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Blank Spaces | A Short Story

The night never failed to make Jamie anxious. Day after day, she fought to finish her chores before the sun got low on the horizon. 

It was a new fear. A new phobia that hadn’t even bothered her when she was a small child. 

There was a time she loved the night, the sounds and smells. When she could sit on her back porch and do nothing for hours but think and soak up the peace after a day of hard work.

Then there was the night she couldn’t remember. It was a void within her mind. A blank space where something should be…but wasn’t. 

That night two years ago, she recalled finishing dinner, washing dishes, and taking her glass of wine to the porch. Like so many nights that happened before it. 

And then…nothing. She woke up the following morning with what she initially thought was a hangover, muscle soreness – especially in her neck, and the sensation that she’d had sex.

She was clean and found no outward marks to confirm the feeling she had…but she was a grown ass woman over the age of forty and she damn well knew what her body felt like after sex. 

There was no sign of an intruder. 

Nothing on her outdoor cameras.

No footprints in the loose soil around her deck. 

One moment she was on the porch. The next, she was nowhere within her camera view. Her chair sat empty for hours…and then she woke up in her own bed…clean and confused. 

Ever since, she’d feared the darkness beyond her back door. She hadn’t sat out in the open and refused invitations if she couldn’t be home before the sun fully went down. 

“Sierra!” she called her little dog. It was their routine – a new one – where her terrier did all her business and settled in for the night with her fraidy cat owner. “Come, girl!” Her dog didn’t come and there was no sound from beyond the porch. “Sierra…” she asked fearfully. “Baby, come to mama.” 

Nothing. 

The twilight slowly darkened and Jamie’s heart began to race as she inspected her yard – front and back – with a high-powered flashlight. 

There was no sign of Sierra anywhere. Suddenly, she wanted to sob, to scream, to beg someone to help her with a problem she didn’t understand completely but knew to be true. 

Something was out there. 

It waited for her.

Whatever it was had her dog.

Cowering behind the glass of her back door as the sun disappeared, Jamie tried to find her reason. The calm and rational voice that had been with her all her life. 

It seemed to have abandoned her. 

“Please. Please don’t take my dog. I-I don’t have much. I don’t know what you want but I need my dog.” 

From the shadows stepped a being dressed all in black. His eyes glowed pale blue. The white of his teeth flashed in the bit of light from her kitchen. He was clearly taller, stronger, and dangerous.

He held Sierra in one hand, petting her with the other. “She’s a good dog. Gentle and obedient. She remembers me.” 

“Please don’t hurt her. She’s just an innocent dog.” 

“I won’t hurt her, Jamie. I didn’t hurt you.” 

“It was you. You were here…” 

The being that she was convinced was not human…laughed. “I was here. We were having a lovely time when some assholes showed up. I had enough time to wipe your memories and lead them on a merry chase. I needed to get them far away from you – and kill them all – before I returned. Are you alright?” 

“Let her go.” He immediately put the dog down, scratched her behind the ears, and released her. “Sierra…come.” The terrier took two steps, returned to lick the stranger, and then ran inside. Jamie closed the door most of the way. “What do you want?” 

“The same thing I wanted when I found you…the same thing I’ll want for the next two thousand years of my life. Come to me, Jamie. Overcome your fear.” 

“Why me?” 

“It could only be you. It has always been you. I just hadn’t found you yet.” Straightening, he walked to the door and held out his hand. “Come, Jamie. You know.” 

Pushing the door wider, the scent of basil drifted to her. One moment, she didn’t remember. The next, her memories of that night flooded her mind. 

“…Tutoro?” 

A look of satisfaction crossed his face and then he pulled the door wide, took her in his arms, and reminded her of everything. 

The darkness held a new danger for her.

This danger, she liked

© Sabrina Rue

Find more Sabrina Rue stories HERE
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Hello and I’m Back…

It’s been an insane year or so. After my incredible road trip the second half of 2022, I landed in Washington for a few months. My Jana Bobanna (personal assistant and bestie extraordinaire) made a space in her house for me and I took a “part time” job at Walmart that became a lot more than that.

Inevitably, I returned to Oklahoma in the summer of 2023 to be closer to my adult kids. Since then…a whirlwind of crazy. I haven’t written much live but I’ve dabbled when I’ve had time.

Transferring with Walmart, I was promoted. I’m kind of a badass like that. Trying to make sure everyone is on their feet (myself included), I lived with my daughter for four months and I’ve been with my son for the past two. Looking forward to things calming down so I can get in my own apartment (fortress of solitude) for the first time in 30 years.

In December, I turned 52 and I’m a little shell-shocked about it, to be honest. Not the age…the lingering chaos. I’m coming back from the edge of the abyss.

I’m not going to put as much on this version of my website as I have in the past. I’ve been hacked too many times to invest the time. However, I’ll sprinkle some stuff for funsies.

Back in the words. It’s helping my brain recalibrate. Doing a lot of that manifesting ish. I’ll keep you posted.

Much love,
Shayne

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Hate on First Sight | A Short Story

Every time Meri did a walk-through of the cemetery, she ended up scolding the groundskeeper about leaving flowers to rot. 

“Miss, uh, flowers die…just like people.” 

“You’re right. You are sooo right. This is the thing though, Jimmy. When people die, we mourn them. Sometimes, loved ones bring flowers every week. Sometimes they bury them and never come back. Ever.” 

She gave him a reassuring smile. “However, anyone else visiting the cemetery sees those dead flowers and lots of things go through their minds. Things like, that poor bastard doesn’t have anyone who loves them. Or, how long does it take for flowers to die and rot like that…? It gives them a glimpse of their own mortality just as much as all the headstones. Do you understand what I mean, Jimmy? Are you picking up what I’m laying down?”

“Uh…” 

“Listen. Once they all look the same color, it’s nothing more than potpourri in shit shape…not fitting for a once-living human’s gravesite. Throw them the hell out!”

“Sure, uh, yes, miss.” 

Leaving him to ponder the vastness of the universe – based on his stunned expression, she continued her inspection of the mausoleum. 

She staggered to a stop when she found a grown man on the floor of her beautiful structure in a three-thousand-dollar suit and an empty bottle of Grey Goose beside him. 

“How in the actual hell…?” Walking to him, Meri pulled her cloak of peopling around her. “Sir. Oh, sir.” Under her breath, she mumbled, “Are you fucking kidding me…?” 

Crouching beside him, she reached out to touch him. As her finger landed on the shoulder of his suit jacket, he reacted as if she’d set off a firecracker. 

He simultaneously grabbed Meri’s wrist, pivoted her over his body, and hovered directly above her. Their faces were far too close.

“How did I…” She frowned as she processed her situation and then yelled, “Excuse me, sir! How dare you manhandle me! What are you doing here? Unhand me this instant! Do it now!” 

One side of his mouth lifted in a smile. “Which?” She frowned harder. “Answer your question or unhand you?” 

“Both! I cannot believe I’m on my back in the mausoleum. I have meetings today. My clothes. Ugh!” She released a bloodcurdling scream of frustration. 

Jimmy came running from the grounds. Seeing her on her back, beneath a strange man, and other various clues such as her scream, didn’t seem to instill him with a sense of urgency. 

He mumbled, “Sorry to interrupt, miss. I’ll leave you to your business.” Then he turned to leave. 

Closing her eyes against the soft laughter of her assailant, Meri said, “Jimmy. So help me god…please come over here and help me up.” 

“Sure, miss.” He walked over. 

“Stop calling me miss. We’re cousins and you know my damn name.” She held out her hand and realized Jimmy was standing several feet away with one hand out. “Please. To all the saints milling around without a damn thing to do. I’m gonna lose it.” 

The man half covering her laughed warmly. He bounced to his feet, grabbed both her hands, and literally shot her to an upright position on her feet. It happened so fast, she was dizzy. 

“Sorry about that.” He winked and started brushing the dust off her back.

Slapping his hands away, she glared menacingly. “I don’t know you but I’m positive I’m supposed to hate you. Like…Biblical level hate, medieval hate, you killed my father, prepare to die hate. Who the hell are you?” 

“I came to chat with my dad. Yesterday was his birthday. He loved Grey Goose. The gates were closed by the time I made it from the airport. I scaled them and caught Pops up on all the happenings of the last year.” Leaning close, he said shyly, “He was fascinated and drank me under the table. As usual.” 

Tucking her arm through his, he added, “I am starving! Let’s go have breakfast! Do you like pancakes?” 

He’d half guided, half carried Meri twenty feet to the exit of the normally dignified marble structure before her brain caught up to his actions. 

“Let me go! Are you damaged? Are you an escapee from a mental hospital? You can’t just…” 

He nuzzled her cheek with a sigh. “Can’t I though? You’re just adorable.” 

Not one human who’d ever met Meri from the day of her birth had ever blasphemed in such a manner. She gasped as his sin ricocheted through the bowels of hell and sealed his fate. 

“How dare you? Bunnies are adorable. Small children – without snot who don’t speak or touch things – are adorable. Sleeping puppies – I’ve heard – are adorable. All from a distance, mind you, but adorable.” Then she screamed in his face, “I am not now nor will I ever be adorable!”

“Meri…?” Her father’s voice behind her made her jump. “Please explain why you’re screaming at your sister’s ex-husband. We have visitors on the grounds. A little early for this sort of thing – even for you, dear.” 

The object of her pure, unadulterated hatred smiled with his perfect teeth. “I’m Phillip Baileywick. It’s so lovely to meet you.” 

Meri punched him.

© Shayne McClendon

Find more Shayne McClendon stories HERE
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Writing Road Trip – Pennsylvania

My next state stop was PENNSYLVANIA!

I had an awesome couple of days with Niki filled with conversation (and lots of interesting information about indie writers and marketing). We toured Valley Forge and I took about a million pics.

From there, I tripped on over to Reading and spent two days with Amber and her wonderful family (husband Dante, son Kody, and precious doggos). They took me to a Japanese pagoda…in the middle of PA. I was amazed and also…a little confused with the why of it all. We also walked the gorgeous grounds of a museum (tons more photos). We met up with a new reader named Ashley (she works with Amber) and her boyfriend Zach. There was a lot of laughter!

This was the state when I realized the photos might get a *little* out of hand. LOL – I can’t possibly share them all.

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Writing Road Trip – Maryland

The next state on my writing road trip was MARYLAND!

I got to have lunch with Stephanie and she was just amazing. We kept meaning to wrap it up but that wasn’t happening. We were having too much fun gabbing (we even moved it to the parking lot)!

There was some silliness that occurred before we met (you can see that on TikTok).

Originally, I was supposed to have another reader but her work schedule meant we didn’t get a chance to meet. I hope to meet you in the future, Heather!

Stephanie and Shayne