The spider dangled from the ceiling, black as the night and reflecting the moonlight that hit her. She crawled right above the little witch’s bed and did it on purpose, teased her with a test of sorts. None of the other little witches in the house had to deal with her. In fact, all of the other little witches were sleeping soundly in preparation for the first test — like any good little witch would…
I didn’t go for the money. Not at first. I went for him — I’d never been with a man like that before. It was four years ago that he bought me a Manhattan from across the bar. I was only twenty-three then, and I smiled softly and stared shyly at the sunken cherry at the bottom of the cocktail glass while he asked for my name…
There was a way people have to yell-speak in a place like this. Oliver twisted the volume dial high. It loosened people up, shook the nerves out of their skin and made them less apt to keep quiet. They were less afraid to say things if the person just behind them couldn’t hear it over the speakers. People match their environment, he thought, and he was the one to curate what he wanted. He’d done it right, before and before and before…