𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰: 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞

authours note:

Hello, thank you for choosing to read my little work of fiction! I'm grateful that you've decided to read my writing, and would love to know your thoughts in the comments. As mentioned, please proceed with caution as this story contains graphic material. Thank you, xo Lena

Chapter One:

It was nearly three in the morning when Winter stumbled to the front doors, locking them with a satisfying thunk before slumping against the glass.

"That was an awful fucking night." She groaned, reaching behind to slip off the hair tie from her ponytail. Her red hair fell over her shoulders to her waist, slim fingers combing through the tresses before swiftly capturing them back into a low bun. "If we get another bachelorette party, it'll be too soon."

Flora looked up from polishing the last of the glasses, her solemn expression a telltale sign that she felt exactly the same. "You're telling me," she sighed. "I finally got the last of the dick confetti off the floor."

Winter had started working at Mansion only a couple months before Flora had joined the team, and after striking a close friendship, they always made an effort to try to keep their shifts aligned. Flora was tall and slim with a body made for the runway and a face worthy of magazines, but a teen pregnancy and a deadbeat baby daddy killed her dreams of walking alongside the likes of Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner. She was far and above Winter's best friend in life, and their compatibility made them a riot behind the bar. When the two of them were on shift together, they could count on the tips coming in to fund their rent and the extra for a shopping spree.

Laughter bubbled out of Winter as she joined her friend behind the bar, grabbing a rag next to the sink and swiping it across the station. "At least our rent is covered," she said, "sometimes I wonder when I can stop bartending and just do the podcast full time."

Her podcast, Winter Tales, was a huge work in progress, despite her having had it for almost three years. It was a passion project that stemmed from her dreams of becoming a journalist in high school, until she realised that she wanted to cover the darkest stories that circulated the media yet had absolutely zero balls to be in the thick of it during court proceedings and arrests.

Now, Winter just let the professionals handle that and instead reported on the deep dives of the personal lives and upbringings of the world's most heinous people. It fed all of her curiosity, acted as an outlet for her creativity and also brought in just enough for her to only have to bartend on the weekends. In a world where every influencer or YouTube personality found fame and followed the trend of starting their own podcast, she still gave herself enough credit that she consistently ranked top three in the true crime space.

At the mention of the podcast, Flora shivered. "Seriously, Winter, if I didn't love you I would not listen to that podcast even if it was playing in a room ten feet away from me. The last episode you did about Ed Gein seriously made me want to throw up."

A smile grew on Winter's face as she wiped down the last area of the bar, throwing the rag back into the sanitization bucket. "Trust me, I've read some of the worst things on the internet but even his skin suit gave me the heebie jeebies.  If that one was too much for you, I highly recommend that you don't tune in for the next one where this crazy lady kills her husbands and keeps their bodies in a drum in her apartment for decades."

Flora shot her the dirtiest look she could muster from the cabinet where she was crouched down, gathering all her things. "You're a little messed, you know that? Your aggravatingly beautiful brain is a little diseased."

Winter smirked back at her. "That's what makes me good at my job, and dark humour is its own fantastic coping mechanism."

Flora rolled her eyes, swooping her curly, black hair to one side of her shoulder. Her phone was in her hand, lit up with a notification.