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    Drew Payne
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Case Studies in Modern Life - 2. In the Next Breath

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I knew it was a mistake the moment the words were out of my mouth, but it was too late. I couldn’t catch hold of those words, as they raced through the air, and pull them back into my mouth, never to be spoken.

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Megan replied, her face full of surprise and pleasure. Her expression filled me with guilt. This was the wrong thing to do, but it was what was expected of me, I knew.

We were both eighteen then, but far younger in our shared naivety. We had met at church, but that wasn’t a true description. Our families attended the same Evangelical church, our parents were close, in the closeness that the church fostered between couples, and Megan and I were thrown together. We liked the same things, the same Christian things (we were only allowed to watch and read and listen to Christian entertainment), and we were the youngest children in our families. We had so many things in common and our little world was throwing us together so we became friends without even realising it.

“I have been praying so hard for this,” Megan said, her voice soft and almost breathless with excitement. “I knew the Lord wanted us to be married. I knew the Lord sent you into my life to be my husband. I’d been given so many words of knowledge about it. I was just waiting for you to ask me.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long,” I said. I didn’t know how to answer her.

“I’m just so happy that you’ve followed the Lord’s plan for our lives and have asked me.” She squeezed my hand tightly as she spoke. Her fingernails dug into my skin. It hurt, and I knew I deserved it.

We were sat together on the grass, at the bottom of her parents’ garden. It was her parents’ Midsummer Garden Party, held that Saturday for the whole congregation. I knew I had to do it. Pastor Edward had said that having a girlfriend would make me normal, save me from hell, so I had a girlfriend. He said that being married was God’s will for me, so I had asked her to marry me. But I hadn’t changed. I was still a freak and still condemned to hell.

I looked over Megan’s shoulder and saw Mark, her older brother, in his shorts and tight tee-shirt, playing football with the younger kids. It was Mark I really loved, but I kept that a tightly hidden secret.

“I love you,” Megan said.

I looked her in the face and lied.

A big thank you to Brian Holiday (brian_holliday@charter.net) for his excellent editing and proofreading of this story
Copyright © 2018 Drew Payne; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments

Big sigh.   Its a hard life to live, trapped in a world of narrow expectations.  

 

Will we see what happens next for narrator and Megan? 

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I don't know. Let me think about that.

 

This story was originally written for a competition that had a 500 word limit. I need to have a think about it and what would happen to them, but afraid it won't be anytime soon. I busy writing a novella/short novel about a gay serial killer.

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You did an amazing job in under 500 words! Both characters feel very complete. You gave us their background, so we can fill in any blanks you didn't speak to directly. And I think you foreshadowed what will happen in their future. I know I feel I could tell about what happens to these characters after your story ends. Another good read from you. Thanks.

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This story hits close and hits hard. As before, my imagination can fill in subsequent events. But they won't be very happy ones.

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