Write a story that includes the phrase “This is all my fault.”

Posted in Adults on Oct 28, 2022

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✍️ 97 stories

“Barb and the Beast” by Barb Taub

Submitted to Contest #165

The roar started as a vague grumble, seeping under tables and chairs before creeping higher in a sound cloud of threatening menace and pain. "Treasurer's Report." Among the cluster of committee members’ video chat windows, Tim's little image on the screen before me glowed around the edges as his flat, tinny voice stopped for a bit of self-important throat clearing. It wasn’t my computer’s speakers; he sounded that way in person too. "As you recall from our last minutes…" I flicked a finger, turning off my camera and muting my microphone....

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“Rum, smoke and poetry ” by Jennifer Cameron

Submitted to Contest #165

Rum, smoke and poetry. The three things that actually meant something to me. And the same three things that would come together within 10 short seconds to end a life. Sip, feel the burn and now swallow. That’s the rum. Take a drag on the Cuban cigar I’d been saving for just this moment. Exhale and see the smoke curl in front of your nose. That’s the smoke. Hold up the oily black metal. Shoot. And that’s the poetry. Because isn’t it poetic? Isn’t it just so romantic how lives can start and end with lovers? And that, as you walk away puffing o...

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“Don't Look Behind You” by Emma Hedrick

Submitted to Contest #165

“Smile!” I shouted. Jen turned as I pressed the shutter. Click. Jen stuck out her tongue. “You didn’t give me time to make my face not look weird.” “But I love your weird face. It’s exactly my kind of weird.” Instead of replying, Jen reached down, gathered up a snowball, and winged it at me with the accuracy of a lifelong softball star. I managed to turn my back so my jacket absorbed the blow. “You throw like a girl,” I shouted, putting my camera in its pack so I could begin a snowball counterattack. “Thank you for the complimen...

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“Green beret” by Mary Lehnert

Submitted to Contest #165

Carpe diem. Good advice, for you never know what tomorrow could bring. Arriving in New Zealand as a young immigrant from England, Alton got her dream job, denied by the BBC, (probably enough starry-eyed ingenues waiting for so few on-air jobs ) Alton was the exception, knew she’d have to work, just needed a foot on the ladder. Shopping reporter in the bucolic, charming City of Nelson, New Zealand was that.Adjusting a green beret on her auburn curls, she slipped on her Burberry trench coat, so perfect. It said professional, Elsie wo...

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“What If...” by Lorilyn Roberts

Submitted to Contest #165

Mabel McNally waited in the Garden of Destiny as a spirit not yet born. The garden glowed with intense beauty, adorned with gems like in the heavenly Jerusalem. “I hope this babe will become all that God creates her to be,” Gabriel said.Castiel, the future guardian of Mabel, quoted scripture. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” The angels watched God’s spirit wrap Mabel under the shadow of his wings, blessing her and promising her the kingdom of heaven. Castiel sighed. “So many rewards for the earthlings, particularly this ...

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“I Blame Me” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #165

Harrison sat upon the couch in a darkened room. His face laid tightly against the palms of his hands as he sobbed uncontrollably. “How could have it gotten this far? This is all my fault,” he thought to himself. Harrison married the love of his life, Becky, five years earlier at a small church in their hometown. They were high school sweetheart...

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“Modern Myth” by Sumiko Courtney

Submitted to Contest #165

“I’m telling you J, this is all my fault,” I hissed. “I got careless in there, tried to cover it up, and now I have to commit mass murder to prevent Dad from finding out.” “Arrrr, G,” Janus growled as he stretched, turning over on his stomach to escape my finger poking his chest. He closed his eyes in an attempt to go back to sleep. “Mass murder? You couldn’t even kick a puppy, drama queen. Let’s talk in the morning.” “J, please. I’ll say it again simply for simple minds. I. need. your. help. I did something dumb and you’re ...

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“The Old Mine” by M.K. Levant

Submitted to Contest #165

There was an old mine in the nearby forested mountains that Nicholas’s father had shown him when he was young. The sight of the mine entrance had been intimidating for a small child, seeming like a portal into the abyss emanating the peculiar cold scents of the depths. He had felt something almost like vertigo, as though if he weren’t careful, he would fall into its hungry maw that wanted nothing better than to swallow up small children like him. But his father had been there, all smiles, friendly bearded face, and heavy work jacket. Feeling...

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“True Story” by Jeannette Miller

Submitted to Contest #165

This is all my fault. I mean, not really, unless praying with every fiber in my being that the worst, and yet best, case scenario of how this story would end is then, I guess, it is my fault. To be fair, he didn’t have to emotionally cheat on me with three other “women”. I use the term loosely because when you read the text messages, the woman are clearly cat-fishers only saying what they need to say to pump up some weak-minded man’s ego in order to extort money. But he did. At least three times. Over the course of the last 10 months. That...

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“Until You. ” by Isabella Medrano

Submitted to Contest #165

When did it get so exhausting? Is this a question I should be asking myself, probably not. Every day, I wake up, put on my face, walk out the door, smile, come home, fall apart. I am 17 years old and I feel lost. The world spins around me as it swallows me whole and I can't get out. It has become so hard to live everyday fearing my next move will be another fuck up. My mind races through every thought, outcome and possibility before my body can react. I do everything for everyone before I consider myself yet everyday it feels like I can’t be...

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“who should I trust?” by Karla Morales

Submitted to Contest #165

“Why are you telling me this?” I am at the sports bar where I usually meet with Holly, we have known each other since we were 4 years old, in fact I cannot remember a single happy memory of my childhood and teenage years where Holly isn’t there to share it with me. Which makes it that much harder to understand what she is saying to me right now. “Hello!? Emma, do you hear yourself? You should be asking who it is. Why are you not screaming or storming out of here to talk to him?” By now I can feel Holly’s exasperation in her voice but my br...

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“Undeserving” by Nikki Potgieter

Submitted to Contest #165

TW: Allusion to trauma, abuse, neglect. Most people who have been through a traumatic event, have a tendency to blame themselves at one point or another. More often than we care to count, we utter the phrase, “This is all my fault.” It reverberates through our actions and thoughts, like ripples on a pond. These ripples distort what is true, what we think is real. This is natural and, luckily, we stop taking responsibility for things beyond our control that happened to us… hopefully. What happens when there is a seemingly unending series of...

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“The Fall of Mr. Baxter” by J L Jones

Submitted to Contest #165

CONTENT WARNING: Death“This is all my fault” a single tear slid down Lana’s flushed cheek. “It was me. I did it. I am so sorry…” She trailed off, tears now dropping like heavy raindrops, sobs racking her chest.Tori had no idea what Lana was doing. She knew Lana couldn’t be to blame, so why was she insisting on pointing the finger at herself? Tori gazed at her, confused, but Lana didn’t notice. They were together all weekend. It would have been impossible for her to have anything to do with this. Besides the fact that it simply wasn’t in Lana...

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“The Day the Girl Went Mad” by Madalyn Chevalier

Submitted to Contest #165

“This is all my fault” the young girl moaned into her hands. Though she did not look up, she was certain that everyone around her nodded their heads in agreement. Of course, it was. She was always the misfit, the weirdo, the one who people suspected of doing strange and unnatural things. She looked the part. Her hair was dyed an obscene green that even she hated. Her nose was too big, her ears too small and her body too awkward to be considered beautiful. No one ever believed a beautiful person capable of fault. She was capable...

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“The Scarlett-O-Hara Syndrome” by Salmah Ahmed

Submitted to Contest #165

At the therapist Dr Abhimanyu Rao’s office, Margao, Goa, Susan feels a spotlight shine over her on a blue velvet couch, and begins her impassioned soliloquy. ‘A real incident in the not-so-distant past: As the handsome, goggle-eyed groom is about to say, ‘I do,’ someone waves a frantic hand from the crowd and yells, ‘Stop!’ All wedding proceedings come to a crashing halt. The guests seated in neat rows turn around to stare, the priest raises a quizzical eyebrow, the bridezilla (sorry, she is perfectly lovely) glares and froths, and...

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Write a story that includes the phrase “This is all my fault.”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 97 stories

“Barb and the Beast” by Barb Taub

“Rum, smoke and poetry ” by Jennifer Cameron

“Don't Look Behind You” by Emma Hedrick

“Green beret” by Mary Lehnert

“What If...” by Lorilyn Roberts

“I Blame Me” by Greg Gillis

“Modern Myth” by Sumiko Courtney

“The Old Mine” by M.K. Levant

“True Story” by Jeannette Miller

“Until You. ” by Isabella Medrano

“who should I trust?” by Karla Morales

“Undeserving” by Nikki Potgieter

“The Fall of Mr. Baxter” by J L Jones

“The Day the Girl Went Mad” by Madalyn Chevalier

“The Scarlett-O-Hara Syndrome” by Salmah Ahmed

🌟 Similar prompts

Begin your story with somebody getting (or taking) the blame for something they didn’t do.

Write a story where a murder occurs — and the suspects are all pointing the finger at one another.

Write a story about a corrupt politician trying to avoid blame at all costs.

Start your story with a character telling their best friend that their spouse is having an affair, only for their friend to “shoot the messenger”.

Contest #165

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

203

Contest entries

106

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: