Step Into Echoes of Intrigue,
Tales That Linger Beyond
the Last Page

I stood at the edge of the Mississippi River, which stretched endlessly before me, the wind whispering through the trees as the water flowed in a rhythmic pulse. This place...

The dead don’t talk, but Zane’s voice was still screaming in my head. It was the first thing I noticed, even before the chill of the room or the blinding...

The Greyhound bus rattled to a halt, and I stumbled out onto the street, duffel bag in hand. My legs were stiff from the hours-long trip, but the tension in...

I let the music lure me towards the flashing neon lights of the jazz club. Perhaps it was the music, or it could’ve been the crowd. It must’ve been the...

On some days, days like today, life gives you choices. When you aren’t even looking, it drops a piece of information at your feet and says,choose your next move….

I froze, my hand hovering just above the door handle. That voice… I knew it immediately. Deep, smooth, and a little rough around the edges. Xavier…

Buzz, buzzzz, buzzzz.The cursed sound drilled into my skull, dragging me from sleep. I groaned, blinking in the sunlight, desperately trying to remember why I felt so wretched…

The following week went by in a flash of work, sleep, and texting Xavier. It was strange how quickly we fell into a routine, with him sending me random pictures...

It always started the same way. With the questions. “Why so late?” I flinched at the sound of Zane’s voice. He was sitting in the corner of our tiny apartment...

The clock read 11:03 pm, but time didn’t seem to exist inside the Midnight Serenade. There was only the sound of Xavier’s saxophone, the crowd cheering around me, and the...

I hadn’t slept. Not a second. I’d spent the entire night pacing the floor, jumping at every creak, my heart racing at every gust of wind that rattled the windows…

I stepped off the streetcar, clutching my pepper spray so tight my fingers ached. Every shadow felt like a threat; every passing car felt like Zane’s eyes were watching me...

XAVIER A week. It had been a whole damn week since Mahogany moved in, and I still hadn’t told her the truth…

XAVIER Midnight. Ivy had insisted I come back to her place to celebrate with the band. We killed it tonight, she told me. I deserved a drink. I needed to...

MAHOGANY AUGUST 21, 2023 It started with suspicion. I’d ignored the warning signs for too long—brushed off the way his phone was always face down, how he’d disappear for hours,...

NOVEMBER 13, 2023 I told myself things were normal again. Normal people lie to themselves all the time. I had been back in my space for a couple of weeks...

It was more like slipping in and out of restless consciousness, one eye open even when exhaustion tried to pull me under. Nights were the worst. The air was always...

Secrets. Everybody had them.Some were small—harmless, even. The kind you tuck away like loose change, barely worth noticing. Others weighed on you, pressing against your ribs like a vice, waiting...

They say you don’t get to choose your family. But what happens when the family you were given isn’t there to choose you back? I don’t remember much about the...