"What's this ring about?" he rounded on me with accusation, hurt, and anger in his eyes.

"This is a promise ring."

"Promise!? You took VOWS to be my wife!"

Patiently, and without fear, I patted to the cushion next to me. He sat, but his hands shook. "List…

"Why won't you go to the wedding?" asked the sister of the groom, with an accusatory tone.

"It would be awkward for me."

"What about HIM?! His best friend not there??"

"I'm a GIRL. I can't go to the bachelor party."

"Go to the bachelorette party," she sai…

Me: "I get it, you need a home base, someone who adores you for who you are, and to feel secure. You want more than a place to crash when you're not working. However the Locus of Control has shifted. You are letting them have everything and not making dec…

"I know this sounds weird, but I really do love my husband."

"You love your best friend," the bartender argued. "There's some serious chemistry."

"Do you have children?" I asked her.

"Yeah. Two girls."

"Congrats. Do you love them both?"

"Yes, but kid…

The next time we'd scheduled a meet-up, my best friend's girl suddenly had a work emergency. She posted pics online of her out drinking with friends and my best friend, late, after work.

We rescheduled but I got sick, and while I got plenty of "that's to…

Charlie made it clear every single day that I was the center of his universe. Life without Charlie would be like falling into a bottomless pit and never seeing the sun; despair and loneliness.

Then there was Evan. We'd been best friends before Charlie, b…

Story is marked as mature

"Popcorn!" she announced, hurdling over the back of the couch, microwave bag securing the salty, buttery snack from spillage. She landed next to me.

"Ready?"

"If you insist," she sighed and pulled open the top of the bag.

"Star Wars is a classic and yo…

I sat high up on the cliff. The Dragon and his Rider had departed for the day far off over the sea. It was cloudy the air was heavy with moisture. Fog clung to the crags between the sea and my perch above.

That's when it hit me. I'd run deep into the fog…

I watched the Dragon and his Rider ascend every morning as they set off on missions, having untold and unseen adventures together. Bards began singing their tales in the tavern at night where the whole village would gather after their return every evening…

I sobbed. The Dragon saved me from myself. I got lost in the fog. I was stopped by the wall of despair and I caused the explosion that gave me the pieces to build my fortress, all so I could stay hidden deep inside myself. The Dragon refused to le…

Something scrabbled at my wall. The scratch and scrape of something ripping my precious wall apart stirred me from my mournful reverie. I backed away from the thing that was tearing in earnest at my fort, eyes wide, body shaking. Don't take my wall. Don't…