C Alexis McGregor

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2020

Stories (33)

33 Stories

601 karma pts

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“Newness” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #69

My hand shakes as I paint my lips a festive red. The eyes gazing back at me looks muddied with worry. I spritz perfume at my pulse ports, the scent reminding me of joys in my new marriage to Blake.  "All ready, Tilda? You look spectacular." Blake reaches for me, pulling me into his warm embrace, his calming heart murmuring in my ear. My head nods while my tummy tightens in turmoil.  Hand in hand, we walk down our winding staircase, my right hand caressing the wrought iron railings that won our hearts for making this house our...

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“636 Brown” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #68

Trigger warning: reference to child rape   It had been twenty-four years since she'd last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. Seated in her car Hester's green eyes scanned the red brick house, noting how innocuous it appeared as if one more of the same along this tree-lined street. Uncle Sheldon and Aunt Lila still lived there, following their daily routine of avoiding each other. Hester could visualize one seated smoking at the kitchen table, the other beer at hand, watching endless sporting events on the telly.  &nbsp...

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“Love and Divas” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #67

I tap my lacquered fingernail in rhythm with the ringing. Brrng. Brrng. Brrng. Brrng. Just as I'm about to hang up, I hear his baritone voice tickle my ear. "Amorcita. How goes it?" "Tom, are you alone, can you talk, or is She nearby?" "Hattie is running errands with a girlfriend. Why? What's the secrecy?' "Tom, you know as well as I do, that, although you choose not to recognize the reality, your beloved fiancé, soon to be wifey number one, okay, only joking, is NOT my biggest fan." "You and I have been friends for longer than...

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“0815” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #66

The radio crackles at 0815, a hollow voice alerting officers to attend a firearms complaint at a nearby house. Clicking on the lights and siren, I wheel my unmarked black SUV around, heading at speed to the rural town of 900 souls.  Upon arriving, my ears ring with fired shots volleyed from outside the one-level residence towards our vehicles. I crawl below the gunfire to comfort a woman shot by the suspect. My eyes scan her injuries that my first-aid trauma trained brain recognizes as a significant threat to her life.  A lull ...

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“Samhain” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #65

My eyes delight on the burnished tints and tones of this autumn day. My nose tingles with the scents of leaves interspersed with smoky accents. All in all, this moment in time gifts me a perfect, 'Wheel of the year.' The bells on my front stoop alert me to the arrival of my visitors. Through the antique glass, they appear distorted, bent, disfigured. Tabitha, Ferula and Arwen sweep through the open door, already dressed for our afternoon. "Come along, Morena, bippity bop, let's go!"  "Patience, sisters, I'll be ready in a blink of y...

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“Eytea” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #64

As a child, when I first glimpsed the steeply pitched roof winking with pointed-arched windows, the love affair blossomed. At this moment, standing under the one-story porch facing the front door adorned with decorative crown and arches, my palms itched in anticipation. I was returning to Eytea, my family manor house, waiting in patience for my return.  Bradshaw opened the door on silent hinges, still as a statue, a familiar, albeit older, member of the Eytea staff.  "Welcome to your home, Madam. My condolences at the loss of y...

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“Oops” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #63

Phillipa and Roy whizzed on their way to this weekend date event: apple orchard adventure. As if they starred in a reality programme, each Saturday and Sunday involved their car, credit cards, and a plethora of social media documentation. Once acclamation rushed in from their legion of nameless fans. With the music floating out of their convertible coupe, two travel mugs full of soy lattes, and Phillipa's golden tresses protected from the wind's fingers in her Hermes scarf, how perfect this morning began. Blossoms Vineyard signage raised the...

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“The Unknown” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #62

Janice sighed, contemplating the impending task of combing through Frederik's effects; however, this had to be the time. Janice walked resolutely to the storage side of her basement, stopping only once her eyes gazed on the three big boxes. She did not have a complete understanding of the cocktail of emotions cycling through her system. After five years, Janice could not recollect what items lay folded, once cherished within their cardboard repository.  Douglas slipped behind the wheel of his bronco, snapping on his safety belt before...

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“Abigail” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #61

The invitation arrived in the post, the black font printed on heavy vellum paper. At once, I knew what I would find inside.  SOUR It Up With Cocktails! Come to imbibe and ingest. Saturday the 7th at 7 pm Abigail's Abode RSVP: AbigailHoyles_1@icloud.com A shudder of expectation and dread shivered down my spine.  *** When I arrived, Abigail's crimson front door stood open, held back by a quirky iron door stop shaped like a high-heeled shoe. I paused, catching my breath while painting on my party...

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“Thelma and Alec” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #59

Alec and Thelma, married for seven years, sit in exhaustion amongst the boxes and detritus that is the sum of their lives. They lean back against their floral sofa, legs extended, one hand holding an icy bottle of beer, weariness writ upon their features. “My love, tomorrow is my first day at the new job and since you know how much I wish to make a fantastic first impression, I’m snookered.” Alec plants a kiss on the top of Thelma’s copper curls. “Good night, my love.” Thelma sips her beer, turning to watch Alec pad across the hardwood unde...

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“Escape” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #58

Yoga is my time to journey inward. After class my emotional resolve rebounds. The dust bunnies in my mind vacuum away. ‘Namaste’ consolidates my reserves of calmness, of clarity, of concentration.  I immerse my body in spraying, rolling, tying, redressing while my monkey mind meanders down today’s to-do.  Waving good-bye to everybody, I exit first through the double glass doors into the grey hallway.  I stare at my reflection on the glass elevator doors. The woman facing me fidgets from foot to foot, jiggling a black bag on ...

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“Morwenna's Malevolence” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #57

The room is hushed allowing me to hear the buzz of bees, the whoosh of the wind, the voices in my head, the hammering of my heart. With my lids closed, the scent of lavender loops around me, caressing me to calmness.  Click As if hearing my mother's admonition, I breathe a belly breath before I straighten my spine. Mada slips onto the mauve tub chair a twin of mine. Her face beams in welcome.  "How are you Morwenna? I am so pleased to see you — it's been quite a piece of tine — since our dinner at your house a month ago." ...

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“Blind Date: Two Perspectives” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #56

I suck in my stomach, pull back my shoulders, my reflection in Baldwin's Cheval mirror mimics my wide-eyed expression. This indulgence of silky bra and panties feels cool and caressing on my body. A deep belly breath shoves away my distress, dread, and delight at my impending blind date. On the foot of my bed lay my chosen wardrobe: a long-sleeved, red, comfy dress, a block print scarf to accessory and my neutral flats to finish. Grabbing my crimson shoulder bag my footsteps echo down to the hallway, locking the front door, I enjoy being ser...

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“Making An Ass of You and Me” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #55

"Can you keep a secret?" Five words, unspoken, speaking to a secret bond of trust, existing between confidantes,; however, in truth, but a foolhardy assumption. The shadowy hallway feels cooler in the dim light. Rubber soles cushion my footsteps. Ice.  I need ice for a child's bumped bruised knee. I rotate right, taking three steps into the staffroom, on my quest for ice. I loop left, opening the freezer door as Hilary whooshes past, her face a mask of her emotions. The heat of her hostility, burning and bilious, sparking with s...

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“Kismet!?” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #54

The sky dawned with drama, periwinkle, purple, gold and tangerine traipsing across the horizon, as Deann carried her blue travel mug, brimming with freshly brewed coffee, down the steps of her truck camper to sit on her crimson camp chair. Savouring her first sip, she surveyed the view from her site in BC’s t Liard River Hot Springs Provincial. Today was a short solitary jaunt, a mere 210 km to Watson Lake, Yukon, unlike the last time Deann had made this trip; that time in the company of her husband, now dead two years.  With the volu...

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Author bio

Hi, I'm a second career writer, who is presently nearing completion of a creative writing certificate. I write poetry, flash fiction, short stories and have aspirations to write a novel in the near future. You can read more of my writing through the following link: https://catherinealexis64.wixsite.com/2ndcareerwriter C Alexis