• Chapter 17 "Lick"

    The banging had started again, just like the last few weeks, waking every dog in the neighborhood, cajoling them into fits of barking, filling the night sky with frustrated howls. Melanie groaned, sat...

  • Chapter 16 "The Black Room"

    "Melanie," Allen said, pacing as she sat on the chair, looking at the photos hanging from the clothesline strung across the apartment, barely lit up, "you need to know that these are things you've buried,...

  • Chapter 15 "33 Carrots"

    "Your shampoo sucks," Bea said, coming out of the bathroom, drying her hair as Gus laid on the bed, reading a magazine and eating some nuts from a plastic tub. He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow....

  • Chapter 14 "The Tape"

    "What do you think, Frank?" Melanie asked, sitting at his kitchen table as he poured them both some tea. Frank sat across from her and opened a package of cookies, saying, "What do I think about what?"...

  • Chapter 13 "Stitches"

    It had been a while since Melanie had been in a hospital. The feeling of sitting, waiting, worrying was all too familiar, and because of that, oddly comforting, not unlike an uncomfortable hug. Sitting...