Th-thump, th-thump, th-thump. The dryer was off again. Front leg, right side—always the same. My husband fixes it, I swear it breaks again on purpose. Total mystery how it keeps happening. Definitely not me accidentally nudging it out of alignment every time I do laundry. It’s just… that corner dips just right. Just enough to lean into. Just enough to feel the hum where it counts. The laundry room smelled like fresh linen...

It was the perfect weather for what I had planned: overcast, a soft drizzle falling like whispers. The streets were calm, hushed—an eerie contrast to the storm unfurling inside me. Each step I took sent the sharp click of black heels echoing off the wet concrete, trailing heat up my spine. Or maybe that heat was from what I wasn’t wearing. The trench coat clung to my body, cinched tight at the waist, guarding the secret b...

My eyes were glued to Riley’s rosy lips as she sealed them around the mouth of the bong. The click of the lighter echoed through my tiny apartment, followed by the familiar bubbling sound as smoke filled the tube—and, somehow, filled my chest too. With nerves. With heat. With something else I didn’t have a name for yet. She exhaled slowly through her nose, her shoulders relaxing as her posture melted. A beat. A pause. I h...