she took herself away too soon at sixteen could’ve given a single try to what she was but it wasn’t her call a tattoo of a finger around her face i must’ve looked for her five times, maybe more she said she wanted everyone to see her middle finger she didn’t care she cared so little that she didn’t care to stay alive ended always with a trumpet in the skies the hats I wore when I was sixteen the backpacks like rabbit ears...

nothing what am i that just that i feel it real deep under the skin above my scratched fingernails that smell like your smell your baggy clothes oh they hide you and your shapes like a secret of a friend stabbing a friend in the back you don’t wanna say it you’d rather staple your tongue right beneath the bottom edge of your speaking terms listen your knees crack again like the bones of the dead like mine maybe I am dead...

Rain hit the window, and my eyes traced the lines of water traveling down the glass. Long streaks trailed behind each one, telling the story of where it had been. Every splatter would leave its own reminder behind, letting the person seated know it had existed and where it had gone. I let my finger rest against the cool surface and traced one of those paths wistfully. In truth, I was the tiniest bit jealous. This rain cou...

“So let me get this straight,” sighed the captain. He pinched the bridge of his nose with thick fingers. The nameplate on his desk read ‘James P. Barker’.Detective Bell stood imperiously in front of him, arms crossed, eyebrow arched.I sat in a chair behind the detective holding a cup of sludge the evil front lady from the black lagoon had deceptively (and, no doubt, maliciously) fronted as ‘coffee.'“Someone stole a dead-n...

PrologueI stared dolefully down into my near-empty bag of coffee beans. The new order wasn’t supposed to arrive until next week, which meant it was either a great pot of coffee for tonight’s shift followed by almost a week’s worth of government supplied coffee grinds, or five nights of weak, watery, near bland coffee.I sighed.I upended the contents of the bag into the grinder, brought up the evening body count on my compu...

"I don't understand why I have to be there," Teagan whined from where he sat at his desk. Textbooks and note pads surrounded him, along with empty snack bags and soda cans. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him through narrowed eyes. He couldn't be serious, right? There was no way. "Are you for real?" I demanded. The look I got in return told me he was. I uncrossed my arms and slammed my hands down onto my hip...

"I really don't think this is one of your better ideas, baby," I told Teagan with some trepidation. I hung back as we approached the restaurant; I was sure it was going to end in a disaster much worse than when I met his friends the first time. It didn't help this was the same place, either.He shot me a look as he reached past me and opened the door for me. "I don't care if it's a bad idea or not, Aislinn." He waved me th...

"Now, what's a pretty girl like you doing in a dump like this?"The question was so corny that I had no choice but to laugh. I looked up from the book I had been reading while eating my dinner to see Ryan gazing down at me. Seeing my amusement, he gave me a smug look."Well, had I known that cheesy pickup lines were the key to you not being hostile, I'd have used it a long time ago," he said. "I've built up quite the collec...

“I’m sorry, what?” A frustrated sigh met my question and I fought the urge to take my annoyance out on the owner of the said sigh. “For the third time,” Ryan grumbled, “Do you want to see one of the movies that are on the syllabus? Or do you want to do a book report first?” I stared at him blankly, having no idea what he was talking about. The entire concept of studying for my classes seemed inconsequential these days. Ev...

DECISIVE MOMENTS – CHAPTER 7 “Hey, man! Can I borrow your shaving cream? I’m out.” I turned to see Connor standing at the bottom of the stairs. He was glancing into the kitchen where Teagan was cooking. I had offered to help but was turned down with an emphatic no! I still hadn’t gotten any better with my dismal culinary skills. I found it rather offensive that the two of them continued to remind me of this, however. “Yea...

Decisive Moments – Chapter 6 When I walked into the kitchen the following morning and saw Connor sitting at the table, I had to fight not to turn around and run. Teagan had left earlier to catch up with his early morning study group, so I had no buffer. I was comfortable with the step that we had taken the previous night. But the thought of my brother knowing anything was mortifying. It didn’t help that every time I thoug...

I groaned as I woke up, my head pounding and eyes dry and scratchy. I blinked in the dark, disoriented. The clock on the table beside me showed that there were still several hours before morning. I sighed as I worked a hand out from under the covers and rubbed my forehead. “What’s wrong, baby?” I heard whispered into my neck as muscled arms pulled me tighter. I smiled as Teagan nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck....

Looking back on things, I can see where I could have handled things at that point a bit better. Blurting out, “Are you shitting me? Who are they for?” probably wasn’t the best route to take. Especially if the look on Teagan’s face was any indication. Not one of my smarter moves at all. He turned and looked at me in disbelief. “They’re for me, Aislinn,” he snapped. I recoiled in surprise at his tone. Even at his angriest w...

I closed my text book with a loud snap and checked the time on my cell phone. I groaned when I saw that I had been studying for almost four hours and still had what felt like a mountain of homework left. Teagan had cautioned me about taking so many classes my first semester but I had been stubborn. I wanted to get the basic courses out of the way as soon as possible. As I looked at the books and papers scattered around me...

“Are you for real right now?” I heard my best friend Penny ask me from the other side of the room. I stood up and turned to look at her with a frown. “What are you talking about?” I asked as I shoved the same chunk of hair out of my eyes for the thousandth time with annoyance. It was times like these that I really wanted to just hack the crap off. Penny looked at me dumbfounded. “Seriously? Ash! – You brought every book a...