The Last Word

by Taylor Adams

but then again, there’s nothing wrong with reading to escape, is there?

she could feel herself sabotaging things, always a half step ahead, half listening, forcing him to chase her. She’d always

Evil works hard to rationalize itself.

she’d assumed Deacon Cowl’s daughters were dead—he’d lost them both, in his own whiteboard words—but there are many forms of death, aren’t there? It’s possible to screw up in ways that transcend death, to kill yourself without killing yourself.

She’s in control of her life. There’s no narrator. And she’s more than the worst thing she’s ever done. It’s all her, the good and the bad alike, because we can’t pick and choose the pieces of who we are. And together all those pieces brought her this far.

They’ll never, ever forgive me, and I’ve made my peace with that.”