Midnight Is the Darkest Hour

by Ashley Winstead

Maybe it’s childish to climb trees at twenty-three years old. My parents and Barry would certainly say so. But joys are few and far between in this life, so I can hardly bring myself to feel guilty.

This is where I belong. Alone in nature

A place people waited to hurt you; a place where you nevertheless had to go.

Midnight Ruth was my boldest self, too precious for sunlight.

One of my greatest weaknesses has always been that sometimes grief and fear can grip me so completely that I lose control.

it was my fear that I’d be trapped here and years from now when people passed me, they’d see a woman like everyone else, not the Ruth Cornier who’d tried to escape.

That had to be the worst kind of prison—the one whose bars were buried under your skin, invisible cages around your heart and mind.

“Move careful round dangerous creatures, Miss Ruth. They get cornered and desperate, their first instinct is always going to be to sting you.”

“It’s okay, really. I gave up on the idea of true love and soul mates a long time ago. Now the only kind of closeness I want is friendship. Like ours. That’s enough.”

His voice is sharp. “Of course it isn’t.” I jerk like he’s slapped me. “Don’t forget how well I know you, Ruth Cornier.” Before I can protest, he’s in front of me, the sun lighting his hair in a golden halo. “You’ve been in love with love your whole life. It’s in all the books you read. It’s all you used to talk about as a teenager. Of course you want it.”

“I was a fool. Fixating on it because I was lonely. But I know better now. Love isn’t salvation; it’s a curse. Feeling so much, wanting so much, not being in control of yourself. I closed that door and I’m better for it.” “You can’t close it,” he says gruffly. He reaches out, resting his fingers on my arm, not a demand but a plea. “It’s who you are, and I need you—” He swallows hard. “I need you to believe it. My life used to be darkness, and then you came al...

What did it feel like to become a warning?