Writing Prompt: A Secret Vengence

Note: I will be alternating writing prompts and journal prompts. One week I’ll do a random journal prompt I find online and the next I’ll do a writing prompt. I’m not sure if I’ll do the writing prompts based on two words like I did before or look the prompts up. I may even be open to suggestions for both.

I knew that I was being hunted. I had known for quite some time. The only thing I didn’t know is if it was my entire team that was in danger or just me. It took a few weeks, but I finally had a plan hatched. I was going to draw the threat out. 

My plan was to hire two people to sit at a restaurant and chat about their work. One will be pretending to be me. Figuring out who to hire was the hard part. I didn’t know who I could get on such short notice that would pull off such a ruse. 

Then it hit me. Prostitutes. I knew they were good at adapting to whatever their clients needed. It just so happened that I knew of a website that specialized in that area. They targeted a more secret society so to speak. I only knew of the website because I helped start it.

Once the plan was in motion, I quickly found two people who I thought would be ideal for the job. The female looked so much like me it was uncanny. Her name on the website was listed as Zara. The male looked like somebody I used to know. For all I know, it could have been him. His name was listed as Skyler. 

I reached out to both of them via chat and told them the details. They both thought that they were informants to a reporter about a bank job gone wrong. They thought they were there to get inside information about the incident by pretending to work at the same bank. Neither of them knew that the other was being hired. Zara was being paid extra to say her name was Amber. They didn’t need to know anything else. 

Once they agreed and were paid, I made reservations at a favorite restaurant of mine and sent them the information for their table. I had made a reservation for myself as well. I put myself across the restaurant, but still had a good view of the two. I would be able to see their interaction and who came near them. The microphone that I planned to plant before they got there would ensure that I would be able to hear everything. 

****

Getting through the rest of the week was hard. I somehow managed. Before I knew it, it was time to head to my reservation. I informed the owner ahead of time so I could be allowed to access the table and plant my device. I was seated and out of sight before they even got there. 

The first thing Zara did was order the most expensive wine on the menu. I figured she would. I’ve been doing homework on the two. Shortly after she ordered, Skyler showed up. I pretended to cough so that I could put the earpiece on without being too obvious. 

“What a lovely night,” Skyler mused

“It is, indeed. How was your day at work?” 

“Oh, you know. The usual. People deposit money. People take money out. Not much else,” he shrugged.

“Oh come on. You and I both know that just isn’t true.”

“What do you mean?”

“How about that thing that happened at the Brown branch last month?”

“I don’t know anything about that. What about you?” He said gazing into her eyes.

“I was hoping that you could fill me in.”

“Hello, sir and ma’am. I am happy you joined us tonight. What can I start you out with? A drink? Appetizers? Would you like to hear the specials?”

My head snapped up at the voice. I knew that voice, and I knew her. Suddenly, I knew everything I needed to know.

Comment any prompts you want to see me do!

Blog Prompts: How I Came Out

Weekly Prompt: How I Came Out

I’ve known that I’ve been attracted to girls since I was nine years old. I used to shame myself for feeling the way I felt about girls for years. When I was fifteen, I quit shaming myself and let myself have crushes on girls. I wasn’t open about it, but I let myself acknowledge it. I came out as bisexual back in 2016. I was thirty years old. I had dated a few girls in secret between fifteen and then, but I still wasn’t ready for people to know. It seemed like every time I was about to come out, somebody made a comment that made me question on whether or not I should. There are still many things I’m struggling with. Like the fact that I’m gay. I figured that out last year. It really tore me up because I care very much for the person I’ve been with for the past several years. He’s my best friend. He means so much to me. Things have changed, but he’s still in my life. He’s still very important to me. There are still people I don’t tell about myself. They wouldn’t understand. I’ve been judged and treated like a black sheep most of my life. What matters is that I’m content with life. I’m happy. Every day I grow more and more comfortable in my skin.

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Blog Prompts: What I’m Grateful For

Weekly Prompt: What are you most grateful for at the moment?

The ability to get caught up on many things that I’ve fallen behind on. Losing my job has been very hard with me. However, the extra time I have right now has really helped me get caught up on reading and other things. I’m still way behind. It will probably take me a long time to get fully caught up. The point is that I’m getting there. I’m very grateful for that. I’m also grateful to have a wonderful significant other, a wonderful friend, and my mom for their support in me. It’s amazing how understanding they have been through all of this. I’m sure they know that once I’m back home I will work hard to get a job.

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Blog Prompts: A Book or Film That Stayed With You

Weekly Prompt: Write about a film or a book that has stayed with you.

This one was really easy for me. The Help has impacted me in major ways. It helped open my eyes to things that are still going on to this day. Just because they are more veiled than they used to be doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I’ll leave it at that. This is a blog post prompt and not a political statement. What I will say is that I have my beliefs and I am firm in them. That doesn’t mean I have to go flaunt them around and make others feel bad about theirs. Everybody is entitled to believe what they want to believe. But I digress. This book is powerful and strong. I still remember the quote that hit me the hardest. I believe I’ve referenced it on my blog a few times now. I could be wrong. “You is kind. You is strong. You is important.” Writing this up actually makes me want to reread the book.

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Blog Prompt: Favorite Friends Character

Weekly Prompt: Your favorite Friends character and why.

I don’t know if this is going to shock anybody or not, but my favorite Friends character would have to be Chandler Bing. I related to him so much. In many ways, I feel like Chandler is the male me. I won’t go into the details of why. Other than the sarcasm! Just saying! I really need to go back and actually watch all of these episodes and in order. I know that I know how it ends because I watched the series finale, but still. I read the last pages of a book now and then and still read the whole book!

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Blog Prompts: My Three Must Haves for Summer

This one will be simple. Every week, I’ll use Google to find a random prompt to blog about. Unless I have a request I can use. If I have a request, I’ll do that. I encourage anybody who wants to to answer the prompt as well.

This Week: Name 3 things you can’t live without during the summer.

  1. Books. That should be a given considering what my blog is consistently about! Haha! Anyway. I don’t really get a summer vacation since I’m not in school anymore. I still enjoy reading during my downtime though. If I go on vacation during the summertime, I have to have at least one book with me!
  2. Air conditioning. I’m very hot natured. You don’t want to be around me if I’m not in a cool environment. I get really cranky really fast. The heat is just not something I can bear. I’ve lived in places with no air conditioning. It’s not fun at all.
  3. My family and friends. This is any season really. I would be nothing if I didn’t have those on my team there with me. I’m so thankful they are in my life and in my corner.

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Writing Prompt: Anxiety and Stew

Write as much as you can in fifteen minutes using two words given to you. Words may be reused, but the writing/story will always be different.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Some of my writing may be more appropriate for mature audiences than for younger audiences or children. Please read with caution.**

Writing Prompt: Anxiety and Stew

Emily walked through the door happy to be home at last. She had had a long day and was looking forward to a nice relaxing night at home. She took her groceries to the kitchen and took her time putting them all away making sure to leave out what she needed for tonight’s dinner as she did. 

Due to some issues at work, Emily would be working from home for the next few months. She didn’t really mind. If she were being honest with herself, she’d rather work from home to begin with. She could only hope that this change would help the bosses realize that it’s an option that could be permanent. 

She was just getting the stew started when her phone rang. She decided to just ignore it and call whoever it was back. She wasn’t really in the mood to talk to anybody. She continued on chopping up the potatoes humming to herself. It wasn’t until the phone rang again almost immediately after it stopped that her anxiety started to get the best of her.

“Hello?”

“Hello. Am I speaking with Emily Whitfield?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“My name is Marleen. I work over at Melvira Hospital.”

“I’ve never heard of that place.”

“I’m sure you haven’t. We’re over here in Nevada.”

“That’s on the opposite side of the country from me.”

“I had a feeling.”

“Not to be mean, but why are you calling me? How did you get my number?”

“This isn’t going to be the easiest thing in the world to say so please bear with me.”

“I’m close to hanging up. You’re giving me really bad vibes.”

“That’s not my intention. I’m just not sure where to start.”

“The beginning usually works.”

“You’re right. Look. We found a Maddison Ryan. She barely has any belongings and she just kept saying your name over and over. We finally got your number from her so that we could call you and let you know that she was here and would be okay soon.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I assure you it’s not. We have Maddison here. I’m not sure what has happened to her, but it must have been horrible. She could barely even talk when she was found.”

“No. You don’t understand. Maddison Ryan is dead. She’s been dead for ten years.”

“You’re sure of that? You saw the body being buried in the ground?”

“Well… no, but she’s been missing for a long time. She’s been legally declared dead.”

“Well, you better get her declared undead real quick. Because she’s very much alive and she’s very much here and she very much needs you. Today.”

“I’m on my way.”

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Blog Prompt: Thank You Letter

This one will be simple. Every week, I’ll use Google to find a random prompt to blog about. Unless I have a request I can use. If I have a request, I’ll do that. I encourage anybody who wants to to answer the prompt as well.

This Week: Write a thank you card/letter to someone.

Dear Dustyn:

I am so thankful for you every day. You’ve taught me so much. You’ve taught me that it’s okay to be me. You’ve taught me patience and compassion. You taught me that it was okay to not be perfect. After being shamed and treated poorly all my life for not living to the standards they had set for me and anybody else they wanted in their lives. You taught me the true meaning of unconditional love. You helped me see the value in loving somebody and the value of working things out and making compromises. What I’m most thankful for of everything you’ve done for me is that you helped me feel free to be me. You encouraged it. You rooted me on. I’ll never forget that. You’ll always be special to me and have a special place in my heart.

Love,

Me

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Writing Prompt: Childhood and Spaghetti

Write as much as you can in fifteen minutes using two words given to you. Words may be reused, but the writing/story will always be different.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Some of my writing may be more appropriate for mature audiences than for younger audiences or children. Please read with caution.**

Writing Prompt: Childhood and Spaghetti

I didn’t have a lot of money growing up. We did what we could to get by and hoped that the utilities would stay on long enough for us to get them paid. I probably grew up sooner than I should have with all the worry I went through as a child. That’s something I wouldn’t understand fully until I was older.

As we didn’t have a lot of money, we constantly had to go really cheap on groceries. Which meant that a lot of time we’d have the same kind of dish multiple times during the week. I ate without complaint because I knew that complaining would do no good. I also didn’t really mind it so much at the time if I was being honest. I was eating and that’s all that mattered. There were many people in the world who weren’t even getting to do that. 

One thing that took me a long time after I turned eighteen to really enjoy again was spaghetti. I still don’t really care for it all that much. There would be times that I would have spaghetti three times in a single week during my high school years. To this day, I still can’t stand boiled hot dogs. Can’t even stand the look of them. 

Childhood wasn’t exactly easy for me. There were times I was happier than other times growing up. The worst time of my life was when I was a teenager. I had moved in with my father while I was in middle school. My father and his wife made it very obvious almost from the first day that they didn’t want me around. They resented having me under their roof.

I don’t have a horror story of being beaten senseless every day. I didn’t have to wear heavy makeup to cover the bruises. I don’t have unhealed broken bones. In some ways, I can say I was really lucky. In some ways, I wasn’t. 

The abuse I faced on a daily basis was all mental. I was constantly grounded for my smart mouth. I couldn’t have friends over. I couldn’t go to friends’ houses. I was constantly accused of thinking about sneaking out to go to parties. Parties I was never even invited to because I found it impossible to make friends. 

My stepmother hated me with a passion. She would constantly pick fights with me. When that didn’t work, she would turn her kids against me. They were young and would hit me, and while they were hitting me, she told me that if I touched them she would put me in juvenile. There came a point that I was happier being at school than at home. I remember begging my mom and grandmother to let me move back in with them. It was a nightmare. 

While my father wasn’t the real culprit of all of this, he didn’t really put a stop to it either. If anybody told him what was going on, he wouldn’t hear of it. It got to the point where I just stopped talking about it. I just started keeping it all to myself. I felt like I had nobody to help me. Eventually, I felt like I deserved it all. 

It’s been twenty years now. I still have nightmares. Not as often as I used to. Thank goodness. I still have major struggles with my self-esteem and self-worth. I also have issues dealing with my anger. I think that’s mostly from where I was being hit by my siblings and was basically forced to sit there and take it. I was essentially shamed for being upset over that. To this day, when I get angry, I get agitated with myself for feeling angry because I don’t feel like I’m entitled to be angry about anything. Either that or I’m just so detached from anger that I talk about it nonchalantly like it’s happening to somebody else. 

I’m better than I was, but I still have a long journey ahead of me. I’ve since learned that family doesn’t always come from blood relations. I also learned that not everybody is meant to stay in your life forever. The moment I turned eighteen, that side of my family threw me away like trash. I was hurt at first, but now I see that they really did me a favor in the end. I got out of the nightmare that I’d lived for five to six years because of that.

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Writing Prompts: Star and Spider

Write as much as you can in fifteen minutes using two words given to you. Words may be reused, but the writing/story will always be different.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Some of my writing may be more appropriate for mature audiences than for younger audiences or children. Please read with caution.**

Writing Prompt: Star and Spider

Janet was absorbed in work when he finally showed up. The food had gone cold quite a few hours ago. She should be angry, but she was starting to grow used to this behavior. That’s what worried her the most if she was being honest with herself. It seemed like a sign that their relationship was finally coming to a close.

Janet and Steve had been together for going on fourteen years. They weren’t married. They weren’t even close to getting married. And even the thought of having children sent Steve running to stay with a friend or family member for a while. If Janet were being honest with herself, she wanted children. She’d wanted children for a long time. If she didn’t stop making Steve the star of the show soon, she wouldn’t have the chance to be a mother.

“Hello, darling,” Steve said as he kissed Janet on the forehead.

“Steve. Hello. Did you have a good day today?”

“Oh, you know. The usual. Meetings. Appointments. Nothing that would be too entertaining to you.”

His itching distracted her from his words. It was that that drew her attention to a fresh tattoo peeking out of his shirt. Without thinking about it she walked to him to open up his shirt. What she saw caused her heart to plummet to her feet. It was a tattoo of a heart with a sword through it. There was a tiny purple spider on the hilt of the sword. She had just recently seen a nearly identical tattoo like this. On the chest of her best friend.

“How long have you been with Jessica?”

“Jan, please. I’m too tired for this right now.”

“How long?”

“About five years.”

“Why? Haven’t I been giving you everything you need and want?”

“It’s not that. She’s different. I’m different when I’m with her. I didn’t mean to fall in love with her.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s true. We were planning to tell you together this weekend. She’s pregnant.”

“She’s…. What?”

“I’m really sorry, Janet. I just fell out of love with you a long time ago. I should have told you instead of dragging all of this out. I just figured you would eventually get the hint. We don’t even sleep in the same room anymore.”

“Get out!”

“As you wish.”

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