Conrad rested his palm against the cool, smooth granite. The wind kicked up stray leaves as the barren branches swayed. He closed his eyes against the incoming rain. He didn’t need to read the words or dates since he already knew them by heart. Instead, he let his mind drift to memories of the first time they’d met. He’d been wholly unprepared standing in the sterile hospital room. Medical staff raced about, shouting in a language of their own. Then…
This heatwave was ridiculous, and the AC couldn’t keep up. Brittany lay sprawled on the living room floor under the ceiling fan which was pushing hot, sticky air around. She hadn’t moved in hours, limbs lethargic, sweat pooling under her arms and on her lower back. To amuse herself, she attempted to count the fan’s blades, but that made her dizzy. Instead, she imagined herself swimming through the heavy humidity. This was insane; she needed to get up and do…
Veronica switched the TV off despite the loud protests from her children. “Not cool, Mom,” Lochlan, her eldest, said. No surprise there. The only things he deemed cool were his phone and video games. “Get your bathing suits on.” Lochlan raised an eyebrow. “Uh, like we don’t own a pool.” “Did we get one?” Maybell asked. “Nope, but meet me out back.” Veronica didn’t wait for more questions as she hurried down the hall to get changed. Afterwards, she slipped…
Sweat dripped down Maddox’s face as he lay beneath the shrubs. His eyes fixed on the road as heat waves shimmered above the pavement. A fly buzzed near his ear. He couldn’t move, not until Uncle Ben got here. Then, Maddox would take careful aim and drench his uncle with the fully loaded Super Soaker. It would be epic. Uncle Ben would scream and run for the house, but Maddox would keep firing until he used up every drop of…