Deep & Lovely

By Jhymel Byrd

Deep & Lovely is comprised of four short stories that bring the inner darkness right to the surface. The overarching theme is beauty in the fall and the monsters we hide within.

The opener, "The Cold", sets the stage of this collection when two scientists escape from their lab, but neither knows who the monster is and the answer shocks them both.

Next, "Dead Meat", pits a detective against a suspected criminal in a personal vendetta for the truth, but when he pushes too hard, he gets everything he asked for and more.

Following that, "It's Over, Isn't it?" tantalizes with the story of a mobster on the run from a mysterious stalker who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

The tale of a family gone wrong is told in "Ache Like I Ache", where the bond between three brothers is broken and a family disintegrates in the midst of a war.

In "Maybe, Just Maybe" , a young man awaits his doom in the rain after an incident that changes his life

Finally, "At The End", brings it all together as a dying woman seeks company in the hands of the only company she'll ever have again.

Enjoy the rollercoaster that is Deep & Lovely, and remember that without it you wouldn't be able to see the stars.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jhymel Byrd
• Release date: Mar 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463771501

Jhymel Byrd

Jhymel Byrd is an author of fantasy, superhero and psychological thrillers. The second child in a family of musicians, he has earned his bachelor's degree in Creative Writing and has spent the last eighteen years honing his craft to give his readers the escape they've been looking for. Jhymel is a fan of storms, pizza, the smell of dust after rain and has never not wanted tacos (they're the ultimate brain food). In his free time, he likes to dream up new ideas and spend with family. To learn more about Jhymel or see further work, contact him at [e-mail] or find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thepacifist.

Book preview

Deep and Lovely

A Collection

by Jhymel Byrd

Published by Jhymel Byrd at Smashwords

Copyright 2018 Jhymel Byrd

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The Table of Contents

Title Page

The Cold

Dead Meat

It’s Over, Isn’t It?

Ache Like I Ache

Maybe, Just Maybe

At the End

About the Author

The Cold

The clock on the bedside table read 5:53am when we pushed open the door and ran into the empty room. In our hands, we held no luggage and, on our backs, were clothes covered in dirt, burn marks and blood. The door closed on our backs with a thud, leaving us shivering despite the heat from the open patio door. Helena made her way outdoors, breaking a heel, stumbling and falling into place at the table. I slunk behind her, my body hunched into some unrecognizable shape and my eyes watery.

For a moment, I just stood in the doorway, opening and closing my hands. It was if I was trying to take physical hold of our situation and wring its neck. My hands pulled the blood-spattered tie from around my neck. It slipped through my long fingers dropping it onto the patio tiles.

The sound it made when it hit brought bile to my throat.

What did we do? Helena said. When I didn’t immediately answer her, she threw her broken heel at me. What the fuck did we do?

"He was going