The Utter Truth

Today's muse: Three Word Wednesday

Today's words: dabble, lean, utter

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The Utter Truth

The brick was cold and rough against her back, but she pressed against it. Cheryl thought of it as penance, figured she deserved it. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, cursed her utter failure at that first dabble in love.

She thought Craig meant it when he’d used those words, whispered them in her ear, his breath hot against her neck. His voice, soft and hypnotic, sedated her nerves. After the initial jolt of pain, he took her flying, soaring with her through the night. After, she'd floated home, Craig’s murmured promises dancing in her heart.

Then Andrea called.

Cheryl could hardly breath as she listened to her best friend tell her that Craig’s buddies had laughed while he told them what a lame fuck she was, how he had to show her what to do.

She dropped the receiver; it bounced across the linoleum kitchen floor, ear to mouth to ear. She tore through the penthouse as Andrea’s voice dopplered out.


Cheryl squeezed her eyes against the memory, slammed her fist into the jagged brick, felt blood trickle down her fingers. She wiped it against her t-shirt, leaving a crimson skid mark across her chest.

“No one will notice,” she thought, as she leaned over the narrow ledge.