Bette admired the beautiful scenery before her as she sat on a bench at the small park in Auckland. The bench stood under a large oak tree and was facing the lake. The look in Bette’s eyes grew introspective as s […]

Fifteen minutes into the therapy session had passed in silence. Bette’s intent gaze was locked on her new psychotherapist while her mouth remained shut despite the therapist’s attempts of encouraging her to spea […]

Before she opened her eyes, Bette felt a mild throbbing pain in her head. Her mouth tasted of cotton balls that had been drenched in alcohol. Her eyes still closed, Bette contemplated the previous night’s e […]

”Tina?”

Opening her eyes slowly, Tina blinked against the wave of blurry vision and tried to focus on the hazy figure that was calling her. In the foggy light a face was floating above her, and as it res […]

With her suitcase and her purse by her side Tina stood outside the front gate of the house where she had been brought to. The taxi had left her alone several minutes ago, and since then she had been trying to […]

The moment Bette jerked into consciousness, her immediate urge was to groan, but all she could manage was a muted whimper since her mouth was bound shut with adhesive tape. She was also deprived of sight, a cloth […]

Tina stretched herself out, feeling well rested. She climbed out of the bed and headed straight to the bathroom. She took a shower and got dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. Coming downstairs, she started the coffee […]

”So, what’s new?” Franklin asked while he was writing something down in his notebook.

Bette took a soft breath and contemplated for a long moment.

”Any changes? Any troubles? New people?” Franklin encourage […]

Tina climbed out of her car and walked into The Planet hurriedly. Inside, her gaze fell straight on the table she and the gang usually hung out at. Alice was already there, waiting for her.

As the blonde […]

As Tina stirred awake, she could immediately hear the soothing sound of someone breathing behind her, could feel the warmth of another human presence. Quickly refreshing the memory of last night, the blonde opened […]

”If no one has anything else to add, then I think we’ll wrap this up,” Tina announced with a tired smile. When received the nods of agreement, she continued, ”Thank you for coming, I’ll see you next week.” […]

Bette’s first thought as she emerged from a deep sleep was whether it was raining, and with this concern she was immediately awake. She sat up, looked around drowsily, then swung her legs out of bed and s […]

Crouching against the wall, Bette was sitting on her heels as she stared at the door before her, a bunch of keys rattling in her hand to fill the quiet. She had arrived to visit her old apartment, but half an hour […]

Sitting at her office desk, Tina was holding her head in her hands. She kept her eyes closed as she focused on her even breathing while a loud pulse painfully pounded through her head. There came her migraine […]

The next month had passed quickly. Bette had found herself a job as a bartender at one of the restaurants in Silver Lake and had been busy working there daily, every so often staying for two shifts in one workday. […]

Bette pulled on her jeans and zipped up her sweatshirt. She raised her hand to her nose and smelled the sweatshirt’s sleeve. The clothes still smelled of prison. She needed a new set of clothes. Contemplating on d […]

Bette looked up at the August sun, squinting, feeling the sun’s heat on her face. She closed her eyes and took a soft breath. Somehow the sun felt brighter and the air felt fresher. The grass was greener, the t […]

Four months had passed since Bette’s arrest. During the whole time she had been held in a county jail while Melvin Porter and his team of qualified criminal defense attorneys worked with her closely, getting c […]

The next day, as Bette lay in bed at six in the morning, she couldn’t sleep. She had been blinking at the ceiling for hours as she tried to send her mind into unconsciousness, but to no avail. Her eyes were g […]

”I know it’s hard, Bette…” Shane said quietly, her head hung low. ”I get it, I really do…”

No sound came from the woman that lay motionless on her side with her face turned away from Shane, toward the sofa’s ba […]