Harley had a bright future ahead of her, but that dream died a long time ago.
*****
Harley vowed she would never return to the city that broke her heart, but old wounds never stop hu...
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✯¸.•'*¨'*•✿ EPIGRAPH ✿•*'¨*'•.¸✯
It is useless to meet revenge with revenge; it will heal nothing.
— J.R.R. Tolkien
When she looked around, her skin was spattered with ink / Forming the words of a thousand voices / Echoes she heard even in her sleep: / "Whatever you say, it is not right." / "Whatever you do, it is not enough." / "Your kindness is fake." / "Your pain is manipulative."
— Taylor Swift
For so long I believed I needed permission to return to my life, waiting for validation. I promised myself I would never question whether I deserved better. The answer would always be yes and yes and yes.
— Chanel Miller
✯¸.•'*¨'*•✿ SYNOPSIS ✿•*'¨*'•.¸✯
Harley locks every door in the house before she goes to sleep. Nothing bad has ever happened there; she just likes to keep the past where it belongs, locked away out of sight.
When the phone rings in the middle of the night, she knows it's time. It's time to go home and face everyone and everything she left behind, no matter how hard she tries to push away every hand clawing at her, begging her to turn around.
Old wounds cannot be touched if they are to heal. To know the full story, you look at the exit wounds—or the lack thereof.
✯¸.•'*¨'*•✿ CONTENTS ✿•*'¨*'•.¸✯
hey. what's up. this is a novella. chapters will be short
negative comments
death
discussions of past trauma
can cities truly break one's heart or am i projecting?: a thesis
mentions of toxic relationships
mentions of sexual assault
tl;dr: don't be a mean girlie in my comments section. i have a very low tolerance for passive-aggressiveness and backhanded compliments. don't tell my characters how to deal with their trauma. most certainly don't blame it on them
✯¸.•'*¨'*•✿ DEDICATION ✿•*'¨*'•.¸✯
I rarely ever do this, but this one is for me. This book is very self-serving and very self-validating. A city did break my heart once and, though I don't plan on going back there, ever, I don't want it to be forever tainted by painful memories. The city doesn't need me.
To wife #1. smidorii. When is a book of mine not for you.
✯¸.•'*¨'*•✿ NOTE ✿•*'¨*'•.¸✯
This book is therapist-approved, in case anyone's wondering. This one is not based directly on my personal experiences.
This novella was written for the Open Novella Contest (ONC 2023) and features prompts #42 (the hero finally gets an opportunity for revenge but it comes at the cost of something meaningful to them.), #45 (you call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest. —Taylor Swift), and #69 (I had a marvelous time ruining everything. —Taylor Swift), because of course.
✯¸.•'*¨'*•✿ DISCLAIMER & COPYRIGHT ✿•*'¨*'•.¸✯
My characters' opinions don't necessarily reflect mine.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, corporations, establishments and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author. Feel free to quote it, but give me the proper credit.
