Cyclist

Ride On 9

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 9
That was really not a complete surprise. I knew some of the background of her death, of course. I had been aware of our odd resident, as I had sent a couple of lads past her place a few times after the graffiti, and I remembered that she had something to do with the local security scene, but I had never dug into her background.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 66 words long.

Ride On 8

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 8
“Yeah, I know, but I don’t know about the rest. We’re going to finish up here, and after the wine is done we shall have some frozen yoghurt, to which my lover here is very partial.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 39 words long.

Ride On 7

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 7
Kate was serious in the morning, and a little red-eyed from the lack of sleep.

“Does drinking keep the nightmares away, Adam?”

“I don’t know. If I drink enough to get through them, I can’t remember if I have them or not”

“Do you remember going to bed?”

“Sometimes”


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 52 words long.

Ride On 6

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 6
I had no real choice, of course, but to agree with her. I was just starting to wobble a bit from the wine, but I was still sort of sober. Kate and Ginny sat with me for a while, silent in the flickering light and the odd sting of the smoke, until a small piece of paper was pressed into my hands and the shorter woman led the taller away by her hand.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 74 words long.

Ride On 5

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 5
Over the next few days I realised that Ginny’s presence was doing a lot to ease my sleep.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 20 words long.

Ride On 4

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 4
Ginny was holding me as I woke, shushing me like a child until I could stop the shakes.

“Talk to me, Adam?”

“No”


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 24 words long.

Ride On 3

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 3
I was still on late turn, of course, so she bullied me into getting the tourer out of the shed and loading it with panniers.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 26 words long.

Ride On 2

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 2
I pulled on the lycra again after lunch, and rode the five miles to the station, where I punched in the code on the keypad and locked the bike up in the yard.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 34 words long.

Ride On 1

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 1
I put the bike in the shed and settled the rucksack onto my shoulders as I tugged the straps tighter to compensate for standing upright.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 26 words long.

The end of the affair

Submitted by on

Taxonomy upgrade extras: 

Author: 

That is it for Sweat and Tears, Dear Readers. My muse is dormant now, as she has been screaming at me for the last few months and has felt the need for a rest. Thank you for staying the course, those of you who could. I knwo there are some who couldn't get past the unpleasantness, but I trust all understand it wasn't written for any salacious reason. I wanted that part of the story to be as brutal as I could manage while keeping at least some restraint and tact.

Click Like or Love to appropriately show your appreciation for this post:

Sweat and Tears 48

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 48
Tom had a stack of neatly-bound files waiting for me when we got back, but Em took my arm.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 20 words long.

Sweat and Tears 47

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 47
I was calmer by far when we returned to Maryport. The trip had moved me in so many ways, moved me profoundly.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 23 words long.

Sweat and Tears 46

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 46
I was still in a complete mess when it was all over. Clearly, this had been something they had been planning for a while, and as my balance returned I began to wonder what the hell they had needed to do to be able to walk into what added up to a local council building and get married.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 59 words long.

Sweat and Tears 45

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 45
That was indeed the start of a new life and lives. Em was home in a few days, and as a constant stream of wellwishers, including several pupils, came round the house to pay their respects and leave flowers and chocolates, babygros and bootees, we learned how little sleep it is possible to exist on.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 56 words long.

Sweat and Tears 44

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 44
I watched Kaz’s face go through a series of twitches, and I could almost track them, from ‘I’m too young’, to ‘How?’, then ‘Who?’, and finally ‘Ah!’


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 30 words long.

Sweat and Tears 43

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 43
My wife was fussing with my hair as I looked in the mirror, and I slapped her hand away gently as she tried to reset my ponytail. If this went on, I was going to have to get it cut off.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 42 words long.

Sweat and Tears 42

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 42
That was an odd time, truly odd. I had spent my entire, if compressed, academic career listening to people tell me things, explaining to them what I thought I understood, and then listening to them correct me, sometimes dismissively.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 40 words long.

Sweat and Tears 41

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 41
Three years we had at Bangor, three years of growth mental and physical, and although I know I am biased my Emily became daily more beautiful.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 27 words long.

Sweat and Tears 40

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 40
That took me full circle, back to those articles about April Ashley, and I felt an odd sense of calm as I spoke.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 24 words long.

Sweat and Tears 39

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 39
Bangor was three years of intensity. I was racing to a high level, and though never scaling the heights of those wonders Coe and Ovett I wasn’t doing too badly on the UAU circuit.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 36 words long.

Sweat and Tears 38

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 38
We had enough resources between us, and independence, to take rooms of our own rather than be tied to the halls of residence.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 24 words long.

Sweat and Tears 37

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 37
I stood outside the car in shock. The place stank of wet smoke, of burnt plastic and cloth. I knew, at that point, with absolute conviction that the bastards had finally got one of us, and cursed my lack of conviction in dragging her off to foreign parts.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 49 words long.

Sweat and Tears 36

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 36
That night was a private party, in effect, as all the pent-up stress of our exams erupted into collision and collusion with the joy of being reunited with such good friends.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 32 words long.

Sweat and Tears 35

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 35
I had my session with my lady shrink before we went.

“So you’re rich, then, Stevie. Does that make you happy?”


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 23 words long.

Sweat and Tears 34

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 34
School felt, some days, as if it was burning me at both ends, rather than a candle, and it was only the people round me who stopped the cracks from spreading.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 32 words long.

Sweat and Tears 33

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 33
The papers were full of interest, as it turned out, and Dave and Aidan were more than happy for a little more income from me. Aidan was still so self-effacing I could have forgotten he was there, if it wasn’t for his military style commands.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 47 words long.

Sweat and Tears 32

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 32
I remembered that hospital, Mitchell’s den. He was long gone, crawled into some hole or other, but the smell of the place still brought the fear back.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 29 words long.

Sweat and Tears 31

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 31
When you are a small child, Summer lasts forever, and for me it was almost like that.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 18 words long.

Sweat and Tears 30

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 30
That was living, as Nana would say. How to sum up what I consider now as my first true holiday? I could list the climbs we did, or the peaks we crossed, or the silliness in boats on Derwentwater, or…it would be just that, a list, and while each of the items there brings me a memory, a smile, it remains a series of names and dates for anyone else.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 72 words long.

Sweat and Tears 29

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 29
We returned to Boot with me buzzing away and the other three somehow completely relaxed, after another four climbs.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 20 words long.

Sweat and Tears 28

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 28
Tessa was suddenly looking more than a little confused.

“I’m not used to this….this sort of acceptance”


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 20 words long.

Sweat and Tears 27

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 27
Cunningham was gone, and I was technically free, but what the tramp had made clear to me was that it would never be real. Cunningham, the Allisons, Alf, they would all lurk just beyond that wall of sleep waiting to smile at me at night.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 46 words long.

Sweat and Tears 26

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 26
We weren't learning some mad form of instant death to our enemies, just some basic moves to break out of someone's grip and discourage them from trying to get another one. Above all, what Tom was trying to teach us was observation and awareness. He was forever saying “What is wrong with this picture?”


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 55 words long.

Sweat and Tears 25

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 25
Karen was trembling with nerves.

“Look, Steve, I know I'm not that much older than you, but it would be a way of keeping the fucking social workers from getting at you if Ada goes. We've talked it over with her, haven't we, Bri, and she is happy with the idea. You've had so much shit we can't bear the thought of you having any more”


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 67 words long.

Sweat and Tears 24

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

This s the trial. It necessarily rehashes a lot of the unpleasantness of earlier chapters, but it is drier, less direct. Please read with caution, though.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 26 words long.

Sweat and Tears 23

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 23
And so it went, day by day and night by night. Em’s parents, Barbara and Peter, started coming round to the house, at first to make sure their daughter wasn’t in some vice den, which she was, in a way, and their initial take on our cuddling was a little off.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 54 words long.

Sweat and Tears 22

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 22
I woke slowly, for once, no sudden impact of awareness on my mind, and then I remembered, and of course Emily was there next to me, still, awake and looking at me as I slept.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 36 words long.

Sweat and Tears 21

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 21
Brian was almost hyperventilating, and for an instant the news...eleven bodies…then I saw his excitement, and I realised that it was nothing like that, nothing at all.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 30 words long.

Sweat and Tears 20

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTYER 20
“Brian, how big is this place?”

“Well, there are five bedrooms–“

“No, the grounds. I want to start running again.”


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 21 words long.

Sweat and Tears 19

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 19
There were so many things going on just then, things I didn’t see or know about till it was all over, or very nearly. What I was involved with was my healing, or healing as much as I was able.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 42 words long.

Sweat and Tears 18

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 18
I have still not named any of the other boys, nor described them,


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 14 words long.

Sweat and Tears 17

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CHAPTER 17
That was an evening of deep pain for Nana as Karen and Brian filled her in on what sort of place I was in. Brian explained about his friend’s friend after Nana’s tears had eased a bit, and also, very slowly, and gently, and brutally, why she could not just march in and get me.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 58 words long.

Sweat and Tears 16

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

This still addresses traumatic issues, but is largely past the brutal subjects of the last two chapters. A goddess is invoked.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 21 words long.

Sweat and Tears 15

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

TG Elements: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

****CAUTION****
Severely unpleasant scenes of rape, suicide and other abuse. I want to get this part of the story out of the way as it is unpleasant to write and probably just as unpleasant to read. There is a light at the end of the tunnel...but.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 47 words long.

Sweat and Tears 14

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

TG Elements: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CAUTION
This chapter deals quite diirectly with sexual abuse of a child. It is brutal, in my opinion. It was hard to write. Chapter 15 will be worse. As stated before I will send a summary to anyone whowishes to avoid the section.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 42 words long.

Sweat and Tears

Submitted by on

Taxonomy upgrade extras: 

Author: 

From Chapter 14 onward this will be getting extremely dark and very nasty. I will, as is my normal style, not be going into unnecessarily graphic detail as I feel that what happens to young Stevie should be seen as shadows on a wall and not a slow motion porn film. I put some detail into his teenaged fumbling with Emily because I felt that certain aspects of that were essential to the plot, but I will not do that for other bits. Such detail is unnecessary.

Click Like or Love to appropriately show your appreciation for this post:

Sweat and Tears 13

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Publication: 

Genre: 

Character Age: 

Permission: 

CAUTION. This chapter contains scenes of juvenile sexual exploration that may offend. It is not graphic, but it is necessary for the plot. There are also elements that relate to child abuse and these may affect some readers. Obviously, I hope my writing affects my readers, but not in that way.


If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos!
Click the Thumbs Up! button below to leave the author a kudos:

And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks. 
This story is 51 words long.

Pages

Subscribe to Cyclist