Member-only story

Getting Back on the Horse

When it’s time to saddle up and move on — a short story

Carol Anne Shaw
Storymaker
4 min readOct 23, 2024

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It’s not you, Jules… it’s me. I mean, I love you — I’m just not IN love with you anymore. I’m sorry. It isn’t fair to either of us to keep this thing going. You deserve better. You deserve someone who will genuinely appreciate you.

I play the voicemail again, and just like all the other times, I count four “are you fucking kidding me?” platitudes.

1. It’s not you; it’s me. (Damn right, it’s you.)

2. I love you; I’m just not IN love with you. (What does that even mean, anyway?)

3. It isn’t fair to either of us. (Stop pretending you care about my feelings, douchebag.)

4. You deserve better. (Really? I mean… REALLY????)

“You’re doing it again, aren’t you?” Bex says, returning from the bathroom and collapsing on the other end of the couch.

I fling my phone into the cushions beside me. “NO! I mean, doing what?”

“You’re listening to Dandroid’s voicemail again, right?”

I don’t answer.

“Seriously, Julia. You HAVE to stop doing that.”

I still don’t answer.

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Storymaker
Storymaker

Published in Storymaker

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Carol Anne Shaw
Carol Anne Shaw

Written by Carol Anne Shaw

Writer & audiobook narrator. Author of three award-winning books for mg readers (Ronsdale Press) & four indie-pubbed novels for young adults. Vancouver Isle, BC

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