Stories by @rmsx3090

How To Sell A Haunted House

Every childhood home is haunted, and each of us are possessed by our parents. When their parents are both killed in a car accident, Louise and Mark Joyner are devastated but nothing can prepare them for how bad things are about to get. The two siblings are almost totally estranged, and couldn’t be more different. Now, however, both with equally empty bank accounts, they don’t have a choice but to get along. Their one asset? Their childhood home. They need to get it on the market as soon as possible because they need the money. Yet the house has morphed into a hoarder’s paradise, and before they died their parents nailed shut the attic door… Sometimes we feel like puppets, controlled by our upbringing and our genes. Sometimes we feel like our parents treat us like toys, or playthings, or even dolls. The past can ground us, teach us, and keep us safe. It can also trap us, and bind us, and suffocate the life out of us. As disturbing events stack up in the house, Louise and Mark have to learn that sometimes the only way to break away from the past, sometimes the only way to sell a haunted house, is to burn it all down.

The Lifeline

Will is sleepwalking through life. He works a dead-end job and volunteers at an anonymous crisis line to avoid facing his own problems. Annie is sure she has her five-year plan all worked out. But when things start falling apart, she just needs someone who will listen… They’re practically strangers but soon Will and Annie rely on their regular phone calls, challenging each other to be brave and rebuild their lives.

The Lifeline

For Kate, having a newborn baby means she is almost never alone. But that doesn't mean she isn't lonely. The move from London to Somerset with her husband Jay was supposed be the start of an exciting new chapter. But sometimes she can't help but wonder if she turned the pages too soon . . . Phoebe needs help. As a mental health nurse serving her community, the wellbeing of her patients has always come before her own. Yet there's only so long she can pour from an empty cup. Looking for a lifeline, Kate and Phoebe find a sense of community - and each other - through their local river swimming group. But when things get tough, they realise that good friends can both raise us up and stop us sinking.

Couples Retreat

Scarlett and Theo have one bestselling novel to their names: the psychological thriller they wrote together years ago. None of the books they've written separately have sold anywhere near as well... Now at risk of being dropped by their respective publishers, their agent tells them that working together is the only way to save their careers and sends them off on a writers' retreat in the south of France. It wouldn't be the worst way to spend a summer...except that they've accidentally been booked on a couples retreat instead, and spending so much time together stirs up some very inconvenient feelings! With their careers on the line and a pressing deadline, romance is the last thing on their minds...

The Nanny

Suddenly unemployed Cassie has two options: get a new job (and fast) or fire up her long-untouched OnlyFans account. When she spots an ad for a live-in nanny position it seems like the solution to all her problems... But Aiden Reid, executive chef and DILF extraordinaire, is far from the stuffy single dad Cassie was imagining. With those hands and eyes that scream sex, such close proximity feels dangerous. With no other option, she takes the job and moves in with him and his adorably tenacious daughter, Sophie. Cassie soon discovers that Aiden is not a stranger at all - instead he's someone who is very familiar with her - or at least, her body. Given that he doesn't remember her, Cassie is faced with what feels like an impossible situation. As their relationship heats up, Cassie struggles with telling Aiden the truth, and the more terrifying possibility - losing the best chance at happiness she's ever had...

Middle of the Night

On July 15, 1994, ten-year-old Ethan and his best friend Billy fell asleep together in their quiet New Jersey cul de sac. In the morning, Ethan woke up alone. The tent was sliced open, and Billy was gone, taken. He was never seen again. Thirty years later, Ethan has returned to Hemlock Circle, still desperate for answers. Plagued by bad dreams and insomnia, he begins to notice strange things happening on the street under the cover of darkness. Someone is prowling the cul de sac when no one is awake to see them. This isn't a bad neighbourhood. These aren't bad people.