren't as broad as they are now. Those hands, already strong then, had just violently pushed me to the ground. Coming back to the present, I felt an inexplicable calm. Gently wiping away my tears, the blood on my hands mixed with the blood on my face. I picked up the torn pieces of the phone book again. Blood stained the pages, blurring the crooked handwriting. With trembling hands, I tried to wipe it off, but only smeared more blood.

Tomorrow we'd find the trail . But tonight I held onto that faint connection like a lifeline, held onto the proof that she still existed and still loved me. Tomorrow. Just had to survive until tomorrow. And then everything would change. Again. For better this time. It had to be better. Please let it be better. Please.