Quiet Ones
- Reads 3,840
- Votes 458
- Parts 19
Complete Tue, Feb 3, 20263h 10m
Mari thought that coming home to a ghost town after her mom's death was bad. It turns out it's worse having to attend her estranged father's wedding and letting her childhood best friend break down the walls she carefully built.
*****
Mari Chasey's life is suspended.
She returns to her hometown in a cold November day following her mother's death, after years of studying abroad in Europe. Pinewood is sleepy in the bitter cold, the deserted shoreline stretching further than she can reach, but that's okay. Mari is good with temporary things and at not lingering. She's not planning to stay for long, just enough to sort out her mother's affairs without poking at open wounds.
Then her father returns. Jack Chasey, former renowned superstar, absent for most of her childhood, is getting married to a woman Mari hardly knows. He gets to begin again, build something new, while Mari grapples with a fractured life and all the scattered pieces of herself. Her mother was supposed to live forever; Jack was mercurial and always at arm's length. But now he's here to stay.
Enter Kinney St. James. Once Mari's closest friend, then another person that passed by like a comet, she still knows Mari and all the shards of her. Even the sharper ones.
In the stillness of winter, Mari reconnects with the quiet life Jack always wanted for her, the softer parts of her that only Kinney can tap into, and what it truly means to be her mother's daughter.
*****
Open Novella Contest -- prompts 24, 29, 46, & 77
[[OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2026 ROUND 1 WINNER]]
© 2026 caterina george // all rights reserved
All Rights Reserved
#533
onc2026
Join the largest storytelling communityGet personalized story recommendations, save your favourites to your library, and comment and vote to grow your community.
You may also like
Take Your Time
Caitlin likes Peyton because Peyton feels possible. She is new, bold, and looking straight at her. With Peyton, Caitlin can imagine becoming the girl who stops flinching and finally reaches for what she wants. And Caitlin does want her. McKenna is different. McKenna has been there too long to feel new and knows Caitlin too well to feel safe. She is on the field, in the locker room, beside Caitlin before either of them decides to move closer. Fixing a strap. Passing her tape. Letting their fingers touch for one second too long. Then walking away like Caitlin is the only one who felt it. Peyton gives Caitlin the chance to choose something real. The problem is that choosing Peyton does not make McKenna disappear. She can Take Her Time. But Before It Turns Cruel, she may have to admit that First Was You.Complete
Final Room
Wendy is the final girl. Surviving is what she does. ***** Following the tragic Incident that claimed the lives of all her friends, Wendy Collier only has her status as a Final Girl to give her some sense of self--it tells her how to behave, how to feel, how to think. When nothing else helps, the only solution is to move to Alaska to stay with her estranged brother, who had his own reasons to exile himself, and they both know there are sacrifices they have to make for each other. Underneath the resentment, there's hurt. However, Wendy has been fighting for a long time, fighting for survival, fighting for meaning, fighting for closure, and this will not be yet another thing that's ripped away from her. No matter what she has to do. [[2X WATTPAD FEATURED STORY]] [[WATTYS 2023 SHORTLIST]] © 2022 caterina george // all rights reservedComplete
icebreaker (figure skating wlw romance)
This book may NOT be reproduced, reposted, copied, or translated in any way unless you receive permission directly from the author. Camille Rousseau is used to the pressure. As the daughter of a legendary figure skater, she's spent her entire life striving to be the best-pushing herself harder, faster, and farther. But when she's forced to share the ice with Aurora Bennett, Camille's world is turned upside down. Aurora doesn't just glide on the ice; she owns it. Confident, competitive, and effortlessly talented, Aurora is everything Camille hates-everything Camille fears she'll never be. The two are rivals, both driven by the weight of family expectations and their burning need to be the top athlete. But when fate and the rink force them into close quarters, the animosity between them begins to shift into something neither of them can control. Trapped together, their forced proximity ignites a firestorm of tension. Camille can't decide if she wants to throttle Aurora or kiss her. Aurora's confidence rattles Camille's composure, and every touch on the ice sends sparks flying. But as they push each other to new limits, they find that their rivalry is just the beginning of something much deeper, more complicated-and far more dangerous to their hearts.Complete
Sound Bite
Lottie needs a break and her inspiration back, so she launches herself into a quiet coastal town and--quite literally--into Leigh's life. As they try to save a summer camp, Lottie begins to rediscover her spark--and the kind of love she never thought she'd find. ***** Lottie Fitzpatrick is a star. She's glamorous, untouchable, and unstoppable. After her sold-out world tour ends in nasty burnout and terrible writer's block, she seeks refuge in a small, coastal town in Massachusetts to find her voice. She doesn't expect to get roped into volunteering at a struggling summer music camp or to be working with Leigh Flores, the snarky, quiet counselor who has no time for superstars. She's not particularly impressed, but Lottie is too charming. Lottie cares. As the camp's days blur into late-night jamming and songwriting sessions, what starts as a creative reset and mental health break begins to feel like something deeper. It demands bravery. Lottie isn't sure if she's ready to be seen. With real life pulling her back toward the spotlight Leigh has never chased, they'll have to decide if their connection can survive after summer ends. ***** WARM HANDS #2 © 2025 caterina george // all rights reservedComplete
My Boyfriend's Girlfriend
WATTYS 2022 AWARD WINNER ☾ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ • ☽ "You had an idea?" She laughed lightly when I reminded her. Her laugh was easily contagious, I couldn't help but not laugh with her, even if it was just a small nostril-flare kind of thing. "Yeah, I do." She turned to me slightly, and straightened her posture. "You've seen John Tucker Must Die, right?" She asked, and I summoned the most 'no, duh' expression I possibly could give her. "Perfect. Let's John Tucker the hell out of that motherfucker." ☾ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ • ☽ Abby Reynolds is your average high school senior who's just trying to ace her AP exams to get into her top schools, be a good daughter to her parents, and a loving girlfriend to her boyfriend. When Abby's perfect relationship is ripped to shreds, she fetches a plan to get revenge - with the girl she should hate most. Abby's about to get more than she bargained for, and learn more about herself than any college entry essay could ever teach her, and it's about to come in the form of Tessa Oliver.Complete
Somebody Like You
Step one: graduate. Step two: accidentally sleep with your best friend. Step three: get trapped working summer camp together because your other best friend has no sense of boundaries. Now Enya and Maddie are sharing a cabin, pretending nothing happened, and doing a terrible job at it. It's hot. It's messy. It's gay. * * * The summer before college was supposed to be chill; sunburns, iced lattes, maybe a mild existential crisis. But when Skylar signs everyone up to be counselors at a middle school camp, Enya and Maddie find themselves trapped in a mosquito-infested nightmare... together. One small problem: They may or may not have ACCIDENTALLY hooked up after graduation. And Maddie is convinced Enya planned the whole thing. Between canoe races gone wrong, s'mores that end in arguments, and bunkhouse confessions they swore would never happen again, both girls are about to learn that feelings aren't something you can logic your way out of-or yell your way past. Because sometimes the person who drives you craziest... is the one who feels like home.Complete
Thorns
Whitney Gordon will defend her family at all costs. If people shout names or say mean things just because she has two dads, well they can all go to hell. She's a popular teen girl just like all others out there, minus the fact she has a small devil for a sister, and two gay dads for a family. Life's complicated enough as it is, and Whitney's seems to get more messed up, when the school's bully and criminal, Rai Vega, finds out about a secret she has kept for years. How far will she go to protect her deepest secret?Complete
Modern Romance
How can Juneau Cortez not be romantic about baseball with someone as beautiful as Mykie Taylor on the field? ***** For Juneau Cortez and Mykie Taylor, Boston is the greatest city in the world. It's also where they're both stuck - Juneau in the shadow of her MLB player brother and Mykie as the Red Sox social media manager itching to get back on the field somehow. In this day and age, navigating adulthood and a career (or lack thereof) is more difficult than ever, and that's without the stress of adding romance into the mix. While Juneau wears her heart on her sleeve, Mykie's tossed hers into the dugout in favor of fulfilling her dreams. So what happens when they open themselves up to each other? Maybe everything they never knew they needed. That's romance, baby. ***** ☆ companion novel to SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW by @thaliagrace- ☆
The Key to Anchor Lake ✓
DOUBLE WATTY AWARD WINNER - mystery/thriller AND biggest twist! After her mother's death, Blaire Bloxham moves in with an aunt she never knew she had, and discovers the dark history of her new town. Armed with a mysterious book and a podcast with an enchanting narrator, Blaire's determined to crack the key to Anchor Lake - before it's too late.Complete
Comfy Closets
To everyone, Alyssa Woods is known as the friendly, pretty, and tenacious captain of the soccer team. But to her, she's shy, self-conscious, and helplessly gay. Well, a helplessly closeted gay. There are reasons that stop her from coming out, ones she repeats to herself daily, one of her favourites being 'I'm not ready.' The crush she has on Leah Bennett isn't going anywhere at this rate, but she's comfortable where she is; not out, not rejected. She isn't new to heartbreak though, her past scars a constant reminder of the fears that dissuade her from taking the leap. And these very fears are what shoves her further into the closet with each memory and each thought. Taking the risk is the last thing on her mind. But what's life without a little risk? After all, you have to risk rejection to be accepted, or else you just might risk not living life at all. {COMPLETED}Complete
Caitlin likes Peyton because Peyton feels possible. She is new, bold, and looking straight at her. With Peyton, Caitlin can imagine becoming the girl who stops flinching and finally reaches for what she wants. And Caitlin does want her. McKenna is different. McKenna has been there too long to feel new and knows Caitlin too well to feel safe. She is on the field, in the locker room, beside Caitlin before either of them decides to move closer. Fixing a strap. Passing her tape. Letting their fingers touch for one second too long. Then walking away like Caitlin is the only one who felt it. Peyton gives Caitlin the chance to choose something real. The problem is that choosing Peyton does not make McKenna disappear. She can Take Her Time. But Before It Turns Cruel, she may have to admit that First Was You.
More detailsContent Guidelines