(Posted on The Writers Club) She’s tossing and turning in sheets in a home we own;the silence drags violence along defensive wallsframed with insecurity.The portrait we paint… Read more “A Lonely Place to Sleep”
Nightfall Truce (Published on Spillwords Press!)
As the night draws to a conclusion,this war between us explodes withlandmines, tripping overwires of insecurity,cutting through the tensionof our invention.After consuming red wine,distraught tears flow througha… Read more “Nightfall Truce (Published on Spillwords Press!)”
The Unemployed Catch
I sat over a cigarette and a local newspaper at the kitchen table. I was going over the classifieds. I shifted my notepad and glasses and reached… Read more “The Unemployed Catch”
Sinning in Jeans
I sat in the library over cold coffee and opened books, going over notes for a twelfth-grade biology quiz. I wanted to prove to Mom that I… Read more “Sinning in Jeans”
Righteous Murder
The Rainer Cemetery ash trees had shed their leaves, crunching golden-brown beneath the feet of the funeral attendees. The brisk September breeze hung over Leah’s father’s closed,… Read more “Righteous Murder”
Evicted on Christmas
A forecasted snow-bearing Christmas was three days away. The sun was climbing out of the deep well of winter, but it was still brutally cold. The living… Read more “Evicted on Christmas”
Autumn Gazebo
Guys like me don’t usually do things like this, but I’ve been up since three o’clock, sitting here in the dark, waiting for the brisk October sun… Read more “Autumn Gazebo”
A Robbery On Christmas
It’s Christmas time again. Jodie, who lost her teaching job after budget cuts, is on a mission to buy her kids’ gifts by any means necessary. So… Read more “A Robbery On Christmas “
Who Killed Hannah?
I so have to figure out who killed, no, who murdered Hannah and why, Francis thought, staring eye-level into a half-empty wineglass as though it were her… Read more “Who Killed Hannah?”
Buried Alive
Shannon hated her mother. I didn’t care for the woman either, but I had no reason to see her dead, at least not at first. But Shannon,… Read more “Buried Alive”
Mindy’s Secret
Mindy’s father hated me, especially when he found out we were more than friends. I couldn’t help that I fell in love with his daughter, and she… Read more “Mindy’s Secret”
The Uber Date
Where is she? I glanced at my watch. She should be here by now. I folded my arms across my chest. It’s too cold to be waiting for… Read more “The Uber Date”
Sarah’s Choice: I’m Not Good Enough
I’d been with Sarah for five years, and she was getting anxious, anxious for me to pop the question or move on with her life. And rightly… Read more “Sarah’s Choice: I’m Not Good Enough”
The Weekend Affair
Dan is going through a mid-life crisis, wondering what happened to his relationship with his wife (Tara), and how she hardly notices him anymore. After Tara found… Read more “The Weekend Affair”
Love at a Cemetery
It was the bone-chilling Northwest winter of 1994 when I stood with my shaky hands folded before Granddad’s grave. I stared at his name with a million… Read more “Love at a Cemetery”
The Dating App
My editor liked this short story. Ben and Angie had been friends since they can remember. They told each other everything. Ben would marry Angie, but there’s… Read more “The Dating App”
Caught in the Act
It was the bone-chilling Seattle winter of 1994 when “Breakdown” by Mariah Carey played on Mary’s radio. Outside was a winter wonderland with five inches of snow… Read more “Caught in the Act”
The Angelic Cheater
As I closed the door behind me, the scent of her naked body and cologne, someone else’s cologne, didn’t escape my attention. I raked my fingers through… Read more “The Angelic Cheater”
The Stalker
It was the winter of 1995, and Christmas was three weeks away. I was out with a couple of friends at Mojo’s sports bar. We’d meet… Read more “The Stalker”
Sammy
Becca’s eyes were cold and lifeless as she stared at me. We stood in a crowded hallway, but our eyes locked and all I heard was the… Read more “Sammy”
Dead Body
Anna and Becca, on a road trip through West Virginia, stop for gas, meeting a stereotypical country, hillbilly, who saw too much. Anna physically threatens the clerk… Read more “Dead Body”
Wine From A Dusty Box
Hannah, an arrogant, beautiful high school student, wants to spend the night with Ben (her boyfriend). Ben is an insecure classmate. She lives on the wealthy side… Read more “Wine From A Dusty Box”
I’m Gay, Dad: Anything For Jessica
Mark lives a sheltered life. As the son of a pastor, kids make assumptions about how he can’t watch movies or listen to music. What his friends… Read more “I’m Gay, Dad: Anything For Jessica”
Lovers in Sheets
The warmth of my touch escapes your bonesas you sit beside yourself, wondering what you’d tell someone elseif you knew someone else who relapsed on my kiss.… Read more “Lovers in Sheets”
Life in Love
I naively embraced our memories in technicolor.I should have listened to my friends.I blinked the red flags to the trash bin full of empty decisions.I’ll explore your… Read more “Life in Love”
Fall Love
My existence burns for Autumn,a girl I knew in college.Flames of anticipation weed my heart’s thorns.Autumn’s creeping around the cornerwith her lustful shadows that linger in the… Read more “Fall Love”
Dentist After Hours
I’ve got no sweet tooth,but her lips of charismadrilled a cavity into my molar.She called me by my first name.Who does that?Talking to her happened only in… Read more “Dentist After Hours”
A Warrant for Love
It’s not that I didn’t want you.It’s just that I knew, or thought I knew,you didn’t need me.But maybe that was the shallow meback before I caught… Read more “A Warrant for Love”
Love is Death
She blew a drag in my faceand ignited my lungs with a cough.We talked over dinner last night but nothing more.I tasted a chalky sedative.My weighted eyelids… Read more “Love is Death”
Happy Missing You
I should have calledbefore I showed up,but I expected your jealousyto blink at me like bloodshot eyes,and to slam me into your wall of insecurity,but I crawled… Read more “Happy Missing You”
Dating is Hell
The empty spacesbetween love and hatesend mixed signalsfrom a woman I’d messagedon a dating app.The story of my lifeis the anticipation of a lover’s embraceonly to later… Read more “Dating is Hell”
Take Your Jacket
She scaled a second-story window to meet me behind the oak tree. We slipped into the car, and I drove while she rode me. We sped down… Read more “Take Your Jacket”
Scared of Love
I threw my covers off and stumbled to my feet.Her nightmares invade my dreams.The blood-curdling shrieks hammer nails in my eardrums.I’ve turned the clock back to the… Read more “Scared of Love”