krydwen

Where mystery meets romance...

—Excerpt—
We lay next to each other, both of us not saying a thing, but I feel comfortable. I don’t have the impulse to have to talk to him to avoid an awkward silence because it has never been awkward with Ash, I realise. 

“You asleep?” he whispers to me. 

“Nope,” I reply quietly. “It’s weird because my body is so tired but I can’t seem to shut my brain off.” 

“Me neither,” he says. I hear the crackling of the fresh sheet under us move and realise Ash has turned to face me.  

“Uhm, what?” I ask dubiously. 

“Nothing, I’m just trying to find a comfortable position.” 

“Okay,” I say as I stare at him in the dim glow of the candles. 

Ash stares back at me, his hand lifts to push away a strand of hair that has fallen into my eyes, then he closes his eyes. He is asleep in the next moment, with his hand frozen on my cheek. 

Usually, with anyone else, I would push his hand away because it feels wrong and uncomfortable. But his caress felt good against the slight burn on my skin. And as he rests his hand on my cheek, I can’t help but think about how no one has ever held me close to them and makes me feel this way. Even though Ash and I are far from holding each other close, just a touch of his hand comforts me in ways that others’ hugs have tried and failed. 

Without much thinking, I push Ash’s fallen hair out of his eyes and rest my hand against his cheek. In the next moment, as my eyes start to droop, I feel a pull of his cheek against my palm and realise he is smiling. 

——————————————————————————————————————————

When an apartment building is plagued by a strange substance in its water, its residents uncover a foreboding mystery that will perish them all. With a deadly fog that blocks their escape, they must now forget their differences and work together to overcome the horrifying events that ultimately threaten their survival.

Black In the Water

Ever since my parents broke up five years ago, I spent every summer in Miami where my mother lives, and I never needed to get myself a summer job. Now that I'm old enough, I finally realize that I want to spend my summers here with my friends. When I told my mother about it, I also realize that she doesn't care. Based on the lack of persuading that she seems to have forgotten to do, it is clear I only lived with her because the court said so.

I look over to the clock on my bedside table and let out a sigh when it says three in the morning. At this point, I don't see why I need to waste more time trying to sleep. Maybe I should go on a walk to calm my nerves—I always get anxious at times like this.

After putting on a gray hoodie, jean shorts, and a pair of sneakers, I walk over to open my bedroom window. The night air is humid, as it would be in the middle of June in northern California. There's an easy breeze coming from the west, where the sea is.

Tamara (Thornton) Turner. Taken