i need inspiration.
on the bright side, this short story i submitted to my school's literary magazine was accepted. i can now say my writing's been published once lmao
**unedited
// Aria //
Short white puffs appeared in front of my lips as I sucked in the cold air around me, glaring at the tall trees hovering over me
"He didn't follow?"
I stood silent for a moment, carefully listening for any footsteps roaming around. It was quiet except for the occasional birds chirping and the flowing river beyond the thick layer of shrubs beside me.
I felt a certain itch as I realised what could've been the reason for him not running after me.
Jenna.
My jaw clenched as realisation set in, prone to send a few bloody noses to the hospital for minor breaks had I been surrounded by useless imbeciles whose only job was to enrage me. My once steady breathing slipped away from me as I reached for the tree nearest to my aching body, my vision blinded by white hot anger.
No, Jenna is not at fault here. She's a mere child who'll have nothing to do with my–
I froze, staring straight forward towards nothing in particular. Thoughts buzzed around my head as tears slowly started to blur my gaze.
"He's not mine," I whispered, my fist impulsively colliding with the tree. A small crack erupted from my hand while a trail of ruby droplets steadily rolled down my wrist as I solemnly examined my bruising knuckles.
"But he is." The devil on my shoulder disputed with the angel in my head. It was a back and forth exchange, arguing over whether or not Tyler belonged to me. A part of me knew that he was mine, but the other part of me acknowledged that he in fact was no ones. He wasn't a dog, but he was owned by me.
A high pitched scream erupted from my lips as I pulled at my hair, yanking it in hopes that the possessive voices would somehow magically disappear.
It was a dull ache that slowly began to throb until it became an unbearable pain that blinded all of my senses. My knees buckled underneath me, a choked cough burning my lungs as I gasped for a breath of air to soothe my searing pain.
What the hell is this?
It was all too sudden, the cool air blowing around me as my chest froze over, drowning in what I could only assume was the cold Ohio wind slowly picking up.
The last thing I heard was a faint piano playing in the distance, my hands trembling as I willed myself to reach for my dying phone, but the transition was too much for me to handle, quietly knocking me out and sending my into a frozen abyss.
