most young kings get their heads cut off

[text] Hello? Did you forget about me? I’ve been waiting for you to pick me up for an hour!

[text] I just saw a man in a speedo and it reminded me of you. ♥

[text] I swear to drunk I’m not God. Shiit, wait! I fcked up!

[text] Your mom just asked if we’re sexually active. HELP!

[text] Pretty sure your drunk uncle just thought I was a stripper he knew. Not sure if I should feel flattered or grossed out.

[text] Found your shirt in my room. I’m keeping it forever.

[text] Are you getting my texts? Now I know how Anna felt…okay byeeeee.

[text] You really shouldn’t trust me with watching your kid for you.

[text] Okay serious question time. If I was a guy would you go gay for me?

[text] Guess who’s no longer a virgin?

[text] Okay but if you keep singing I Just Had Sex, you’ll never have sex again. Ever.

[text] So I went to buy alcohol for the third time this week and the cashier said he was pretty sure I had a “problem” glad I realized I’m a shopaholic!

[text] Sorry I told your dad he was hot and made things awkward.

[text] I’m hungry, you’re horny. Buy me pizza and I’ll eat it while you fuck me.

[text] I think a six year old just hit on me. I’m scared.

[text] People think I’m a slut, but what’s even funnier is I KNOW I’m one.

[text] I know it’s late, but I just thought about the time we stayed up all night talking. I miss that. I miss you.

[text] I wish you were here, my parents are fighting again.

[text] I’m cold, come cuddle with me.

[text] So I just bumped into your ex. That was interesting.

[text] Did you sleep with [name]? Everyone’s talking about it.

[text] I wish I could hate you. I really wish I could.

[text] Breaking up over text? I’m actually surprised that I can’t say that’s the worst thing you’ve done.

[text] I just need time.

[text] It’s not funny! I wasn’t wearing underwear that day!

[text] I’ve cried too much for you. I can’t do this anymore.

[text] Your mom scares me, I think she can smell my fear.

[text] Was that picture for me? What did I do to deserve that? Because…WOW.

[text] You can’t keep sexting me in class. The only body part of mine I should be raising is my hand!

“please don’t forget”

“you know you should have stayed”

“you’re cold on the inside”

“there’s a dog in your heart and it tells you to tear everything apart”

“you ruin everything you touch and destroy anyone you love”

“i know that you can’t hear me anymore”

“it’s so loud inside my head”

“i haven’t been all that you could have hoped for”

“if you held on a little longer, you would have more reasons to be proud”

“i talk to the shadows hoping you might be listening”

“how can i say this without breaking?”

“i loved and i lost you”

“i don’t want them to know the way i loved you”

“i don’t think they would accept me”

“your heart fits like a key”

“it’s so quiet here”

“you said that you weren’t alone”

“you still owe me a reason”

“i act like i don’t fucking care”

“maybe you’re too good for me”

“lately colors seem so bright”

“i can’t admit that you’ve got all the strings and know how to tug them”

“losing you was something i always did so well”

“i don’t do anything anymore”

“sorry, i nearly lost my head”

“this feeling i dread, it makes me wish i was dead”

“i’ll be alone instead, i don’t need anyone in this bed”

“i come home on my own”

“i don’t care if i don’t look pretty”

“big girls cry when their hearts are breaking”

“i’m in pain”

“she gives me toothaches just from kissing me”

“i didn’t care much how long i lived”

“heaven and hell were words to me”

“i need to feel your hands upon my face”

“words can be like knives. they can cut you open”

“i think i might have inhaled you”

“i can feel you flowing in me”

“i miss you more than i thought i would”

“i never meant to start a fire. i never meant to make you bleed”

“i’ll love the world like i should”

“the blood on my hands scares me to death”

“you took a chance and you took a fall for us”

“my love, look what you can do”

“i know in peace you’ll go. i hope relief is yours”

“was i selfish again? well, i can’t help that”

“i pour my heart out on the ice and everyone’s watching but you”

“i can’t see you, you can’t see me”

“everybody’s watching but you, and i don’t think i want them to”

“there’s a bitter storm inside of me”

“i do it all for you”

“it’s all gone to shit, it’s out of our hands”

“if you’re searching for us, you’ll find us side by side”

“as long as we’re going down, baby you should stick around”

“does any of this love exist or is this just a fire keeping out the cold?”

“memories never lie”

“tell me that i’m right”

“your tired, unfamiliar face says it all”

“even though we all grow old, love will never die”

“that was long ago”

“i used to call you my own, my dear”

“now you’re lost and i am drunk alone”

“when you said your last goodbye, i died a little bit inside”

“if you loved me, why’d you leave me?”

“our love was made for movie screens”

“i tried to be someone else for you”

“i thought that i loved you, but we weren’t love”

“there was something that was not there”

“i can sleep forever these days”

“i believe in anything that brings you back home to me”

“there is no distraction to mask what is real”

“now you’ll be missing from the photographs”

“in my thoughts, you’re far away”

“i can picture you so easily”

“what’s gonna be left the world if you’re not in it?”

“every minute of every hour, i miss you more”

“it’s such a shame we have to see them burn”

“i’ve lost control of all of my senses”

“put me in my place”

“i can’t help but think of you”

“it’s always been just you and me”

“and i’ll hold in these hands all that remains”

“i don’t want to rest in peace, i’d rather be the ghost that annoys you”

“hold me in your arms”

“don’t listen to your friends, they only care once in a while”

“it’s pulling me back”

“when you go home, everything looks different”

“i wish you would tell me how you really feel”

“when you leave me, you take away everything”

“that’s not our deal”

“i want you so much”

“i want to go back to the first time, the first place”

“my heart is open like a door, but i don’t trust you like before”

“you came and took me by surprise”

“maybe one day you’ll be the one, but until then…”

“now i’m fucked up and i’m missing you”

“please just look me in my face and tell me everything’s okay”

“i’ll never be like you”

“absolve me of my sins, won’t you?”

“it hurts me everytime i see you”

“i hate that i love you”

“you want her, you need her, and i’ll never be her”

“do you miss me like i miss you?”

“wedding bells were just alarms”

“you said you wouldn’t but you fucking did”

“i guess this is moving on”

“you don’t care, you never did”

“you don’t give a damn about me”

“you’re only happy when your sorry head is filled with dope”

“if you’re looking for love, know that love don’t live here anymore”

“i don’t want to see you go, i just want to see you smile”

“tell me that now is not the end”

“if you’re trying to find pity, then you need to look somewhere else”

“i’m a first class let down”

“how did it come to this?”

“love is a polaroid- better in picture but never can fill the void”

“if it’s broken then it can be fixed”

“all you need is time”

“we promised the world we’d tame it”

“i wonder what keeps us so high up”

Plum stood in the foyer of Joe’s Bookshop, running her right index finger over the spines of the store’s latest additions. Joe’s was a semi-regular stop for the Hartfield resident; the prices were reasonable and they bought used books, so she’d typically stop by to see if something looked interesting and occasionally sell a few of her own titles gathering dust on her bookshelf. A bright yellow sundress hung from her rather sonsy frame, exposing her freckled neck and arms. She seemed at once focused and dreamy as if she was completely in the moment, but that moment happened to be filled with daydreams and a familiar tune in addition to her search for entertainment. A novel caught her eye and she pulled it from its hiding place, scanning the cover for signs of intrigue. She knew you weren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover - but the covers of actual books often gave great insight into what was inside. She flipped the book over and scanned the description. A gay woman in the 1960s recruited by the CIA. “Huh,” she said curiously, glancing up to see if Joe was anywhere to be found, but he seemed to be upstairs or in his office. Deep brown eyes surveyed the room and found another nearby customer. She held the book toward them with a warm smile.

“You heard anything about this book?

reading, drinking, and smoking-- three of the things that had managed to keep elias afloat during his very sudden and unexpected mid-youth crisis. but it was books that had been with him for the longest. when his mother would go on her drunken rants, he’d taught himself to deflect her words, and chose instead to bury himself in a book instead. he’d finish his books so quickly and exchanged them out just as fast, to the point that all the librarians knew him by name. some of them would even allow him to check out a few more books than he was allowed to, knowing very well that he’d finish them all long before the due date. this love of books followed him into college, causing him to declare a minor in literature, despite it having absolutely nothing to do with economics-- but he simply didn’t care.

a bookstore was of the first things elias had searched for when he moved into his apartment a few years ago. and joe’s had been the perfect place. it was walking distance, which he’d always appreciated, and next to it was a coffee shop and a liquor store. he made his way down the aisle of books, brown eyes narrowed, face scrunched up in complete concentration. he’d been so entirely focused, that he hadn’t realized someone had asked him a question.

“huh-- oh, my bad.” his focused expression melted away and was replaced by a much friendlier one. he scanned the the frame of the book, but nothing came to mind. “nothing comes to mind. but it definitely looks like interesting read.” he gave the woman a once over, not completely certain that they’d met before. “have we met? i’m elias.”