Between Shadow and Light: Stories of Quiet Horror by Foxglove Lee

Author:Foxglove Lee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: supernatural literary fiction, stories of grief and loss, haunting short stories, quiet horror, ghost story collection, eerie psychological fiction, gothic short stories, emotional supernatural tales, contemporary ghost stories, tales about death and memory, uncanny fiction
Publisher: Rainbow Crush
Published: 2025-10-20T00:00:00+00:00

WHEN JEM OPENED THE door, I got a good look at the girl who was making my heart pound so hard the whole room could probably hear it. She wasn’t tall and she wasn’t slim. Her hair was short, but with enough of a wave that it sorted itself out without her having to gel it or spike it or anything like that. No makeup, from what I could tell, and her features were broad, strong, more handsome than pretty. She had on a dark blue hoodie with a red trim, held together in places by safety pins. Her eyebrow was pierced.

Before Jem even introduced her to the room, I heard someone whisper, “Oh my God, look at her legs!”

Reeza’s cargo shorts were long, but not long enough to conceal her impressive swath of leg hair. Looked to me like she’d never shaved in her life, and seeing this stranger’s legs exposed like that felt so intimate I was embarrassed for looking.

“Everyone, this is Reeza,” Jem said flatly. “Reeza, everyone.”

Before Reeza could get a word in, Aiden said, “What’s with the limo?”

“It’s my dad’s,” she said, glancing out the bay window as he executed a three-point turn in front of the house. “He drives rich jerks for a living.”

Jem’s mom came out of nowhere, saying, “Reeza, I’m so glad you could make it. Who’s watching the little ones tonight?”

What a weird thing to ask a teenager. Such a Mom question. But Reeza didn’t seem flustered or surprised. She just said, “My brother’s taking a turn. He’s fifteen now. God knows I was looking after the kids when I was younger than that.”

The way Jem’s mom laughed seemed a bit forced, but she said, “I’m sure you’re glad to have a night away from the kidlets for once. What can I get you to drink?”

“A gimlet if you’ve got fresh lime,” Reeza replied.

Jem’s mom looked slightly weirded-out by the request. “You’ll have to remind me...”

“Lead me to the liquor, Barbara. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

Reeza placed a hand on Jem’s mom’s back and pressed her toward the kitchen. Even after they’d disappeared from view, I kept staring after them, wondering where a girl like that learned to mix drinks.

Jem turned up the music. “Sorry, guys.”

“For what?” I asked.

Everyone ignored me and started up with:

“Did you see her legs?”

“Eww, like get a razor!”

“Yeah, and shave that moustache while you’re at it.”

“And those sideburns.”

“Gross.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised that all my friends would talk that way. To be fair, if I’d told them I was attracted to Reeza they would have shut their faces.

But I didn’t tell them the sight of Reeza made me weak in the knees. I didn’t tell them the very things they found repulsive gave me palpitations. I didn’t tell them anything.

In a daze, I wandered out of the living room and into the kitchen. Reeza was teaching Jem’s mom to roll her limes before cutting them. “You get more juice that way.”

I don't think Jem’s mom had ever been so relieved to see me.

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