He hasn’t touched his guitar in a long time. It’s intrinsically linked to drinking. So much so, that the thought of strumming one, putting fingers and thumbs near a fretboard, sends shivers down his spine. He writes, this is true, but words alone can sometimes lack the excitement that a backbeat and bassline bring to … Continue reading EARWORMS by Steven Holding

There was nothing Audrey enjoyed more than an outing to the prom. They sat watching the waves, licking their ice creams. The air was scented with donuts, candy floss and salty seaweed. Audrey wiped ice cream from her chin and rubbed sticky fingers on her skirt. ‘Behave or I’ll take you home.' Audrey pouted. ‘Want … Continue reading ICE CREAM ON THE PROM by Kathy Goddard

Photos showed the “fabulous second-hand satsuma couch” was huge and horribly orange. Zoë bought it straight away.The delivery men turned it on one side, backed up and tried again. ‘Don’t worry, love, we’ll take the legs off.’ They unscrewed its ponderous paws and pushed it through the doorway, as far as it would go. Zoë … Continue reading NEW OWNER COLLECTS by Anne Eyries

He calls me an ungrateful bitch, the parrot escapes its cage, perches on the tap of the kitchen sink, its beak slightly open and the dark little tongue showing. The argument escalates while the neighbour practises her scales on the piano. My husband and I stare at each other, me in disbelief, he with hatred. … Continue reading NOTHING I CAN DO, OR I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT by Nora Nadjarian

Floyd got Shannon’s name inked on his left shoulder—which stunned Shannon because she and Floyd had gone out only seven times. Four dinners. Two movies. One ballgame. But there it was in capital letters: SHANNON. The perfect camouflage for his previous tattoo, the name of his ex-girlfriend, Ann. Lori Cramer’s short prose has appeared in … Continue reading CAMOUFLAGE by Lori Cramer

Masie lunged at the kitchen counter with her sledgehammer. She wasn't sure what was more satisfying, the thwacking sound it made on impact or the cracks it left behind.She had unintentionally made a work of art; a perfect representation of what the man she'd made love to on this very worktop had done to her … Continue reading COUNTERING HEARTBREAK by Nicola Golding

I remember the day we moved there – the dinginess of the hallway with its old-fashioned dado rail and thick brown wallpaper. The faint smell of gas and mice. The sense that someone was watching us from the shadows. A malevolent presence that didn’t want us.I was ten. Back then, when I’d said how scared … Continue reading NUMBER 14 by Sue Johnson

Six years of dating meant she could read a man quickly. She’d been watching this one for fifteen minutes, sitting opposite her on the Tube. The signs were good: dark socks, requisite number of fastened shirt buttons, reasonably but not overly-groomed, neutral newspaper. She cleared her throat. "Excuse me..."He looked up and his eyes widened … Continue reading MAYBE NOBODY IS PRINCE CHARMING DURING HAYFEVER SEASON by Sandra Hirons