Run on Red

by Noelle W. Ihli

The idea that every choice, no matter how small, mattered had fascinated my anxious brain. Every chapter ended with a choice that set the rest of the story in motion. Sliding doors—the outcome of which either set you free or sealed your fate.

Don’t let them take you to a second location. Your chances of surviving an assault at any given location are 97%. Your chances of survival, if you are taken to a second location, drop to 30%.

Narcissists think they’re smarter than everyone else. But that doesn’t mean they are. That’s how they get caught. They make mistakes. They underestimate the intelligence of police. And they underestimate the intelligence of their victims.

I’d always thought I could skip the bad parts of life if I tried hard enough. If I was smart enough. But sometimes the trouble came to you—for the simple fact that it could and it wanted to.