Aribella was handed a little plate. Minnie Mouse’s face was visible between the cracks of food. Goldfish, and three pieces of chicken nuggets were shredded onto the plate.

Aribella grabbed a handful of the Goldfish, shoving into her tiny mouth. She was sitting at their dining table, her adoptive parents sitting at the opposite sides of her.

She chewed with her newly grown in baby teeth, crunchi...

In the dimly lit, candlelit room, eight-year-old Lily stood with an accusing glare, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. Her parents, Emily and John, sat on a pair of ornate, high-backed chairs, their faces hidden in the shadows.

Lily's voice was cold and filled with accusation as she hissed, "You both... you took something from me, didn't you?"

A chilling silence hung in the air before Emily's lip...

Loretta was in love with Tommy. He was her husband’s brother, just come home after serving for Afghanistan. He was noble and loyal, except to his brother. He didn’t hate his brother. Of course he couldn’t hate his own brother, but after he had come back he fell for Loretta.

His brother, Kingston, was a psychopath. He clearly needed to be put into a mental hospital. He was pig headed and narcissis...

“Honey…” said his mom, trying to soothe him, hands raised in a peace gesture. The guilt was readable on her face. In her eyes.

But how could she do anything anymore? She had betrayed him. They both had. And for what? Because they didn’t think he could bear to know the truth? Because they didn’t think him man enough to endure that reality?

How could they imagine this reversal would go well in the ...

“Mom, dad, was I adopted from space?”

I look up from my dinner at the same time as my wife. “What?” I almost spit out my drink laughing.

“You adopted me from an alien, didn’t you?”

I look over at my wife to see if she has a clue where this question came from, but she shrugs.

“That’s an oddly strange accusation, Carter. Why do you think we adopted you from space?” I ask.

“Well, for one, my ...

Sitting across from my therapist, Kira, I start to tremble when she asks about what happened that night. The night that started it all, the night that caused me sitting in this clinic having to seek professional help. I don’t want to talk about it just yet. I’m still not ready. But I know I can’t keep putting it off, Kira has already let it slide too much, and I don’t want to disappoint her. So I ...

Another Sunday, another afternoon scrolling through the infinite streams of stories, discussions and investigations that flow out of Reddit. Raiden had become quite addicted to this website whenever he got his own personal computer for school work a year ago. This place of curiosity, horror, and anonymity drew him in like sundew to a defenseless fly.

He vaguely wondered if he should stop coming h...

I have always tried to be there

I give and give and give

All I hear is that I am bad

I’m driving her in sane

I don’t know where I went wrong

I do not feel respected

The more I do the worst I feel

Appreciated that I am not

Why is it I’m always wrong

No matter what I’m doing

I give her this I give her that

I even pay her bills

I’m always told that I’m the worst

That I’m not even a good d...

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jazz so incredibly furious with anyone. And it is quite surprising to see him try to confront anyone about anything.

He’s shaking, he’s so angry. Fists clenched in his blazer pockets, bright spots of red forming in his cheeks, eyes alight with unbridled danger… this is not the Jasper I know.

I think Dad’s actually quite worried. Maybe even scared. Of his eleven year ...

Halfway through dessert, Mum’s communicator pinged. A few moments later, so did Ma’s. They glanced at each other, as all parents do, that one-millisecond look conveying one-thousand unspoken words.

My stomach dropped, and the warm pudding in my mouth suddenly felt cold. “What?” I mumbled. “Has someone died?”

Mum’s communicator pinged again, the transparent glass flashing red.

A glob of chocolate...