Romance Short Stories

In Another Life…

Look, I wasn't trying to be dramatic about it. But Meredith's wedding was the kind of event where you end up drinking too much prosecco and having conversations you'll regret,…[...]

The Move

Summer of 2015 As my family sits around the haphazardly placed couches, glasses full of celebration clinking and words full of hope bouncing around, I think to myself, “My life…[...]

The Willow and the Star

Fires lit the night-dark corridors of the castle, dancing with heart as she walked past. She held a candle of her own, a display of close-burning stars amongst the blue…[...]

As If We Never Met

*This story contains adult language and situations. “Excuse me, but have we met before?” She’s standing too close to me. But she really doesn’t have a choice. The fundraiser is…[...]

Letters of a Soul Crossed Lover

Please note that this story contains themes of homophobia, violence, and descriptions of gore. Kastella, You will never read this. You will never know the longing I hold within my…[...]

Dying Sun

Willow Desdemona was no stranger to longing. The feeling followed her more often than not throughout the ever changing tides of her life. You see, she had only ever fallen…[...]

Want a Cup of Tea, Love?

Heading at a steady pace down the near-empty motorway, Everlyn blinked her eyes slowly and carefully. The oncoming headlights of the cars on the opposite side of the road were…[...]

When You Wish Upon A Sandwich

I remember my first days of junior high well. It was a zoo, and I was the runt—undersized, out of place, and terrified. A classic teen movie tragedy. With my…[...]

To All Those Left Behind

TW: Religious Trauma, Negative Self Talk, Threats/Allusions to Child Abuse. When I first read the prompt of “trying to make amends,” I thought of you. My Dearest Margret,My Space Girl…Mags,…[...]

The President’s Night

Daniela can’t stop smiling while watching the spectacular fireworks light up the dark night sky. It’s 10pm and the votes just came in. She will be the first Puerto Rican…[...]

The Yellow Rose

My name is Aura. I live in Sector 19, one of the industrial zones still standing after the Restructuring. Everything here is concrete and rusted metal, stitched together with wiring…[...]

That Summer

The darkness never really rested in Ash Harbor. It lingered long after morning should have broken through, and it crept back early, before the loggers even made it home to…[...]

A Monument To My Waiting

I tell people that she never showed up. That’s what I’d start with—make it sound like I was wronged in a cinematic way. I was someone who had just enough…[...]

A Final Dance with Death

“We were all angels, once,” Morteziel says wistfully. A mere shadow of her former self, golden wings blackened by what she’s become: Death, one of the four horsemen of the…[...]

The Fifteenth of Blóstfael

A sunbeam brushed gently against my eyelashes, flooding everything with warm scarlet light. I winced, opened my eyes wide, and sat up, glancing around in slight bewilderment. I’d had an…[...]

The Absence of Her

*This story contains suicide/self-harm/mental health* When you lose someone you care about, it leaves a massive hole in your heart and in your life. It’s not just in death, but…[...]

Stormy Mood

The weather outside was turning quickly. My girlfriend approached the table across from me. She carried two cups. One hot cappuccino for herself, and an iced matcha latte for me.…[...]

Up the Goblin Market

Content notice: it's a bit sexy. (I hope.) This didn’t feel like sleep. But the space between getting here, and what came before - all darkness. She remembered her desk,…[...]

Prohibited

My voice reverberates against the walls of the cramped, unadorned room as I try to keep myself occupied while waiting. At last, the door I've been facing for what had…[...]

Long Walk Back

She could have gone straight to the house, but the last thing she wanted was for the one she was visiting to find out how she got there, so she…[...]

Pues Se Quedó Pintada, Mija

The first thing Rosita noticed was how quiet it was. Not peaceful—quiet, like a theater moments after the curtain drops. The pines stood half-charred and silent, their trunks blackened and…[...]

A Meadow With Flowers

Trigger warning--mention of violence and crime They had just left the Kuwohi parking area when the phone vibrated in her pocket.Iris Stayer groaned as Kendra Cottongain turned to her. Kendra…[...]

Unfinished Business

Being a ghost sucked.Yuki watched the morning traffic speed by from her perch on the back of a park bench. She sighed, crossing her legs and tapping her other foot…[...]

Beneath the Dock

CW: Contains themes and/or references to adult language, physical violence, gore 1980:Daphne heaved her duffel bag into the sandy dirt and turned back to her parents, who hadn’t bothered to…[...]

I Was Never Meant to Bow

The future Empress Cassara and Aureyne, her little shield knight, had only been seven years old when Aureyne had promised to change the rules. They had been lying down in…[...]

Golden Diadem

I have successfully deceived a god. Now I can relax on top of the food chain with my fabricated dream and reap the benefits of my burning ambitions. Well, I…[...]

The Dish Fairy

The water is so hot it burns my skin and paints my palms pink. Grabbing another dish, I press the disintegrating sponge harder into the chipped plate. Perhaps it is…[...]

The Lantern That Didn’t Rise

Maple Hollow had a strange way of forgiving the dark. Every June, the town turned soft around the edges—porches glowing, river water stitched with light, the air smelling like sugar…[...]

The Unmarked Shore

The Unmarked Shore - A Reimagining Found On: 10th September 1974‘In the early evening of September 10th, 1974, a female body was found in a beach hut on Monmouth Beach…[...]

A Hint of Hyacinth

A Hint of Hyacinth If a breeze could have been coloured purple and have the scent of hyacinths, then that was what brushed against the skin on my forearms. My…[...]

[Content Warning: Substance abuse, mental health, mentions of suicide] Rachel turned the dough over in her hands, smoothing out the cracks before setting it down on floured parchment paper. Across…[...]

2:34 AM

It's 7:34 AM. I get up and get ready for work. On my way there, I notice that I'm not sleepy, despite having gone to sleep a couple of hours…[...]

Bad date, Good day

Alice flattened her hands against her hips and took a deep breath. She smoothed the wrinkles out of her apron, pulled her notepad and pen out of her pocket, and…[...]

The Vagabond

Your hometown always had a constant fog over it, a quiet unease that never went away. Now you were in a city, still on the East Coast, so not far…[...]

The Vitality Package

2094, Earth "State your name." The words came from somewhere beside me. I opened my eyes, but the light was too much. I slammed them shut again, white dots searing…[...]

Thrown-out Magazines

“When I think of my grandmother, it is weekend dinners.” A choked-up chuckle was followed by some sniffles; Clara dabbed at her eye before continuing the memories. “It wasn’t just…[...]

Auburn

This is a sort of psychological fiction in some ways and is written during a sort of mental break. I don't know if I need a warning for that for…[...]

Sanctity of Love and Lust

CONTENT WARNING: Violence, Suicide, and Sexual Assault It’s so easy.Thump. Thump. Thump. The minute puberty stained my clothes, my life set in motion. Promised to a man before I turned…[...]

First Kiss Last Kiss

There’s no way to know that the last time you kiss someone that it’s going to be for the last time. There are two times you kiss someone that you…[...]

The Anatomy of My Exit Wounds

I. Heart — The Moment I KnewShe was standing in the kitchen with a fork in her mouth and a stranger’s laugh in her throat. I knew the sound before…[...]

Daughter, Daughter

Mothers are supposed to love their children. It's just how it's meant to be. The sun rises every day, grass is green, and mothers love their children.But sometimes it's dark…[...]

Cakes and quakes

Note that no shrimp were harmed in the making of the story.The oak bench creaks under Karina’s weight as she tilts her head back, letting snowflakes catch in her wild…[...]

Silver Dancer

Snow falls on the highway as the sun dips behind the sharp mountains piercing the horizon. The sight is beautiful, and so I think of you. The snowflakes dance to…[...]

More Than Friends

Leena Moss didn't see this coming.And she's always been very perceptive.She knew she had cancer at seven, despite her parents trying to dance around the word. She knew her parents…[...]

wings where my arms used to be

please note this story talks about death and implies self harm. Anastasia “I always imagined her walking down the aisle. When I imagined her coming down the aisle, I didn’t…[...]

Travel Money

Our Footsteps are soft as we approach the door, we are mid trying our hardest not to burst into laughter, although it’s difficult. Dannie has this thing about her. When…[...]

Charlie’s Closet

Charlie never feared her closet the way most children do.To her, it was a wondrous place; a kingdom where imagination ruled and magic existed.Sometimes, she'd pretend it was a way…[...]

Constellations in August

Why My Small Town Is The Worst:1. You know everyone.2. People can lie and everyone will believe them.3. You can’t escape them4. Legacies. (To kill and protect.) 5. Her.Small towns…[...]

What Remains

The coffee shop still smells like her. Burnt sugar and something underneath that might be rot. You sit at your corner table though the barista won't make eye contact, though…[...]

Ladybug

I'm headed to the bar for another drink when I see her. I can feel the bass reverberating in my bones and the droplets of sweat rolling across my skin…[...]

Magdalene’s Dinner; Never Served

“You know you can’t hide this thing from her forever, she’s going to find out.”“I know, I know,” Maggie sighed. “But it’s about how she find out, too, y’know?”“Take it…[...]

The 47 Metro

The bus stop sits under a streetlight that flickers like a dying star, casting the bench in alternating waves of sickly yellow and shadow. Iris arrives first, ten minutes early…[...]

90s Fine

90s FineWord Count: 2718 “Your neighbors are here,” the host said.She leaned in so close to Lola’s shoulder that Lola caught the sharp, citrus bite of her cleaning spray.Lola glanced…[...]

Two Amys

I. Ben and VenBen and Ven were headed in opposite directions. Ben, short for Benjamin, liked to hike in the mountains. Ven, short for Venisha, liked cocktails by the seaside.…[...]

Citrus & State Lines

Six and a half hours into the trip, I pull the four wheel drive into a highway-side truckstop and we eat mandarin segments leaning against the sun-warmed bonnet. The fruit…[...]

My Life as a Female Private Investigator

CW: Contains themes of substance abuse, sexual violence and mental health. A Journey of Discovery and Advocacy The tale that unfolds in these pages is not one adorned with fairy-tale…[...]

Under Her Rule

The wind's icy fingers grip my bones, my hoodie doing little to protect me from the season's first cold snap. I yank my sleeves down over my hands, shifting my…[...]

A Stranger’s Bed

CW: Contains adult themes, implied sexual content, and unsettling imagery. I’ve never been one for hookups. I have nothing whatsoever against people who are; I’ve just always preferred to get…[...]

Mosaic

CW: References to emotional abuse, homophobia, restraining orders, suicidal ideation. At some point, life’s events become too intense to think about. They just feel too much like a movie to…[...]

Insomnia Cafe

The door had no chime. In fact, it made no sound at all. And when Paige stepped into the small foyer of Insomnia Cafe, her sneakered feet made a barely…[...]

Zero : Zero

Sophie frowned at the sky. The rocket’s vapor trail captured the colors of the setting sun—vibrant orange against a hazy, sand-colored atmosphere.She sucked in a needy breath, the mask pressed…[...]

Jason Macintosh is missing!

The mild shower that had been dripping from the darkening sky had escalated to a torrential downpour by the time we got the call from the local P.D. about a…[...]

Aisle Seven

I ran into Makena in aisle seven at Trader Joe’s, which felt like the least romantic place on earth to have your entire nervous system reboot. Trader Joe’s is designed…[...]

Her

Those fluorescent lights at IHOP were always too bright at 2:00 AM, but for us, they were the only stars that mattered. I was ready with the boxes packed, the…[...]

A Fleeting Moment

My pillow feels so soft. Wow, my body feels as if it is melting. I must be very tired. It is almost midnight and I have not even fallen asleep…[...]

Unforgettable

Roughly an hour before lunch, I start putting together our little picnic. Green and red grapes mixed together, strawberries with the tops cut off to look like little hearts. Her…[...]

Divine loss

Dear Jade,here is another letter for you. Lately, I've been thinking about you differently than I did a few months ago. In fact, every time someone mentioned your name, I…[...]

Tropical winter

Tropical winterFor most Europeans, the tropical winter doesn’t really count as winter. However, on that grey August day, as we were standing at the foot of Corcovado, looking up at…[...]

The Question

As I waited for her in the hot sun in front of the cinema, the question became harder to ignore. We had both danced around it these past days. When…[...]

The Mod Con

Heat and salt had become Calypso’s world. They defined every waking moment of her life in the mine, just as they defined the wretched moon against which she carved. HACKU…[...]

The Mod Con

Heat and salt had become Calypso’s world. They defined every waking moment of her life in the mine, just as they defined the wretched moon against which she carved. HACKU…[...]

Particle Romance

Particle Romance Ally and Rose streamed through the cold. Rose shook, and moved behind Ally to ride in her wake. Ally never minded – Rose was the fire to Ally’s…[...]

Cost of a Lie

Cost of a Lieby SAMANTHA MARIS Chapter 1“Mom!” Kira called out in a voice pitched higher than her normal alto. Her mother, standing twenty feet away at the entrance to…[...]

How irritatingly beautiful pink can be!

There had been a time when pink had frustrated Anna-Liese.She was so insanely sick of seeing anything with that color. Or rather, she was sick of seeing a very certain…[...]

The Red Carpet Ride

TW: Coercion, emotional abuse, drug use Something in the room had changed. The air suddenly felt thick, like moving in slow motion in a movie. Her altered, watery gaze focused…[...]

The L is for Lovers

Natalie, aware of the glare coming from across the aisle of the unusually empty train car, stared blankly into her phone retaining none of the open book. This was a…[...]

Future Tripping

She was standing around the turnstile gripping the handle to her her carry-on bag. Knuckles white. Other people’s belongings would pass her by as time stood still. Her focus on…[...]

Songs for Shiloh

Your character is traveling a road that has no end. Shiloh awoke in that startled way that car passengers so often do - suddenly and disoriented. She made a slight…[...]

Once is Still Once

The bar pulsed with life.A chaotic symphony of laughter.Bodies pressed too close in the humid late-evening air.Megan leaned against the scarred wooden counter. The edge dug into her hip. Her…[...]

Iced Caramel Latte

I agreed to meet Bethany for coffee on the 17th of May. It has been 3 months since I popped the festering pimple of our relationship. It is weird because…[...]

What We Lost

I haven’t slept in months. Well, that’s not entirely true. I sleep on and off. Restless. Going through the motions rather than actually trying to relax. I wake at odd…[...]

Scared Thirst

04/05/2026The bat caves were insane. Thousands of them…hanging overhead, shifting and whispering to each other in the dark; a hive mind, alive and thinking.One of them dipped low enough to…[...]

What Remains.

The cold always begins at my heart. It knows the way by now, and it is learning new roads. Tonight it has finally reached my throat. The dawn comes grey…[...]

The Bitter End

[Story contains themes of suicide, substance abuse and gore] The mechanical zip and clink of a common grackle rang in with the breeze, filling the room with a now foreign…[...]

Watcher

Birds chirped around a young woman, her steps light and uneven as she tossed seeds around the grass surrounding her. From a bench, Lana watched with a smile, her headphones…[...]

Bad Mother Funeral

Chapter 1 “Are you family? I need to know where to seat you.” The man eyes me like he thinks he may have seen me on the wanted posters at…[...]

Ghosted

Stace | April 13th, 2025 6:57PM: "I had so much fun! I can't wait to go out again. I really think I'm feeling something here" Cat | 6:58PM: "SAAAME! <3…[...]

Mourning Star

The girls froze, then scattered the moment they locked eyes with me. Flowers fell from their hands as they bolted through the lantern-lit streets, laughter dying in their throats. I…[...]

Blood Red Reticle

“We’re running out of time.” Danni looked at her wristwatch to confirm what she suspected. It was two minutes passed nine o’clock at night and their target—known for her excessive…[...]

Pride’s Pioneers

No one was worried at first. The minivan lulled them into a false sense of security. Normal has a certain taste and color. It's a perfume that lingers. The neighbors…[...]

Desperate Remedies

Was she taunting me? I was jolted awake by a strange sound — pee-pee-paw, pee-pee-pee-paw. It drilled into my skull, causing shockwaves, though that might also have been the alcohol. I…[...]

Adelaide’s Cemetery

Death was accompanied by the patter of nurses’ rubber-soled shoes marching briskly along linoleum floors. The smell of antiseptic solution. A gurney wheel, in need of oil, squeaking rhythmically as…[...]

Venus Buried

The girl in the graveyard is your best friend, so you take her home. The night is a bruise between you, a blotch of rogue in the passenger window; the…[...]

The World’s on Fire

Trigger: Cancer My head rocks back, long hair sticks to sweaty shoulders and my tank barely holds my jiggling A-cups as I pound it out, dancing. I’m that “Girl on…[...]

Bad date, Good day

Alice flattened her hands against her hips and took a deep breath. She smoothed the wrinkles out of her apron, pulled her notepad and pen out of her pocket, and…[...]

Rescue Dog

CW: Physical violence, abuse, explicit sexual phrases It was only 11 am and already she had broken 6 rules. She had spoken to the woman who lived on a boat.…[...]

Look What the Cat Dragged In

Tuesday, December 25, 2010 "Christie if you wanted to make this all about you then, congratulations because look what you've done." Mom spats with something between a sob and just…[...]

Turtle and the Not-Cat

The storm had teeth that night. It gnawed at the eaves of the old Victorian home, making the whole house shake.Amelia sat by the hearth, reading a romance paperback—the kind…[...]

Orange Cats & Fanny Packs: A Halloween Miracle

“Give me a boost,” Izzie says frantically, tilting her head toward the tiny orange kitten wedged between several branches near the top of the old oak tree. Its mews are…[...]

Fool’s Gold

The moment was supposed to be glorious. Selene’s father had promised it would be, with all of the great lords gathered in one place. Hands came together in crackles of…[...]