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Falling Apart
Dear Author,
He thinks I’m perfect.
I can’t let him see the truth…
…that I’m broken inside
…damaged.
I’d rather he love only a part of me
Than have him leave if he knew the whole.
But the longer I hide the darkness
The faster I fall apart…
Photo Description:
Picture 1: A young man leans his head on his hand. His dark hair spills over his fingers and onto his forehead. He is shirtless and clothed mostly in shadow. His eyes are closed and he appears to be in pain.
Picture 2: A typed note saying “Will you still love me when I fall apart?” with the last word tumbling down the page.
Picture 3: A light-haired man with strong arms is wrapped around the back of a dark-haired man. They are seated in a shroud of darkness, which makes the contrast between their light and dark hair all the more apparent.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
He thinks I’m perfect.
I can’t let him see the truth…
…that I’m broken inside
…damaged.
I’d rather he love only a part of me
Than have him leave if he knew the whole.
But the longer I hide the darkness
The faster I fall apart…
Photo Description:
Picture 1: A young man leans his head on his hand. His dark hair spills over his fingers and onto his forehead. He is shirtless and clothed mostly in shadow. His eyes are closed and he appears to be in pain.
Picture 2: A typed note saying “Will you still love me when I fall apart?” with the last word tumbling down the page.
Picture 3: A light-haired man with strong arms is wrapped around the back of a dark-haired man. They are seated in a shroud of darkness, which makes the contrast between their light and dark hair all the more apparent.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
39 pages, ebook
First published August 27, 2013
46 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen Hayes
21 books105 followersKathleen Hayes is a bit of an all around geek. She has mastered the art of procrastination, is owned by two crazy cats and is excited to have just added a fellow super geek to her clan. Kathleen loves to explore worlds – whether in her head or on page. She welcomes you into her worlds and hopes you have as much fun there as she does!
She writes M/M Romance.
She writes M/M Romance.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 6, 2013
This was a powerful and sad prompt and the author really brought that into this contribution to the LHNB picture prompt event.
It's set in the future and a pretty bleak future at that.
The world has been taken over by a corporation. They are destroying the world, control the media and are not good to people who cross them.
The world building was great for such a short and really pulled me in, the nightmares and horror the MC goes through were well written and disturbing, the love story was good. It felt real and solid and I would have loved for this to be a longer story, more 'before' seeing a little of the other POV and of course more 'after' , cause really it needed way too soon. A HFN..at best, but hopeful for sure.
It's set in the future and a pretty bleak future at that.
The world has been taken over by a corporation. They are destroying the world, control the media and are not good to people who cross them.
The world building was great for such a short and really pulled me in, the nightmares and horror the MC goes through were well written and disturbing, the love story was good. It felt real and solid and I would have loved for this to be a longer story, more 'before' seeing a little of the other POV and of course more 'after' , cause really it needed way too soon. A HFN..at best, but hopeful for sure.
December 1, 2019
would've loved to see more atmospheric elements of this, especially in the end when they [made their way to the haven (hide spoiler)]. I think part of what makes dystopian so fantastic is that atmospheric element that just takes the readers breath away, and it was lacking just a bit in parts of this.
September 18, 2013
Markon is a model owned by the Gonos Corp. who's suffering terrible nightmares. He's afraid to tell his boyfriend Rasen because he thinks Rasen only loves his perfection. But sooner or later he'll have to break down and reveal the truth - that the Gonos Corp is torturing him with a chip in his brain because he overheard a secret that concerns the very fate of the world itself.
I really enjoyed this contribution to the Love Has No Boundaries event. I'm a total sucker for dystopian stories, so this one was high up on my reading list. It certainly didn't disappoint, even if it ended a little suddenly and uncertainly. I would definitely describe this one as a HFN, so if you absolutely have to know the eventual fate of the characters you read about, this one may not be your cup of tea. There's room for a sequel and I would certainly read it.
I thought the world was interesting and Markon's secret definitely turns the whole story on its head in a good way. Rasen turns out to be a lot more understanding than Markon thinks and eventually is the one who guides him through the things to come. I was glad to see Markon was wrong about him. The Gonos Corp. definitely come off as good villains, screwing everyone else over while protecting their own interests.
If you like dystopian stories or are curious about the genre, I highly recommend Falling Apart. It manages to be original while still portraying a vision of a frightening future dominated by a dictatorial world power.
This review was cross-posted to Infinite Love.
I really enjoyed this contribution to the Love Has No Boundaries event. I'm a total sucker for dystopian stories, so this one was high up on my reading list. It certainly didn't disappoint, even if it ended a little suddenly and uncertainly. I would definitely describe this one as a HFN, so if you absolutely have to know the eventual fate of the characters you read about, this one may not be your cup of tea. There's room for a sequel and I would certainly read it.
I thought the world was interesting and Markon's secret definitely turns the whole story on its head in a good way. Rasen turns out to be a lot more understanding than Markon thinks and eventually is the one who guides him through the things to come. I was glad to see Markon was wrong about him. The Gonos Corp. definitely come off as good villains, screwing everyone else over while protecting their own interests.
If you like dystopian stories or are curious about the genre, I highly recommend Falling Apart. It manages to be original while still portraying a vision of a frightening future dominated by a dictatorial world power.
This review was cross-posted to Infinite Love.
September 8, 2013
So, it should be said that I have a little thing for dystopian stories, so I just had to read this.
And overall - I quite liked it. It had a lot of really nice qualities to it that pulled me in, but I also had some issues with things being left unanswered and making me want to run around screaming "why?!"
For example - the chip implant. It was addressed once or twice, but never really explained or brought up again. It's just one of those things that seemed like it was relevant, but fell by the wayside.
Also, I would've loved to see more atmospheric elements of this, especially in the end when they . I think part of what makes dystopian so fantastic is that atmospheric element that just takes the readers breath away, and it was lacking just a bit in parts of this.
I also had some personal issues with the repetitive use of "I", but that's just a quirky me type of thing, and it really only irritated me in the beginning, and then I got over it.
Also, reading this to Nuvole Bianche and Oltremare by Ludovico Einaudi was nice.
And overall - I quite liked it. It had a lot of really nice qualities to it that pulled me in, but I also had some issues with things being left unanswered and making me want to run around screaming "why?!"
For example - the chip implant. It was addressed once or twice, but never really explained or brought up again. It's just one of those things that seemed like it was relevant, but fell by the wayside.
Also, I would've loved to see more atmospheric elements of this, especially in the end when they . I think part of what makes dystopian so fantastic is that atmospheric element that just takes the readers breath away, and it was lacking just a bit in parts of this.
I also had some personal issues with the repetitive use of "I", but that's just a quirky me type of thing, and it really only irritated me in the beginning, and then I got over it.
Also, reading this to Nuvole Bianche and Oltremare by Ludovico Einaudi was nice.
August 31, 2013
LHNB Story released 30.8.13
Just over 3 stars
Set in a dystopian society in the far future. Markon is a model, owned, like it appears most of the things left on earth are by the Gonos Corporation, only having overheard something he shouldn't have he'd now living in fear, having had a chip inserted that plays with his memories. The worst time for these memories is when he sleeps, as a result he's falling apart and doesn't know who he can trust. That extends to his partner, Rasen, a community officer for the same corp, but ultimately he trusts Rasen with the truth of what he heard and what was done to him. With the backdrop of a dying planet Markon and Rasen find themselves aligned with a rebel faction and heading out to a safe holding whilst earthquakes and volcanoes tear the world they know apart. The ending is more HFN than HEA and there is a bittersweet twist to it. This was a well written story but I wanted to know a lot more about the world set up and the history of the characters.
Just over 3 stars
Set in a dystopian society in the far future. Markon is a model, owned, like it appears most of the things left on earth are by the Gonos Corporation, only having overheard something he shouldn't have he'd now living in fear, having had a chip inserted that plays with his memories. The worst time for these memories is when he sleeps, as a result he's falling apart and doesn't know who he can trust. That extends to his partner, Rasen, a community officer for the same corp, but ultimately he trusts Rasen with the truth of what he heard and what was done to him. With the backdrop of a dying planet Markon and Rasen find themselves aligned with a rebel faction and heading out to a safe holding whilst earthquakes and volcanoes tear the world they know apart. The ending is more HFN than HEA and there is a bittersweet twist to it. This was a well written story but I wanted to know a lot more about the world set up and the history of the characters.
August 9, 2014
Just around 2.5, not sure which way to go.
April 30, 2021
I don't know. This wasn't bad, but not great either.
November 1, 2014
This was...pretty good.
A couple observations:
1. I wish it had been longer. A bit longer and it still would have qualified as a short story, but there were things I wish had been fleshed out a bit more. The world itself, for one thing. So little time was spent in this futuristic time that I didn't really connect with it.
2. For that matter, the apocalypse itself deserved more attention. There wasn't even time for my heart rate to increase.
3. Some of the details were unnecessary. Our main character is implanted with a chip and turned into a test subject, but why that happened or what was being tested was never explained. All I can figure is that it was a reason to deepen his relationship, but it left me with the feeling I was missing something. Short stories aren't the best way to run multiple plots concurrently.
Aside from that, though, it was an entertaining read. I particularly liked that the sex was secondary to the emotion. And the author has an undeniable way with words. It could have been better, but I'm not sorry to have read it.
A couple observations:
1. I wish it had been longer. A bit longer and it still would have qualified as a short story, but there were things I wish had been fleshed out a bit more. The world itself, for one thing. So little time was spent in this futuristic time that I didn't really connect with it.
2. For that matter, the apocalypse itself deserved more attention. There wasn't even time for my heart rate to increase.
3. Some of the details were unnecessary. Our main character is implanted with a chip and turned into a test subject, but why that happened or what was being tested was never explained. All I can figure is that it was a reason to deepen his relationship, but it left me with the feeling I was missing something. Short stories aren't the best way to run multiple plots concurrently.
Aside from that, though, it was an entertaining read. I particularly liked that the sex was secondary to the emotion. And the author has an undeniable way with words. It could have been better, but I'm not sorry to have read it.
November 21, 2013
This was a promising short story about a distopian future where the earth is about to fall apart.
It was an interesting premise, and I did enjoy the book, but I thought it could have done with some more character and world building to make it a really satisfying read.
I'd definitely read more by this author
It was an interesting premise, and I did enjoy the book, but I thought it could have done with some more character and world building to make it a really satisfying read.
I'd definitely read more by this author
April 18, 2015
3.5 - I really enjoyed this story, the characters, the world building and the romance. I would love to read more about these two and their world. Nice interpretation of the photo and the story letter. Thank you Kathleen Hayes for donating your story, your time and your talent.
May 1, 2017
This started off a bit rough, but it's a great story and as far as the MCs are concerned,
September 12, 2013
Another fantasy world where every is coming apart. They mus find love and save their lives.
September 27, 2013
Strong world building.
Thank you for your story.
[NOTE: I rate most writing event stories (free reads) 4 or 5 stars because of my appreciation of the author's participation.]
Thank you for your story.
[NOTE: I rate most writing event stories (free reads) 4 or 5 stars because of my appreciation of the author's participation.]
September 25, 2013
3.5 stars
July 21, 2016
I really enjoyed this read. Thank you Kathleen Hayes for donating you story.
September 4, 2014
Nice freebie
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews