Lindsey B

“Crash, 2019” by Lindsey B

"If he'd been with me, none of this would have happened." Betsy didn't say the words, but they were clear enough in the air. And it was true, if Jaime had been with her, none of this would have happened. Daisy had been angry, scared, and she had been driving, and Jaime had been drunk and been in the car, and then the car was wrapped around a tree. The weird thing is, hardly anything happened to Daisy. Her elbow ached a little -- not that she was going to mention it -- and everything felt a little cloudy, but that was it. Meanwhile, Jaime...

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“10 a.m.” by Lindsey B

Submitted to Contest #186

We lie awake in bed and stare at the light the curtains let through.We lie awake in bed and listen to the distant groaning of approaching snowplows, and let the knowledge sink in that life is continuing for others out there.We lie awake in bed and try to ignore the sting of shame in our chests, and the familiar voices echoing that we're lazy and that we're going to lose our jobs.We lie awake in bed and check our work emails on our phones, to make us feel like we're working.We lie awake in bed and wonder. We lie awake in bed and think about w...

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“A Letter From St. Lydia's Hospital” by Lindsey B

Submitted to Contest #183

I know I should have said it before, but I'm sorry I ruined your birthday. If I could do it all over again, I would. I hope you know that. But I understand if you don't. You wanted to know why, do you remember? You were standing in the doorway, a bit of blue frosting still on your fingertips. I'm sorry, but when you appeared, all I could think of was how much sugar and fat were in those cupcakes. Probably about twenty-six grams of sugar and four to five grams of saturated fat. I couldn't tell you why I had started wailing the second you ...

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“Credence at Christopher's” by Lindsey B

Submitted to Contest #180

A man's heart stopped next to the town's small ice cream shop. The man fell slowly, like his legs were slow to catch on that blood had stopped flowing through his body. The man's wife caught on more quickly, her eyes going wide as she watched her husband fall. His knees hit the concrete sidewalk first, shattering with disgusting, loud cracks. The wife screamed, making the other people on the sidewalk stop and look. A few started to run to help.Gabriel sighed and took a sip from her cup of root beer. The door to the shop jingled open, and she...

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“A Very Happy Birthday” by Lindsey B

Note: this story contains strong language.______________________________When Michael awoke on his birthday, he knew it was going to be a great day, even if he did have to go to school. The room was warm for the season, and the sun was shining above his curtains the way he loved. Plus, it was his birthday, which was always a good sign. He could hear his siblings in the kitchen– Christian and Hecate always cooked breakfast together. Michael’s bedside clock said he didn’t have to get up for another fifteen minutes, but he grabbed his phone and ...

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“April 23rd, 3:34AM ” by Lindsey B

Submitted to Contest #156

This story contains strong language and references to substance abuse.~~~~April 23rd, 3:34AM @carmel23: “Don’t you remember?” The reporters always ask me, looking at me like I’m some psycho. “You’re so lucky, you got to know Apple.” They’re trying to get a rise out of me, I know. They want me to recount our whole sob story and release some juicy new detail to put on the cover of their magazine. So I don’t give it to them. I say “I know,” and let my eyes go shiny, because yes, I am lucky that I got to know Apple. And the tears ...

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“Twins” by Lindsey B

Submitted to Contest #155

I saw the sister first. It was midsummer, and I didn't know what I was doing in the town park. I was probably twelve years older than the average visitor of the park, and my legs were two feet too long to actually use the swing I was sitting on. A woman was with a toddler across the playground on the smaller, plastic play set. I watched the little boy giggle as he went down the slide over and over again. The woman waited for him at the end of the slide every time, beckoning him down. Every time, he'd squeal as...

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“Dodona” by Lindsey B

Submitted to Contest #154

There’s something they don’t tell you about being able to glimpse into the future: that eventually, you start living two imaginary lives. You can see a conversation that will happen in five minutes in the future: you can hear everything that’s said as if it’s happening in real-time, you can formulate your responses as if it’s happening in real-time, but you can’t say anything because it’s happening in the future. And then five minutes later, the conversation will happen, but you won’t say anything, even though you had a perfectly thought-out...

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