830 words - An excerpt from Happy Endings Are Overrated, in which Mags meets the love of her life...

20 September, 13

Mags stumbled, her ankle twisted, and the only thing that saved her from going down in the middle of the crowded street was Aleen’s grip on her arm.

“Sorry!” a dark-haired, olive-skinned man called as he turned toward them, walking backwards. “I didn’t mean to run you down like that.” Once she recovered from stumbling into Allie, Mags looked up at the young man who had bumped her on his way past. She wondered how he managed to not crash into anyone else.

“How did you mean to run into me?” she responded and he stopped abruptly, forcing the moving crowd to part around him as he waited for Mags to catch up. He blinked once and his gaze focused sharply on her face before he broke into a wide grin. He had a dimple on the left side of his mouth and crinkles at the corners of his black eyes even though she judged he wasn’t much older than she was herself. He didn’t answer her question, just saluted her and moved on, walking backwards a few more paces, still grinning, before turning to disappear into the crowd.

“What was that about?” Allie snapped her fingers in front of Mags’ eyes and Mags dragged her gaze away from the crowded street fair. It occurred to her that it was the second time Allie had asked the question. With one last glance toward where the slim figure had disappeared, she frowned. Something felt off. “What’s wrong?” Allie asked.

Mags looked down at her naked left wrist, the same side the dark young man had jostled, and then held her hand up for Allie to see. “That son of a bitch stole my bracelet.” It wasn’t anything fancy, just a thin gold bangle, but it was one of the few things she had that had belonged to her mother and it was gone. Allie’s mouth dropped open.

“We should report it to the Peacekeepers.”

Mags shook her head. “No. It’s really not worth it.” Even now, years after the end of a rebellion she had been too young to be a part of, Mags didn’t want to deal with Peacekeepers if she didn’t absolutely have to. He hadn’t taken her money or Allie’s and he hadn’t hurt either of them. Maybe if she saw him again, stealing from someone else, she’d report him. Or maybe she’d give him the thumping he deserved and take her bracelet back. The thought made her smile.

Throughout the rest of that day, Mags caught glimpses of her thief as he worked the street fair. It quickly became obvious that he stole from those who appeared to be wealthier than the average district citizen or from Capitol tourists, who were by definition wealthy or they couldn’t afford to be in District 4.

Once, while she and Allie watched a pair of dancers in the center of the town square, she spotted him on the edge of the crowd about twenty feet from where she stood; rather than watching the dancers, he watched her. Lifting her left wrist high, she pointed at it.

“I want it back!” she shouted over the music and hundreds of voices. His only response was a shrug before melting back into the press of people.

The sun was beginning to set when she and Allie made their way back to the quay. Allie had finally gotten word from her husband that the trawler he worked on was docking and he would meet her soon. Mags was tired, and didn’t want to be a third wheel between Allie and Etienne, so she planned to take her little boat and head back to her lonely home on Victor’s Island. They hadn’t even reached the quay when they heard the sound of running feet along the boardwalk, accompanied by angry sounding shouts.

Turning, Mags saw her thief, a pair of Peacekeepers on his heels as he pounded along the boardwalk. He tossed the sack he carried into the crowd and kept running, heading straight toward Allie and Mags, although it didn’t appear as though either her thief or the men who chased him had seen them. Making a snap decision, Mags picked up her skirts and ran toward her thief.

“Mags! What are you doing?” Mags didn’t answer Allie’s shocked question, just charged toward her thief. When she was close enough, she snagged his arm, nearly knocking them both over, and pulled him into an alley.

“What—?”

“Follow me!” She ran down the alley toward another side street, the young man following right behind. Rounding the corner, she headed for the wharf and, as soon as they reached the edge, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her as she jumped into the water and dragged him under the structure of the pier with her. Fighting the need to laugh, she held a finger to her lips. She heard shouting above, back in the direction where she left Aleen.

Read More →

Read More →