Amelie wrinkled her nose at the rotting stench as they approached the water. Muggy heat glued her knotted hair to the back of her neck. She pointed at a fish, surrounded by cigarette butts and dusty beer bottles with faded labels. "Was your Pop out here, Rav?" Fear,...

I mute my phone and shove it into my pocket, next to my lipstick and the extra pencils I keep to hold my blond, messy bun in place. “Rebecca?” He’s early, and he materializes so quickly that I fall through the dusty brown brick wall behind me. “Oh, sorry! I’m still...

"I'm so damn sick of hearing about this!" Mariah sighed, exasperated and winded, as they climbed the steep hill. The vast blue ocean below stretched out toward the sky, welcoming the sun as it dipped into the water. A brilliant array of red, yellow and orange hues...