WHITE V-NECK SHIRT
ALM No.67, August 2024
SHORT STORIES
I stripped the dirty clothes off my body and dressed myself in some new ones that I had stolen from a dryer that was finished with its cycle. I quietly leave the bathroom and glance around. The laundromat was empty apart from the late-night worker mindlessly scrolling on their phone and the older man sitting in the center of the room snoring so goddamn loudly.
My hands shook, spilling detergent over them and onto the floor. I wiped the sticky green goo off onto my stolen pants and started the washing machine. I sat and waited while the clock ticked, and the old man snored. I think about what just happened an hour ago. You had to run away. I kept telling myself to keep me from feeling so guilty. He would just keep doing it every time he gets lonely like he has been since you developed. And my parents still would not do a thing about it.
The smell of detergent is so strong, it’s giving me a migraine. But I can’t leave. My shirt, my favorite shirt, is washing. I have worn it for three days now and it was starting to stink. After two cycles, my shirt still feels so dirty. He made it forever dirty, and I will never be able to have it again. I taste vomit in the back of my throat and tears threaten to escape, but I hold them both down. Another wash will do. It was just a plain white V-neck shirt, but it was my shirt. Mine.
Makenna Siviter is an enthusiastic author who specializes in romance, thriller, and fantasy novels. She studies at Full Sail University for creative writing in fiction. Her passion for storytelling dates back to her childhood, where she first fell in love with Grimm's Fairytales. Currently, she lives in southern Virginia with her boyfriend and her cat, Piper.