Can't Catch a Brake

Can’t Catch a Brake

     “Drive.” She slammed the passenger door like we were getting away from a bank in a hurry.
     I slipped the car in reverse and rolled us down the sloping driveway.
     One problem though: as I pumped the brake it hugged the floor but we were not stopping. I twisted the wheel so our white Dodge Ram didn’t hit the light pole behind us.

Neither Dog Nor Boy

Neither Dog Nor Boy

            Worm carcasses littered the sidewalks. I wondered if there were any worms left in the world.

            “Charlie, no. Charlie!” My puppy was still new to life and wanted to sniff everything. His black nose twitched over a neighbor’s drenched tulips before I tugged back on the leash.

Morning Ritual

Morning Ritual

*Warning: Though a work of fiction, the following may contain triggers for some audiences, such as pregnancy issues, mental health, and gore.

            I told Mitch and he insisted on driving me down to the drugstore that morning to get another few boxes and another test. It took all of my patience to explain to him that, no, he couldn’t watch me take it and he would have to sit outside the bathroom and wait.

            When I came out he snatched the test out of my hand and tried to make sense of the pink lines in the window. “What does it say?” he asked.