Specific by Belinda Roddie "Where were you?" I scowled. "Out," I replied. My dad stared at me through his murky glasses. "You're going to have to be more specific," he growled. "I don't need to be anything, asshole. I'm an adult. And I was out." He looked ready to hit me. He wouldn't. But he looked like he wanted to. Meanwhile, my mom continued washing dishes, whistling a dissonant tune.

Lower by Belinda Roddie "You're an asshole, George," grumbled Emily. "I mean, could you be any lower? Could you be any more of an entitled snotbag who thinks every girl should fall to her knees in front of you and suck your dick?" George said nothing, looking at his murky reflection in his beer glass. This only encouraged Emily. "Seriously, man," she continued. "You want to be desirable without actually showing desirability. You're a joke. You're not even 'nice.'"

Passing by Belinda Roddie No one told Heather about her father's passing. She only found out through social media, and once the news hit, she saw more than just red. She drove like a bat out of Hell to her mother's house and almost kicked down the door with one solitary steel-toed boot. Her mother was not fazed by her daughter's rage. "You didn't deserve to be there for his memorial," she commented. "He wouldn't want a dyke seeing him lowered into the ground."

Slowly by Belinda Roddie Silently, steathily, I enter the bedroom where you have been sleeping for well over twelve hours. Gradually, you'll awake, but I don't want to force your necessary slumber to end after so many days of restlessness and fear. When you're ready, I will hold you again. I will kiss you. And slowly, but surely, you'll find the confidence to make love to me again. But I will not push it. I would never. And I will wait until you are absolutely, one hundred percent ready.

" Take the shot!" roared the sergeant. "I think I'd rather take a shot of vodka," I groaned, but I pulled the trigger and let the rifle shake violent in my arms. I missed - naturally - but the fact that I followed orders seemed to satisfy the maniac that was my superior. "Nice try, bucko!" he cackled. "Shoulda been quicker!" "Should be less of a dick," I muttered under my breath.

Episode by Belinda Roddie Tune in next episode for the thrilling conclusion of whatever this garbage is! Will Charlie have another episode over the feng shui of his new apartment? Will his gay lover Kevin finally confess that he only has one testicle? Will Carl actually accept that Charlie is his true brother? What the fuck am I watching here? Why isn't there a new season of Bake-Off yet! Daddy's got a need for some quality fucking content for once!

Slight by Belinda Roddie Ricki felt a slight pain in her arm as she twisted the screw in place. This was nothing new; she had fractured her ulna two years ago, and even after the cast was off, nothing felt right around the elbow. She would ice it and pop some painkillers later, washing them down with a couple of martinis. "That shelf turning out good?" her husband grunted from the couch, where he looked more and more like a gelatinous blob each passing day.

Leave by Belinda Roddie This was just hunky-fucking-dory, I thought to myself as I stared at my living room. My obnoxious coworker wouldn't leave, and my crush wouldn't stay. She claimed she had work the next day, which I thought was bullshit because I was sure she was still on staycation. Larry, meanwhile, was already demanding more pocket change from me to buy some of the worst beer imaginable. I was never going to throw a house party ever again, at this rate: it cost too much of my sanity.

Half by Belinda Roddie The two brothers agreed to split their kill in half, with one of them taking the dark meat and the other taking the white meat. It was quite a delicate process, dissecting and separating that monstrous chicken - it had been quite the urban legend in their town, and now they could bring home the spoils to their families. A legend such as this poultry could be quite delicious, after all, especially when served with rice.

Emerged by Belinda Roddie Well, Steve, it looks like two top contenders have emerged from the fray! First, we have Taylor Hamilton, a veteran martial artist who still remains a hero in her hometown. And then, here comes Lucy Dale, who has one of the best haymakers I've seen in all my twenty years of commentating on this battle royale. We'll just have to see who will come out victorious in the ring - and with all the rumors flying around about their past relationship, who's gonna stoke other kinds of flames!

Avoid by Belinda Roddie I had been trying to avoid my ex for over six months, and now, here we were, splitting a drink tab at Old Nelson's on Fifth and Locke. She had gotten grayer since I last saw her: A silver fox, I liked to joke whenever she got self-conscious. It did look good on her. Like precious metal working its way out of an otherwise straggly mass of mud. I downed another shot of tequila and groaned as I licked a swatch of salt off my wrist. I was too old for this shit.

Stable by Belinda Roddie Can a horse ever be stable in a stable? Or can it be hoarse in a hearse? Can a pig manage a stye in a sty, or will it just have a bothersome growth on its eye? Can a bird grow a beard and then get bored of it? It's be something for the board to behold. A gilded goal could be to hunt for gold. Or is this getting old?

Tape by Belinda Roddie "What's that?" Ely chuckled. "That?" they asked, pointing on the stereo. "That has a cassette player. You know, for tapes. I'm guessing you're not used to seeing that." "I know what tapes are," grumbled Timmy, shaking his head and making his red curls bounce. "I mean, what music's on them?" "Would you like me to play something?"

Inhale by Belinda Roddie We remembered to breathe. We remembered to inhale through our noses and out through our mouths. We remembered to relax our shoulders and rub out the tension in our necks. We remembered to close our eyes and adjust to the red and gray silhouettes behind those fleshy curtains. We remembered to be quiet. We remembered to be calm. But we did not remember to relax.

Defy by Belinda Roddie Go on. Hit me. Do your worst. I defy your threats. I defy your words. I defy whatever you think is intimidating about that stare. You do not scare me. You merely annoy me. You won't leave anything but soft bruises in your wake. I have gotten plenty of scars from worse. I will not remember you. I will not remember you. I will not remember you. I will never remember you.

Near by Belinda Roddie Hey, where are you? Are you outside the gymnasium? Or are you near the swimming pool? Will I find you by the fountain where the four pillars of Islam rise? Or will we, instead, convene at one of the many panther statues? You see, everything on that campus is tinged, unsurprisingly, rose. But you can hear the rumblings of mob conspiracy theorists nearby. And they have worse teeth than the goddamn panthers do.

Reflexes by Belinda Roddie Over and over and over again, I tried not to flinch when he kissed me. But reflexes couldn't be ignored, nor could that twisting gut feeling like someone was tying my intestines into a butterfly shape that you'd normally find with shoelaces. I didn't push him. I didn't hit him. But when his tongue entered my mouth, I wanted to gag. Even that, however, would have been better than what I actually did. I bit down. Hard. 

Automatic by Belinda Roddie Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system: YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE is not available. Please leave a message after the beep. Only there's no beep. There's no dial tone. There's not even static. This is when you wait. Forever. And you can't seem to put down the phone. It's not that YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE isn't here. It's just not available to take your message. Nor is it interested in hearing your screams.

Blast by Belinda Roddie "Did you have fun at Louis's party?" "Oh, yeah," snorted Georgia, her tone sticky with sarcasm. "I had an absolute blast." "Hey, don't be mean," complained Tom. "Louis had some fun games. And the cake was good." "But no booze?" retorted Olivia. "No music? No dancing? It was so...tame. And I know Louis is tame by  nature, but still..."

Exist by Belinda Roddie Fiona knew that the perfect woman didn't exist, but my god, did Max come close. Max was beautiful, fashionable, witty, open-minded, savvy with technology, wise beyond her years, goofy when least expected but always when appropriate, and of course, compassionate. But there was only one issue: This gorgeous gal didn't believe in love. Not one bit.