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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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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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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Writing Prompts: Wisdom and Worm

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: Wisdom and Worm

Brandon was sitting in his office when it happened. He got the news he had been waiting for for weeks. They found her. Things would start moving quickly now. He couldn’t believe how foolish he had been. He had acted with his emotions rather than his rationality. Luckily, he listened to Adam. He stepped back and let his team handle everything. 

There were two quick knocks at the door before it was opened. Three tall and muscular men walked into the room and made their way to the desk. The middle one was holding a small metal box. He promptly handed it to Brandon and saluted him.

“With all due respect, sir. I don’t understand the big fuss over this. It’s just a worm.”

“I will have you know that she is much more than a worm. If you had more patience and wisdom, you’d see that. If this girl gets out, she will wreak a lot of havoc on the world.”

“How?”

“She has the ability to get into the mind of anybody and control their every action with just one bite. Theoretically, I can control her, but the fact that she escaped doesn’t bode well at all. I will need to shelf her permanently and never let her see the light of day.”

“Sir, what do you mean bite?”

Brandon looked up sharply. He noticed the anxiety in the man’s voice. He saw the fear in his eyes. He looked the man up and down and noticed that there was a bandage on his hand. Panic flooded him.

“Tell me she didn’t bite you.”

“I can’t do that, sir.”

“Report. Now.”

“She bit me when I was trying to contain her to bring her back here.”

“That is not good news at all. We are going to have to contain you until we can be sure that there are no lasting effects on the bite. We’ll have to contain the three of you to be safe actually. Was anybody else in contact with her?”

“No, sir. We found her in the building.”

“Thank you. Please be seated until I can find arrangement for the three of you.” He hit a button on his phone to buzz his secretary. “Tracy, I need you to send the team in. Tell them this is not a drill. I need them here yesterday.”

“Yes, boss.”

Five minutes later, there was another knock on the door. He had to grant them permission to enter the room. There were five of them. All of them wearing protective gear and lab coats. They all shared the same puzzled expression.

“You called us, boss?”

“Yes. These men need to be contained. Immediately. I also need all footage of this building combed from the time Jane went missing until they recovered her.”

“Is everything okay?”

“It will be. It would seem that Jane decided to bite Alfred rather than come back to captivity. I need to make sure she didn’t get a taste of anybody else while she was on the loose. You know the damage she can do. Even if she’s locked away.”

“We’re on it, sir. Gentlemen, please come with us.”

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Writing Prompts: Spider and Attic

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: Spider and Attic

Amber took one last look around to make sure that the coast was clear. She couldn’t help but wonder if she was doing the right thing. If anybody found out about this, she would be in big trouble. Especially her boyfriend. He would be crushed. 

She couldn’t help it though. From that fateful day that they met, she’d been hooked. The dark hair. The piercings. The gothic clothing. She couldn’t get enough. She had lived her life on the straight and narrow. She did what everybody told her to do. Based her happiness on other people’s happiness. Until that day.

She made her way to the attic of the building. She was feeling jittery. She could hardly sit still. After waiting for what felt like an eternity, she finally saw her. She was wearing black leggings under a black plaid skirt. She paired it with a black tank top and a purple and black tie. 

“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show.”

“I was beginning to think I wasn’t either.”

Amber closed the distance between the two of them and kissed her hard and passionately. She lifted the tank top revealing the purple spider on her hip that she knew intimately at this point. She traced it with her fingers as they kissed.

“This isn’t right.”

“I know.”

“We should stop.”

“I know that too.”

“What if we get caught?”

“What if we are, Amber? Isn’t it time people knew who you really are?”

“It’s not that simple, Grace. You know that.”

“So you’re telling me that you aren’t into girls? That you don’t love me? If that’s the case, what is it that we’re doing?”

“I’d like to know that myself.”

Both girls turned to find Tony glaring daggers at them from the entrance of the attic. Amber was so panicked she couldn’t speak. She knew she’d eventually have to break things off with Tony but she didn’t expect things to happen this quickly. She didn’t expect it to happen like this.

“Tony….”

“No. I don’t want to hear it. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to come downstairs with me and we’re going to pretend that none of this ever happened. We’re going to go out to dinner tonight as we planned. I’m going to propose as I planned.”

“Tony.”

“Shut up, Grace. This is between Amber and me. As I was saying. You’re going to accept the proposal and we’re going to plan a wonderful wedding. You’re going to cut off all contact with Grace. If anybody has the misfortune of finding out about this, we’ll tell them that Grace groomed you into thinking you were funny.”

“Tony, I love her. She’s where my heart is.”

“None of that. You will forget it in time. It’s just a phase. Now come along. Let’s get ready for our big night.”

“I can’t.”

“You can if you know what’s best for you. My family is one of the strongest families in the state. You will have everything you can possibly need or want. Why would you want to throw that away for somebody who the whole town wants to be rid of?”

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Writing Prompt: Thrill and Painting

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: Thrill and Painting

Jade looked at the painting she had been working on for the better part of four hours. It wasn’t to the standard she would like….yet, but she knew it was getting there. She was excited to present it at the exhibit downtown over the weekend. She knew it would be her chance to get her name and her work out there. 

Her inspection was quickly interrupted by her phone ringing. She huffed a sigh of annoyance. She could have sworn she put the stupid thing on silent. Obviously, she had forgotten. What was new? She was known for forgetting to do things she was supposed to do. With a sigh, she quickly picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“You’re never going to believe who’s going to be in town this weekend.”

“Oh hey, sis. How are you doing? Great? Me too. Just working on my latest piece. You know. Trying to earn a living.”

“No need to be sassy, Jade. You can afford to take a break. Knowing you, you’ve been working on it for hours every day.”

“Not the point.”

“Fine. I won’t keep you long. Aiden is going to be in town.”

“Janet Marie. Don’t you play games with me!” 

“I’m being serious! It’s all over the gossip columns. Apparently, he and his current lady are having problems and he’s coming home to clear his head.”

“You mean he’s actually remembered that this small town exists? I wonder if he remembers all of us little people now that he’s a big star.”

“Sis, you’ve gotta let it go. It was a long time ago.”

“Speak for yourself. You didn’t get dumped at prom.”

“I’m really sorry, sissy. I agree he could have handled that better. I guess he wasn’t thinking. He did leave the very next day.”

“On that note…. I should get back to painting.”

“Don’t be like that! Anyway. I called for a reason. How would you feel about sneaking to Aiden’s house to see what he looks like now.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Oh come on! Let’s do it for the thrill of it! It will be so fun.”

“In what universe will it be fun?”

“You used to be so much fun! They didn’t dub us the terror twins in high school for nothing.”

“That was a long time ago. Besides, I’m busy this weekend.”

“Busy doing what?”

“The art show is this weekend!”

“Oh come on. They do it every month! Can’t your piece handle its own for just a few hours?”

Jade thunked her head on the counter. She knew there was no way that her sister was going to back down. When her sister was on a mission, she didn’t back down until she had her way. She was the reason that the twins had gotten into so much trouble in school. A fact that she conveniently forgot very often. 

“I’ll think about it. I’m not making any promises.”

She flinched at the sound of her sister squealing over the phone. She was very excited about this. They said their goodbyes and Jade spent another ten minutes looking at her work before she decided to call it quits for the time being. As her sister said, she had been working on the piece for hours. She needed a break.

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Writing Prompts: Forgiveness and Gun

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: Forgiveness and Gun

“Ansley. Stop. You don’t want to do this.”

Ansley trembled and tried to hold the gun steady in her hand. She was on the verge of tears. She didn’t understand how he was so calm in the midst of all of this. He remained calm even after she walked into his office with a gun pointed right at him. 

“How could you do this to me? To us? We lost everything. Everything!”

“Ansley. If you can just sit the gun down. We can talk this over. I can explain everything. You’ll see. Please. Please trust me, baby.”

“How can I ever trust you again? We will never get to see her again. To hold her in our arms. She’s gone!”

“She’s not gone! I promise! We’ll get her back. You just have to have faith. Please. Why can’t you trust me?”

“My heart isn’t really ready for trust right now. It’s not full of forgiveness either.”

“Look. I did what I thought was best. They were going to kill her if I didn’t intervene. She would have been dead.”

He got up from his desk and slowly walked to her. She was fully crying at this point and was unaware that he had approached her until he had removed the gun completely from her hands. Once it was set down, she crumpled on the floor and burst into tears.

They sat there for a long time. The dam had been let loose and there was no pulling it back at this point. He knew how much pain she was in. It was his sister that was in danger. And he had the love of her life in his arms. He couldn’t even begin to explain how they had all gotten caught up in all of this mess. He could say who started it all. Father. 

“Ans, we’ll get her back. I promise. And we’ll do it without involving my father. You have my word.”

“She wanted out! She told him she wanted out! Then she was just gone. He took her. He took everything. Why? I want to know why!”

“I can’t even begin to explain why he does the things he does. All I can do is say that I’m truly sorry from the bottom of my heart. I will fix this. Please believe me.”

“Okay. Okay. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m nothing but a shell without her. Please bring her back to me. Please. I love her so much.”

“I will.”

He kissed the top of her head and continued to hold her. She needed all the comfort she could get right now. He was barely holding it together himself, but he would stay strong. For her and for Stacey. He loved them both with all of his heart and couldn’t imagine a world without them. He rocked her gently as he felt her body relax.

After some time, she fell asleep. He picked her up and carried her into her room. He softly laid her on the bed and pulled a blanket over her. He hated to see her in so much pain. He hated knowing that his sister was in the hands of horrible people all because of his father. 

There was only one option he had that would make all of this right. It was something he was not willing to do at all, but his feelings didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. He must do what was best for the girls. His girls. Without letting himself debate it any longer, he picked up the phone and hit the speed dial button. He didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

“Hello, Father.”

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Writing Prompts: Cradle and Dog

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: Cradle and Dog

Sarah stood in the doorway looking around the room. It was beautiful. She wasn’t sure how they managed to get everything done while she was gone at work, but they did. It was so touching that it made her want to cry. It had been a long and bittersweet day. It was her last day at work. At least for the time. She would miss her co-workers very much, but her doctor said she was unable to work for the duration of her pregnancy. 

She stepped into the room to admire all of the furniture and the paint. Everything was rainbows and teddy bears. Tears filled her eyes as she took it all in. She was just admiring the cradle tucked in the corner of the room when she heard their footsteps. 

Kate stuck her head into the doorway first. She was quickly followed by Sam. They quickly walked towards her and cuddled into her on each side. She was so blessed to have both of them. She had spent her entire life thinking that you’re only meant to have one soul mate. Only one person to spend the rest of your life with. So, when she discovered that she had two, she was beyond floored. It was a struggle to adapt to, but eventually, she embraced it. She was so glad she did. 

They heard a bark at the door and the three of them laughed as Belle padded her way into the room. She was not to be left out of this family moment. She may be a dog to many, but she was family to them and had been since she was born. They all looked around the room together and then at each other. 

“Well, do you like it?” Kate asked timidly.

“I love it. It’s so beautiful. It’s been a very emotional day for me as it is. This really helped cheer me up. Just ignore the tears.”

“We’d be worried if there weren’t any tears,” Sam whispered into her ear. 

“Didn’t you say you had something to tell us?” Kate prodded.

“Just want to dive right into it, huh?”

“Yes!” Both Sam and Kate said in unison. 

“Okay okay. So the doctor told me that there are two heartbeats. There seems to be a faint third heartbeat. They want to explore that more later. They said it could be nothing. The fact that it’s faint may not be a good sign if there is a third baby.”

“Oh my God. This changes everything.”

“I know it’s not ideal and we didn’t plan for this, but I’m kind of okay with this. We planned two children. This just means we don’t have to worry about having to go through this again.”

“You misunderstand me. I’m so happy! I’m just so surprised. I’d like to go with you to the next appointment. Please.”

“Of course. You’ve always been welcomed to anything you want to go. Kate? Are you okay?”

Sarah looked over to see that Kate had been crying. Without thinking, both Sam and Sarah took Kate into their arms and embraced her. They stood silently for several moments giving Kate time to let the tears out and then compose herself. 

“I have news too. I’m just so scared of how you all will take it.”

“Just say it, love. You know that we are here for you no matter what.” Sarah said and she gently kissed Kate on the mouth.

“I’m pregnant. I just found out today. Well, I took a test about a week ago but wanted to go to a doctor first before I said anything.”

“What?! I thought you couldn’t have children!”

“So did I. I asked the doctor and he said that it’s a miracle I should embrace considering my condition.”

“This is so amazing! We can go through this together! I’m just so happy! Think of how happy our children will be together as well!”

“You’re okay with this?”

“Of course I am! We’re finally getting to be a wonderful family! It’s meant to be!”

“I agree,” Sam said quietly as he kissed each of the women on the forehead. “I can’t wait to see what life has in store for us.”

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