Novel-novel oleh Maria-Grace

Isabella GarciaThe thought of dying hit me like a brick, and I froze, fear crawling over me. My lips clamped shut, my breath barely a whisper. My eyes stayed wide, still in shock, long after Enzo left. All I could think was how the hell I’d ended up here. Tears burned at the corners of my eyes. The fear was crushing, and my heart felt like it was going to explode in the silence that followed. I listened, desperate for any sound, any clue about what was happening outside. But there was nothing. Even though my legs were hurting fom squatting, I didn’t sit down. I stayed in my position, crouched, alert and ready. I had to make it out of here. I had to hold Ethan again, play cards with my Cleo, and sip red wine like nothing was wrong. I couldn’t die here. Not like this. "Please, God, not like this." Another bang. Louder. More violent. My body jerked, my fingers instinctively covering my ears. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited. Either Enzo shot at the intruder...or they shot at

Enzo MorettiI stepped forward cautiously, my hand hovering in the air. If I hadn’t seen her lash out earlier, I might have rested it on her shoulder.“I’m really sorry,” I said.She turned to face me, tears streaking her face, though she tried to push them away.It wasn’t my fault for thinking she was married. The way she was dressed screamed 'date night.' Her brown hair in soft ringlets, rose-colored lipstick, and a dress meant for special occasions. My gut told me she was heading to meet someone important, maybe her husband, before she got roped into helping me.If I was right, I needed to know immediately. If someone saw her leave with me and started looking for her, my safety was on the line.She might’ve helped me, but I wasn’t going to risk my life over a misstep.“I want to go home,” she said, her voice trembling.My instincts flared. This was survival. My life depended on dissecting every word, every move, because trust was a luxury I couldn’t afford. Everyone had a price, an

Isabella GarciaCleo hated when I canceled dates from the dating app she’d forced me to join. To her, finding love was the answer to all my problems.I didn’t agree, but today, I was so drained that I decided to use it to my advantage.“You’re canceling the date again?!” Cleo yelled from the room. She burst out, blue stockings muffling her hurried steps.“I have to take Ethan for his checkup. It’s the first Saturday of the month.” I wiped our lunch glasses and tucked them into the bottom cabinet.Normally, I wouldn’t tell Cleo when I planned to cancel. She would find out when she asked. But today, I wanted her to stop me.Right on cue, she said, “I’ll take Ethan to the hospital.” She stood in the doorway, arms folded.I glanced back, feigning surprise. “Oh, no. You don’t have to.”“Yes, I do. You’ve canceled enough dates already.”I sighed, closing the cabinet. “I can’t change your mind, can I?”She smiled, shaking her head. “You can’t.” Grabbing my arm, she pulled me toward my room.

JEROMEThings weren’t always this complex. I tried to think beautiful thoughts. I stood in the driveway, staring at the one thing I shouldn’t be looking at in the state I was in, my bike, as I tried to remember something, anything that didn’t make my heart feel like it was closing in on me.I wished that was an exaggeration. I really wished.I wanted to smash my head against the wall, or against the engine. I wanted to kick things until my legs crammed up and felt sore, until my toes broke apart and smashed behind my shoe. In simpler terms, I wanted to hurt myself.I tried to think of happy thoughts again, things that didn’t make me crave silence the way I did. It wasn’t death I was craving exactly, it was peace, stillness, an emptiness that felt right, that should feel right.Every attempt was sending me back to when Mar

STACY“Me being in UCLA is what ill call a miracle. It was never meant to be.”“For real?”“Yeah.” I draped my hand on the seat and sipped from my cup. I said I was going to get drunk today and I was still on my second cup of alcohol. Typical Stacy character. Say One thing and chicken out of it a few moments later.“So what changed?”“I didn’t even want to send an application to UCLA, it was Lisa who had pushed for it. She has a brother here so it has always been her dream to be at UCLA. It wasn’t my dream.”“So you’re leaving her dream?”I didn’t like how that sounded but I was glad tha the red and blue dim lights hid my frown. He didn’t have to say I was leaving her dream. Maybe, I wouldn’t have

JEROMEThings weren’t always this complex. I tried to think beautiful thoughts. I stood in the driver way, staring at the one thing I shouldn’t be looking at in the state I was in, my bike, as I tried to remember something, anything that didn’t make my heart feel like it was closing in on me.I wished that was an exaggeration. I really wished.I wanted to smash my head against the wall, or against the engine. I wanted to kick things until my legs crammed up and felt sore, until my toes broke and smashed behind my shoe. In simpler teens, I wanted to hurt myself.I tried to think of happy thoughts again? Things that didn’t make me crave silence the way I did; it wasn’t death I was craving exactly, it was peace, silence, an emptiness that felt right, that should feel right.Every attempt was sending me back to when Marilyn w

STACYWe got a cab to campus, then we walked to the dorm, hoping we could kill as much time as possible. Parties like this didn’t start until it was late late and here we were, ready by Seven Pm.Lisa was scrolling through her phone while her speaker blasted the type of songs party animals our age listened to. Songs that spoke about drugs, sex, love, life. A little bit of everything, good and bad with the rock band going crazy and the instrumentals weaving sounds that moved our heads.We stopped outside campus and nestled on the bench we had been on yesterday evening when I waited for her and Bridget.Lisa crossed her legs while I clamped mine shut. Since night was approaching, it was getting breezy and chilly outside. I however wasn’t going to regret my choice of clothes because I knew that in a few hours time, when we will be in the cramped up space, drinking b

STACY“I hate it.”“I think it’s cute. It’s this little pixie bob look and I think she’s pulling it off well.”“She was better with long hair.” I drape my hands over my chest and read the writings on the material.One word, one word I wished I could be for real and for one person. It seemed that no matter what I did, we always ended up back where we started, fighting in that kitchen.Temptress was written with little glittering stones, bright pink, a shade more bubbly than the rest of the crop top.It was a cute small top and because of how small it was, it made my boobs look at least two times bigger. I loved it already and I was glad that I had gotten it from the walk in store when Karen dragged our asses to shop with her.She was going to get new c

JEROMEStacy’s message buzzed my phone. The sound was short but loud enough that it got my attention, vibrating the desk on which I had dropped it. It was back in the room while I was on the balcony, staring at the darkening blue-black clouds.I don’t know who I was expecting it to be. Maybe Nattie, maybe Kingston. They were after all the last people I had spoken to before I got home and met Stacy and Lisa lounged on my couch, snacking on popcorn and watching a reality show. I also thought it could be someone from school, someone from the movie makers and because of all these maybes, I had forced myself to get up and check who was texting me at ten pm in the night.It wasn’t anyone of them, to my disappointment and also to my relief. It was Stacy. The last time Stacy and I texted, I couldn’t even remember the last time that happened.I found myself st