So many times I have made the bed. The corners are tucked in tight, the creases smoothed out. Are the folds crooked?
My shadow slides over dark wood panelling as I circle the room. Its movement surprises me; I flinch.
His presence looms large: his raised arm, his clenched fist.
Zoey Rowan is a copywriter, content writer, and translator living in Berlin. When she isn’t writing short stories she can be found trying out new recipes or biking around her city.
I should leave.
The shouting, screaming, hitting…
I hate it! He plasters on a fake smile to fool everyone into believing in this facade, but he’s a monster.
What’s that? Is that the door?
“Honey I’m home!”
Oh, he’s calm. Arms slip around my waist. Strong arms, kind arms. “I missed you.” A kind voice.
I should stay.
Hope Chow is an aspiring author who was born and raised in America. She writes to paint a more lucid picture of life through the eyes of many others.
He stands where his father put him, white faced, tears staining his cheeks, little fists clenched at his side, listening to the silence. His mother’s stifled screams, moans, and sobs have stopped.
He is trembling, frozen with fear, eyes fixed on the belt hanging on the back of the door.
Ann Sangwin is a retired teacher, now a career grandmother. She has written all her life but until recently has not thought of submitting for publication. She lives in Kent, where she recently joined a writing group which has changed her life.
He didn’t mean to black her eye.
Yes, he balled up his fist, drew back, and let go.
But it was her mouth that did it. Her fault. Not his.
He barely touched her.
Yes, he meant to hit her. But the black eye? Well, that was just an accident.
Lucy Q. Williams is a social worker from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. When she is not writing, she’s thinking about it. She is currently working on her first novel and tracks her progress on her blog at LucyQWilliams.com.