Flock

Can you keep a secret?

I grew up sick.

Let me clarify.

I grew up believing that real love stories include a martyr or demand great sacrifice to be worthy. Because of that I convinced myself it was true, and I bred the most masochistic of romantic hearts, which resulted in my illness.

When I lived this story — my own twisted fairy tale — it was unbeknownst to me at the time because I was young and naïve. I gave in to temptation and fed the beating beast, which grew thirstier with every slash, every strike, every blow. Triple Falls wasn’t at all what it seemed, nor were the men who swept me under their wing. But in order to keep them I had to be in on their secrets, secrets that cost us everything to keep.

That’s the novelty of fiction versus reality: you can’t relive your own love story, because by the time you realize you’re living it, it’s over. At least that was the case for me and the men I trusted my foolish heart to. Looking back, I’m convinced I willed my story into existence due to my illness. And all were punished.