Valkyrie

Hope you're doing well, Simba

This shows both sides of the storm perfectly. The initial onslaught is the worst, then the calm, then the back wall... getting through it makes us stronger, as the last stanza shows. I really like the last line. It shows growth and strength.

What a charming little group. *shudder* The beach party ought to prove interesting.

I do the same thing. Like a few of the others said, I've also always had an eye for noticing spelling and grammatical mistakes. I used to drive my high school BFF nuts because I'd correct all her papers before she turned them in. She used to tell me I needed to be an English teacher. I really enjoyed answering this question and reading the other responses. Thank you to Carlos and whomever sent the question in.

So lucky me... the town I live in got the brunt of the storm last night. Two inches of rain in one hour! No wonder everything's flooded. This morning wasn't too bad. I think it ended up skirting us, thank goodness. It's only drizzling now. I'll be making some phone calls today to get an engineer out to tell me what exactly needs to be done.

And now round two is here. The sky just went from lightening for dawn to pitch black Armageddon. I really don't need a repeat of last night. Not sure the basement can handle it. Ugh.

Ugh... it's going to be a long night. We had severe thunderstorms just roll through with heavy downpours. Apparently there's lots of tree limbs down and flooding. My sump pump is going off constantly. Unfortunately, it's because of my foundation issues. Water is pouring in at the corner by the sump pump. I went outside to check the line, and everything's working properly. The side of the house is flooded, so that water is going to just keep pouring in. There's nothing I can do about it. So tomorrow I'll have to call the engineer and get the repairs scheduled. I don't think it can wait any longer. Sigh.

Being the average kid in an above-average family must suck. The psychic's reading was interesting. Now I'm wondering what happened to prompt the curse.

Jake is not someone I'd care to meet.

Sounds like a wonderful day Your friend's son sounds like a responsible young man. He's lucky to have you to talk to.

I was thinking the same thing when I read B's post. Sadly, it's definitely driven by economics.

I'm glad they have it managed now.

Whew... I'm relieved Corey survived the relationship. Now he has a lot to work on in order to heal his mental health. This story portrayed how easy it is for someone to fall prey to the manipulation of someone with a personality disorder, especially with someone with as many issues as Corey had to begin with. The ending was a bit rushed again. I would have liked to have seen more of Corey's revelations and possibly even a final confrontation with Sebastian, along with at least some of Corey's healing process. I'm puzzled by why Sebastian was so distant after the murder, considering how he always wanted Corey close-by and know everything he did every minute of the day. That being said, I enjoyed the story. It had me on the edge of my seat. There's some solid writing here.

Yes, definitely. I spent a year in Arizona and 80 degrees there is much different than 80 degrees here. After experiencing 115 degree temps in the summer, 80 in the fall felt downright cold. I'd take the horses out for a ride and have to wear a jacket. If I did that here in that weather, I'd drop of heatstroke.

These are all poignant, well-written, and right on the mark.

If that's what you consider scorching, I seriously need to move to Ireland. I love cooler weather

Well we knew poor Billy wasn't long for this Earth. Sebastian has developed a taste for killing. Who's next? Corey will no doubt suspect Sebastian. He's in danger and so are his friends and family. I can only hope Sebastian will be apprehended before then, but somehow, I doubt it.

I hope you had a good time with your friends

Yikes... I held my breath throughout the chapter because I could feel the tension radiating off the page. Corey doesn't have the emotional fortitude to deal with someone like Sebastian. He's been gaslighted and had his head turned around to the point he doesn't know what's 'normal' anymore. Zoe is smart... I hope she's able to help Corey out of this situation before it escalates, but then we wouldn't have as interesting a story Besides, Sebastian won't let Corey go. He's already proven that. I wonder what Corey will do when Billy ends up missing? Or will Sebastian make Corey his unwilling accomplice? I wonder how Corey will react then.

Bringing Corey to his house was probably what made Corey stay with Sebastian. Corey is going to use it to rationalize Sebastian's behavior and abuse. He's already allowed Sebastian to manipulate him away from his friends and coerce him into having sex. And now Sebastian has killed twice. We knew it was only a matter of time, but the split-second decision and lack of any type of emotional response is quite chilling. He's a bona-fide serial killer, that's for sure. I only hope Corey can escape before it's too late.

Sebastian is most certainly a human monster. Corey sees it, yet lacks the self-confidence to realize he can do better. There are so many red flags here. It's only a matter of time before Sebastian does something horrific to Corey. I can see him guilting Corey into sex, and I can't see him stopping if Corey gets scared or to a point where he says 'no'. This is the start of an abusive relationship. It's hard to read (which is a compliment as to how well you're portraying the dynamic ).

COVID is rampant in the nursing homes here. In one home alone, there were over 25 deaths. I won't get into how it got so bad there, but at least our numbers are going in the right direction now. My mom takes care of an elderly couple and is being extremely cautious about what she does and where she goes. My aunt does her shopping for her, and we haven't socialized since March.