Marisa Billions

“Choices” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #249

(This story contains adult situations and language) My eyes fly open as the first rays of light break through the blinds in my bedroom. Wait? First rays of light? I should not be seeing this. I should have been up before those first rays of light. I sit upright, and someone is lying next to me. I’m single and live alone… I don’t even have a roommate. Who is this? I rub the sleepy grit from my eyes and look closer. She’s cute, whoever she is. I look from her to the clock on my bedside table. It reads 7:04 a.m.. I should have be...

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“In a White Room” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #247

I’m in a room. It’s a small room. If I was taller, and I stood in the center and spread my arms wide, I would almost be able to touch the walls. Oh, the stark white walls. Stark white, and plain. Nothing adorning them. Nothing to look at. The windows too high to reach or see out. The only furniture is a bed. And the bed is bolted to the floor stuck in place. Even the blankets are white  and so are the sheets and of course a white pillow. It’s like being stuck in a blizzard of boring.  I’m so bored.  The door is locked and I ca...

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“Fun and Games” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #246

(This story has a language warning, as well as mental health and violence) “You know what my daddy used to tell me?” Clara asked the pretty psychologist, Dr. Jayne Bennet, sitting across the table from her, in a room that could be best described as boring. White walls, a window that was so high up you couldn’t even look out of it, fluorescent lighting, white tile floors, and the table was metal, and the chairs and table were bolted to the floor to avoid the inevitable.  It was their second meeting, and Clara liked Dr. Bennet, probably t...

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“Inheritance” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #217

“...And to my favorite person in the world, my granddaughter, Aster Lynne Browning, I bequeath my home and all of its contents…” The elderly lawyer in a brown suit with a blue bow tie reads. I’m staring at his white stubble in contrast to his leathery wrinkled skin letting the words sink in.  The other family members in the room, donned in black, assembled here as vultures often do to pick over what is left, motivated by greed and gluttony, to see what more it is that they can get from our now dead matriarch, slowly either turn to loo...

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“Nothing” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #206

It’s dark and I can’t see.  That’s a lie.  I can see vague shapes. Outlines. Fuzzy out of focus details.  There’s a smell. Rot. Decay. Death.  Words, mumbled and garbled. “Sinner. Bitch. Useless. Bad, bad girl. You are nothing. Nothing,” repeated like a mantra. The voice is hoarse, sexless.  I keep moving. Stumbling. Feeling around in the dark. I can’t breathe. I don’t want to smell that smell. But it keeps getting stronger.  The voice is getting louder.  There is a dim light ahead. I move to ...

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“Love Spell” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #205

The moon is full and fat. They say it’s a supermoon tonight. When the moon is full it is a time for abundance and to bring what you want in. Bring a desire to fruition during a full moon.  The clearing is lush and the grass is soft. The smell of pine and earth fill the air. With the moon so full and fat and close, it’s almost as bright as daylight. Cicadas sing their songs in the surrounding trees and the breeze is soft and warm. Night creatures are stirring nearby in the woods as twigs snap and bats flutter past, and an owl makes a l...

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“Incidental Costs” by Marisa Billions

My dad often told me that if something sounds like it’s too good to be true, it often is.  “Come with me! Come on! I swear- it’s all free. Paid for by my firm. You just have to pack and get us to the airport on time!” Lex is looking at me- big eyes and a devil may care grin. If she wasn’t so damn cute, I would have flat out said no out of the gate.  Instead, I ask, “What’s the catch?”  “There isn’t one. I swear!” She pulls off her ball cap and runs a hand through spikey blonde tipped hair and winks at me.  I tight...

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“Just My Type” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #192

“Mom- let’s go into the antique road show over there!” Hunter grabbed his mother’s wrist and dragged her down the street to the warehouse where a mass of antique shop owners and dealers were tucked away just off the main drag of Old Town.  “Why?” Stella dragged herself behind them. It was their Sunday ritual- lunch and whatever after for just the two of them. Hunter loved antique shops and thrifting and estate sales. Stella was often just pulled along. She enjoyed the time with him, so it didn’t really matter to her. Hunter earned a d...

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“Flowers and a Funeral” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #191

My House…My house has been in my family for three generations. My grandfather, who passed it down to my father, who passed it down to me. He wanted a son, but I was his daughter and only child. But we will come back to that. Right now, we are talking about my house. My house is not typical. It’s a funeral home. My grandfather was a mortician, my father was a mortician, and now I am one too. The house is Victorian, but the colors are muted, tasteful and appropriate for the type of business that is run out of it. The landscaping is n...

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“Just Between Us” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #190

(This story contains adult language, drug abuse, criminal behavior)“Speak now. Let’s hear it.” “I can’t.”“Why can’t you?”“I… I just can’t.” “Are you embarrassed?” “Maybe a little. But it’s more than that.” “Well, what? What else is it?” “It’s just insanely personal. And you wouldn’t understand.” “It’s just between you and me. No one else will ever know. You can trust me.” “Can I? Can I really? How do I know you aren’t just gonna go run and tell everyone else?” “We’ve been friends forever. Since we were...

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“Cold” by Marisa Billions

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark.  The bitterness of the cold seemed to seep through the walls of the house. It wasn’t sunset yet. It wasn’t supposed to be this dark, but the clouds bringing in the snow made it appear darker than it should be at this hour.  Mazie stood at the large picture window in the living room looking outside. The ticking of the large grandfather clock in the corner of the room was all that she could hear. No. That’s not true. She could hear that annoying drip from the kitch...

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“Property of Beatrice Helen James” by Marisa Billions

I don’t like weddings. Especially big weddings. Even moreso, I particularly don’t like having to travel for big weddings.  My wife and I eloped in Vegas on what was supposed to be a girls trip. It was spur of the moment. Rae and I had been friends for years, and recently had begun dating. We walked into an all night wedding chapel slightly drunk and sealed the deal with our four closest friends there to watch. We didn’t even have real rings. We bought some cheap bands at the chapel as we were signing our papers. We had said we would u...

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“A Day in the life of Charlie White” by Marisa Billions

(This story contains adult language and mention of school lockdown) Five am and the alarm is going off.  “Alexa, turn off the alarm.”  “I’m sorry, I didn’t understand.” The alarm keeps getting louder.  “Alexa. Turn. Off. The. Alarm.”  “I’m sorry, I didn’t understand. You can say ‘Alexa tell me the weather-”  “ALEXA. TURN. OFF. THE. ALARM.”  The alarm turns off. Charlie kicks her feet out of the blankets and plants them in a pile of warm, slimy dog vomit. Chunks and bile ooze between her toes. ...

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“Alize” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #187

It’s been a year to the day. Our last interaction was not a nice one. I screamed at her. I told her I was done. She kissed me goodbye, and she was gone. Not a day goes by that I’m not spending time reenacting our last moments together in my head. Our shouts and angry words reverberate in my head. I will never not be sorry, and the hole in my heart and the empty place in my bed and my life will never be filled.  Every day since then, I see something I never noticed until the day after she was gone.  Paw prints on wet concrete. A...

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“Sing a Song” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #186

I don’t remember much about my birth mom. She was beautiful. And she could sing. I remember she would sing to me all the time. She would sing while she put the bows and pigtails in my hair. I would sing with her. We would harmonize. Her with her beautiful and powerful voice. Me, with my high pitched kid voice.  I loved her. She was my world. Beautiful. Sweet. Doting. I know she loved me. Unfortunately, she loved heroin more than she loved me.  Imagine, four years old, and your mother is on the kitchen floor. You don’t unders...

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