Where He Can't Find You

by Darcy Coates

It’s human nature. We want to feel that we have control over our destiny, that we wouldn’t ever make the same mistakes that cost someone else everything.

Sometimes the worst things that happen to you come from the smallest decisions. You lean on the accelerator instead of the break. Or you shift your weight on the ladder. Or you leap into the pool headfirst without checking how deep the water is. Tiny, tiny mistakes that would have been inconsequential any other day. But for some reason, the universe’s gears get jammed at that exact second, and your tiny mistake permanently changes the remainder of your life.

Whatever waited for her in the earth beneath the town, she would meet it. She would meet it with fire and teeth.

It turned out a person could make the correct choice, and still feel strangled by regret.

You never know how you’ll act under pressure until you’re forced to find out.