There’s a broken down van that sits on the land where a family used to live, When the neighbors walk by they cover their eyes cause they know what the father did, Now the only boy left is all but bereft and isn’t a sight to see, When the people come near he cradles in fear …
“You a Sooner?” a woman said. God, why’d I decide to wear this shirt? I thought. Sure, everything else was dirty and smelled like whiskey cologne, but at least I could’ve avoided a conversation with this… this… I struggled to pull the paper thin, red airplane blanket off of my head. Oh, fuck… This sweet …
I’m an addict. I guess I always have been. If you go back and watch videotapes of me as a child at Christmas, you’ll see me in the background hunting for food while my brother and sister open up presents. One time, I started chewing on a wrapper because I couldn’t find anything else to …
You know that scene at the end of the movie Cloverfield where the guy and girl are running away from the monster and they find shelter in a tunnel in Central Park and everything is fine for a moment and then it all goes to shit and the tunnel collapses and the camera shuts off …
She pressed her lips around the rim of his favorite cup. Her lipstick made the faintest imprint and she smiled knowing he’d know she’d been there. She left as quietly as she came, the cup the only indication she’d ever come around. After a 12-hour shift at the mill, all he ever wanted to do …
Miriam Wittmer was the second person that walked into Mom & Pop’s that day. She was twenty years old but appeared much younger. Pinpointing why was difficult at first. It definitely wasn’t the way she looked. She wore a floor-length navy blue dress with sleeves that covered her wrists, the most inconspicuous black flats a …
It was the going out of business “Blow Out Sale” at Mom & Pop’s Sex Shop. People had come from all over the Greater Los Angeles area to see what they could get their hands on. I sat in the back room watching the security camera feed and wondered if I’d ever find another job …
“Last night I got really drunk and accidentally butt dialed my ex… with my thumb.” That joke used to kill at parties. But ever since the invention of CellSync, or the “Intercerebral Telephonic System” if you’re a computer scientist or just really pretentious, it’s become obsolete. This new generation of kids have the luxury of …
When you’re young it doesn’t take much to break your heart. The mortar holding together the brick grows stronger as the years pass by. It gives you the illusion that you can’t be hurt, but really just makes it harder for anyone else to get in. If only I’d met her when I was older. …
Stories by Jared Naylor 