Chapter Two. The rain began cooling a little after four, drumming softly, at first, along the many

Lila lay on her bed staring at the ceiling thinking over the events of the evening. The more she recalled, the more she was mortified for acting like a love sick, slobbering idiot in front of not only the most beautiful man she’d ever met, but he was her best friends cousin of all things! Lila groaned, burying her head into her pillow. She tried to console herself by thinking she would never see him again. She could avoid him by simply not going back there. It wouldn’t be too difficult to do. She would never have the guts to venture to a club like that on her own. This is exactly the reason that Rachael had taken her there. Lila was trying to convince herself he was charming to all the ladies. He worked at a night club. Of course he would

Elise Davenport was not having a good night. Just the day before she put her whole career on the line thanks to a few glasses of champagne. Loose lips can sink ships, and they can obliterate your social status. So here she was, stumbling through Fairhaven Park in pitch blackness, looking for the cabin she rented. She'd just hung up the phone with her agent when she heard the rumbling growl come from beside her. Not a good night at all...

Uncomfortably, she sat in the restaurant; the romantic ambience almost felt sickly, the dim lighting, the candles and the classical music humming in the background. It is not that she did not enjoy the romantic side to love; it is just that she was here with Billy, a man who now seemingly loved her. The last man who loved her and who had taken her to this restaurant was Ric; it was the night he had confessed his love for her, the night they kissed in the moonlight.

During the day, excitement filled Margaret, knowing Andrew would be home later that evening. She wasn’t accustomed to being alone and was surprised Andrew went to the convention instead of sending Sylvia. After preparing a special dinner, she sat down to watch TV. Waking up later, she wondered why he failed to wake her when he came home. “He was probably tired and went on to bed,” she said, under her breath as she went up the upstairs to their bedroom. Opening the door without seeing him in bed, Margaret rushed downstairs, out to the garage

“Bring someone,” she had said with a smile that always meant mischief, so here I was with Miller, in the back seat of Scottie’s car on our way to Anita’s, where we would get drunk off whatever we could find in her mom’s liquor cabinet and whatever Scottie brought us. Tonight, it was some red wine (“Fifty dollar Cabernet Sauvignon, not just wine,” Anita had scolded) and lemon-flavored vodka with grapefruit juice, because that’s all we could find in the fridge. I’d had about two and a half glasses of each by the time Anita said, “Let’s go to the Woodgate church!”

The town is behind me, the skeletal outline of the Abbey brooding over the streets sloping down to the harbour, and I can hear the waves breaking onto the beach below the road. The wavering halos around the streetlights beckon me on, and I drink as I walk, head back and greedy. Cars pass – a moment of light and noise, a memory of warmth, and then I’m alone with my bottle and the stutter of my heels on the pavement. Ellie was right; I’d needed to get away from being watched and fussed over. The blare of a horn jolts me out of my trance; I’d wandered into the middle of the road. I stay where I am, defiant and reckless, and lift the bottle in a toast to the disappearing car, and to freedom. I’ve been given a reprieve, released from the burden of love, and I celebrate by finishing the last of the wine, tipping most of it down the front of my

A golden light shines through the apartment windows. After drawing open the last curtain, Elowen rests on the window seat and places her breakfast on an unpacked cardboard box. She watches the aftermath of the morning storm cover the city below in a thick, shiny glaze. These are her favourite mornings, when her mother works an early shift. Something about waking up in a quiet house gives her a sense of peacefulness.

It was a cool October night. Jonah had just gotten off work not too long ago and couldn’t wait to get home because his new roommate, Amanda, makes the best fall dinners with desserts for him after a long day at work. Although the country roads take him longer to get home, he still sometimes likes to take them to look at the beautiful scenery. Amanda always protests against him taking the country roads, though. She always makes up strange stories hoping Jonah would believe them so he would get home quicker. He didn’t blame her. She had her own business but she worked out of the comfort in her bedroom. So she didn’t have very many visitors when he was gone.

Olivia told Jane to go home and get ready for a fun filled evening because she was going to make Jane, who was going to become a not so boring person anymore. Jane was hesitant, but at this point she was willing to do anything to help her issue with not being able to let people down. So she went home and got ready. Olivia brought her to a nice restaurant, went shopping, went dancing. By the end of the night Jane was amazed by how much she hasn’t experienced in her life. That night she promised Olivia that she would go out more often and say no to people so that she could do these fun things. By the end of the night she looked at the clock and it was the same as it was earlier, six days twenty hours. Jane wondered why it hadn’t went down. So she went back to her house and she changed her normal routine, then went to

“I’m sorry, Evelyn,” I sobbed, burying my face in my hands. Why? Why did I have to ruin this night? It was supposed to be a fun time, not filled with the stupid drama in my head. “I haven’t been completely honest with you about myself,” I began. Evelyn furrowed her brow in confusion. I hadn’t been very open to begin with, but over time, I had started to share more of my visions with her. “The thing is, even though it hasn’t been a long time – only two months, about – I have fallen in love with you.” The silence was an anvil on my chest, an iron grip on my throat, a rush of butterflies in my stomach.

Diana Prescott had a bad history of being with the wrong man. And here she was again. Desperate to make friends in Gull Harbor, she’d agreed to come to the Firemen’s Ball with Cole Campbell, who was crazy about Kate Kennedy. Sarah and Chili, her new book group buddies, had been so persuasive. “Pobrecita, Kate needs to realize how much she loves Cole, no?” Chili had pleaded. “They see each other at the dance and boom! They will know.”

Veronica had clawed her way out of the dark and despair of a math midterm- she deserved a few minutes of after-school peace with her dog and the pacific ocean, she thought. It’s unfathomable that some people don’t have access to the beach. Her mind conjured up one of her worst conscious nightmares- her, older, married with brats, living in some midwestern state where beaches were things of myth and corn was all but currency. She shook her head, her daydream interrupted by her cell ringing.

Twilight segued into a blanket of soft obsidian darkness as Allie lay there feeling alone and helpless. Outside her door, the city began to come to life as lamplighters lit the gas lamps along the Battery. It was so quiet in the house that she could hear someone several blocks away in the midst of a fracas. They argued back and forth for a few minutes and then became quiet. A little while later, ribald laughter wafted through the streets from the bars and eateries near the wharf, hearing others laughter and happiness only saddened her more. For hours, she lay there wondering, worrying, what if- what if the Yankees caught Thomas, or what if something else happened to him. What if she never saw or heard from him again- could she go on with her life? At that moment in time, she did not know that she could…

Sitting in the stained backseat of a worn-out taxicab, Pearl adjusted her black satin gloves trying to remove the sullen feeling that still lingered on her from the living room she left moments ago. As she opened her compacted mirror, to re-powder her face her eyes differed to the shrinking image of the house she got acquaintance with over the last couple of months. She couldn’t help but play the time she spent at Olive’s over in her mind.

Louis woke to the stench of alcohol burning the hairs in his nostrils. The dull ache in his head reminded him that this was the first day that he had been sober in days. The blaring red numbers on the alarm clock read 2 a.m. Louis hadn’t slept in nights. A heavy groan left Louis’s thin pink lips that were as dry as the desert. Louis sat on the edge of the filthy mattress covered in cigarettes and beer cans. The sneakers sat next to the bedside table, hoping that today was the day that he would finally where them. He laced up each shoe, and made his way to the balcony. The gentle breeze tugged at his fragile pale skin that would be cracked if the black ink that covered his skin wasn’t like a band aid. His mind raced back to the mornings