Category: Book

Mitch wandered around downtown Monument, enjoying the fresh air. Earlier that morning, he met up with Nate at Edmund’s Diner for a late breakfast, which was long overdue. It wasn’t that Mitch didn’t want to hang out, and he was remorseful about dodging several requests to get together despite the fact that he lived in…

Sit tight Mitch did, zoning out as his brain made a feeble attempt at processing the last 15 minutes worth of conversation. His body shivered, presumably due to the ongoing combination of no sleep and no food, and he took a few breaths to ground himself from lightheadedness. Avi returned with a glass of water…

Avi followed Mitch down the stairs, then disappeared into the kitchen. Puzzled by this. Mitch hung out in the foyer as he waited for Avi; perhaps he’d misheard something. Seconds later, Avi reappeared with a wooden chair and brought it into the living room. He placed it in the middle of the area rug and…

At some point he fell asleep; when he woke up, the room was pitch black. His head pounded, and he assumed the fetal position. Numbness wasn’t what coursed through his veins, but rather something more like an out-of-range radio station that periodically got reception. Disorientation tinged with vague familiarity. A medically induced coma would be…

After some hemming and hawing, Avi selected a Thai restaurant and Jodie placed the order for the three of them. She gave Mitch a withering glare when he said that he was only interested in a side of white rice, and eventually he compromised by getting some red curry sauce as well. Most of the…

Seconds after Avi pulled into the driveway, Jodie burst outside and hurried towards the car. “How’d it go?” she asked after opening Mitch’s door for him. Before he was stable on both feet, she pulled him into a hug. “Oh, it was great. We’re back together,” he teased, and she lightly cuffed the side of…

Taking a deep breath, Mitch suppressed the temptation to look back at Calvin. He undid the key from his keyring and set it down on the counter, fingers curling tightly around it before releasing it from his grasp. Once he stepped out into the hall and shut the door behind him, the surrealness left him…

“Can we not be mad at one another?” Calvin requested after Avi left, taking Mitch’s hand into his own and linking their fingers together. Being put into the position where he was on the offense was so unfair, since he had no agency in the matter. Then again, playing the victim was Calvin’s specialty, and…

“Everything should fit in the car!” Avi cheerfully confirmed with a clap of his hands. “That’s great.” Mitch used the interruption to take a step backwards, and nodded when Avi mouthed ‘Are you OK?’ at him. Giving a quick thumbs up, Avi then grabbed more bins, and commented that it’d only be one more trip…

“Mitch,” Calvin’s tone suggested that being ignored displeased him. “What?” mumbled Mitch, throat already raw though nothing had happened yet. He kept his gaze focused out the window and on the bay. It was his favorite part of living here, and he wanted to savor it for one last time. Several minutes passed in silence,…