Dreams Don't Come Easy - A Short Story

A short story

Janet had always dreamed of becoming a writer, but life had other plans for her. She had to drop out of college to take care of her sick mother, who passed away a few years later.

She then took a series of low-paying jobs to make ends meet but never gave up on her passion for writing. She would spend her nights and weekends working on her novel, hoping to finish it someday and get it published.

One night, she met Nick at a bar. He was charming, handsome, and funny. He claimed to be a successful editor at a publishing house, and he offered to read her novel and give her some feedback.

Janet was thrilled and agreed to send him her manuscript. She also agreed to go home with him, hoping that he would be the one who could make her dreams come true.

They arrived at his simple 1-bedroom apartment downtown. Janet looked around the living room. It was a mess, with piles of clothes, books, papers, and trash strewn about haphazardly. The walls were stained and peeling, and the furniture looked old and broken. This was not the home of a successful editor.

Nick opened a bottle of cheap wine, and they sat on the lumpy couch.

As they talked, Janet realized that Nick was not being totally honest with her. He got evasive when she asked more questions about his job and changed the subject. It slowly dawned on Janet that he had lied about being an editor.

In fact, he did not seem to have a steady job at all. She started to wonder if bringing her cherished manuscript here had been a mistake.

The next morning, Janet woke up in Nick's bed. She looked around the messy bedroom. The sheets were stained, and empty beer cans were on the nightstand.

She felt a surge of anger and disappointment.

She had wasted her time and energy on someone who did not care about her or her work. Nick was not going to help her get published. He was a scam artist who preyed on aspiring writers like her.

Janet quickly got dressed and gathered up her things. She needed to get out of this depressing apartment and never see Nick again.

As she headed for the door, she heard Nick call out from the kitchen, "Hey, you want me to make you some breakfast before you go?"

Janet did not even turn around. "No thanks," she said coldly. "If I leave now, I'll be hungry for a day. But if I stay, I'll be hungry for a lifetime."