Write Her Story

Lilian
by Stacey Turner

Lilian sighed and drained the rest of the red wine from the glass. The bottle had fallen over and the last swig had emptied onto the table top, resulting in a sticky puddle. Endings were always messy it seemed, no matter how hopeful the start. She remembered meeting Matt, bumping into him on the subway, his offer to carry her guitar case, buy her coffee, lend her his couch. But she’d never slept on the couch, of course. She always moved too fast. Like the others, he’d called her his angel and placed her on a pedestal. She’d asked him not to, the inevitable fall from grace always left a lasting bruise. Not a bluing physical mark, but a weeping stain upon the soul. She tried so hard to stay atop, to be what he thought he wanted. At first, he’d seen her as his muse. But when his health started to flag and he’d missed gigs due to exhaustion, he’d turned on her, as they always did. She’d lost her tenuous grasp on the pedestal’s perch and he’d ranted, raved, and thrown punches. The soundtrack to their lives became screaming fights and slamming doors, the apartment littered with shattered crockery and broken dreams. Men were so predictable. She’d loved him, maybe. She wasn’t sure that emotion was in her repertoire, yet she’d harbored a fondness for him she couldn’t remember feeling before. But she had her job, and she’d done it—quickly and with less torment than usual. Still, setting him free had left a scarlet stain on the floor and a ragged scar on her already battered heart.

She gathered her guitar case, butcher knives, and faded jeans and left the loft. There was no rest for the wicked, or their demons.

Fiction © Copyright Stacey Turner
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com Artist: Mystic Art Design

More from Stacey Turner:

Morbid Metamorphosis
Short Story: The Lake

This book contains 22 stories from authors around the world. Together they bring you morbidly terrifying tales of metamorphosis, transformation, and deep horror that will follow you for days long after you’ve read the last page. Beware reading this book at night, and alone – for the mind is a powerful thing, and you may find you have company in the shadows!

Available on Amazon!

Stop by my other blogs for more Women in Horror Month content!
Sotet Angyal, The Dark Angel – Dark emotive flash fiction written by me.
The Road to Nowhere – Horror movie picks staring strong leading ladies.

And don’t forget to visit the Women in Horror Month official web site
for more great WiHM8 events and posts!