Tom made it home earlier than expected. A late-running bus had appeared at the perfect moment, saving him the wait in the rain for the next one. He'd already text Joyce, so he knew he'd be staying in her room that night. Earlier on, he'd received some very positive feedback on a piece of work he'd submitted to his professors, the subsequent drinks he'd enjoyed with some friends turning out to be great fun. On the walk hom...

"Joyce, can I speak to you quickly?" Chloe asked her friend and university housemate. It was a conversation she'd been putting off for almost two months, waiting to see how things developed before making any rash decisions. It was pretty clear that Joyce and Tom – the third person in their trio of school friends so tight-knit that they all went off to the same university – had been fucking for a number of weeks. Neither h...

It's a filthy habit. I knew I should quit. I'll stop tomorrow, I kept telling myself, once more contaminating my once fortress of a body, the long draw of nicotine too alluring to resist. I wasn't a heavy smoker, but I had my routine. At night-time, 11:30 p.m., like clockwork, I'd quietly close my apartment door, descend the long flight of stairs, and step out into the night air. The neighbourhood was quiet, the flats occ...