Fiction – US Represented

6. The “R” Word

a featured contributor — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 02:22:44 +0000

Late November 2016 Ren brings up the “R” word on Thanksgiving night, when they are all drowsy on food and the comfort of family. Emery lays curled in the bed of his Mom’s guestroom, earbuds in, hoping he’s quiet enough not to disturb his Mom and Stepdad across the hall. He hears the wind outside yowl against the tall, angular house and feels soothed. He’s warm. He’s safe.

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The Squatters

Eric Stephenson — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 09:21:19 +0000

Olivia Anderson had recently returned to Bridgeport, Illinois after a year of living in Budapest, and she needed a place to live. She was tired of tugging at the end of her parents’ leash and wanted to choose her own path in life. This meant paying for her own apartment. Her best friend Emma Chase had been earning her own way since her junior year in high school. Her lease on a $300-a-month hotel room apartment

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A Very Brady Thanksgiving

a featured contributor — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 15:52:31 +0000

I probably should have worked on pulling myself together before I rounded the corner and collided with a paper goods display, arranged in the shape of a giant turkey. There really was no turning back. In the wake of the damage, I call out a harried string of, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” as I push on. Just an hour ago, Greg and I were living the life, in bed with

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5. “Studying”

a featured contributor — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 14:42:38 +0000

Early November 2016 The first kiss is a bloom of surprise. They all decide to study in Emery’s apartment, small and thin-walled. The couch, though worn, is plump enough, and there’s plenty of room for all three. On the coffee table, Emery places a bowl of popcorn and other treats which Ren and James dig into. He watches them squabble with fondness, and wonders how he became so attached to

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Over Easy

a featured contributor — Sun, 24 Nov 2019 12:14:42 +0000

My name is RoseMarie LeBlanc, and if you think I’d planned to be taking orders, taking up dirty dishes, or taking complaints all of my life, you’d be wrong. I’d wanted to be a beautician. Not a stylist. Not a salon operator. Not a barber. A beautician. I wanted to have the kind of shop like Truvy in Steel Magnolias. The ladies of the town would come in for weekly

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Ray

Judith Shaw Beatty — Sat, 23 Nov 2019 08:27:13 +0000

“Step on a crack, break your mother’s back,” Ray dutifully reminded himself as he watched his left shoe, and then his right shoe, pass each other on the sidewalk below, looking from his vantage point like compact autos negotiating a tiny two-lane road. If one could even call it that, given a buckling surface strewn with cigarette butts and used tissue papers and rubble – were it a road, heaven

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