Fall Shook Up

by Piper Sheldon

I turned and propped my balled fists on my hips. “I don’t like the person you become when you win the daily Wordle first.” “Not only did I win, but I beat you by a whole round,” he said. “The power has gone to your head.”

Hot Girl Anxiety shouldn’t sound like the sudden need to use the restroom.

“I’m furious at Kevin. I hope he’s forever stubbing his toe on the bed frame and catching his pockets on door handles,” he said in his soft, cajoling tone. I sniffled a laugh.

It’s like I’m simultaneously too soft and too hard for this world.

“If somebody told you at any point that something was wrong with the way your mind worked, they were simply incorrect. Or jealous. Or motivated by their own wants. I’ve seen the beauty of that machine”—he brushed his thumb along my temple—“and there isn’t anything wrong there. It’s all magnificent.”

It hit me then. The real reason I wanted to show Claire this room. It was about sharing a part of myself, but it was also my way of showing myself the truth. When you fall for a woman, it’s going to hit you like a train. It had felt like a warning when my mother said it.