Excerpt from "If You'd Only Listened" by Angel Sharum in 'If'

Angel Sharum is one of the Circle 8 Writers, who regularly band together to share their short stories in anthologies. She has been one of my good Facebook friends for a few years now, as we share many writing adventures. Check out an excerpt of her short story "If You'd Only Listened," which appears in their latest anthology If.

Book Blurb:

The stories of If:

Amy Browne: "And So It Begins: the Birth of Paisley" Short (Paisley)story: The kingdom rejoices at the birth of a new princess. If only grandma had been more careful, the baby would not have floated up, up and away.

Andi Caldwell: "Saint Theresa" Short Story: Theresa had something in common with her namesake Saint Theresa: seeking terrible vengeance on those closest to her. If only she had known then what she knows now--that the saint was no saint in her young life, either.

Angel Sharum: "As If You Cared" Short story: If Robert hadn’t been so alienated by his wife’s manic depression, maybe the cure wouldn’t have proved so deadly.

"If You’d Only Listened" Short story: Nobody ever listened to Will, not his mother, not even his best friend Dale—NOBODY! If they had, maybe Will wouldn’t have decided it’s time for Judgement Day.

"I’m Sorry" Flash story: Sorry, Charlie.

"I Want You Back" Flash fiction: If only Nathan would’ve washed his own dirty shirts.

LL Darroch: "Artemis Unbound" Short story: A scarlet ribbon always around her neck. Oh, dear, if poor Henry had only known or had guessed why his beloved never took it off.

"The Bracelet" Short story: If Mattie can only conjure up fake spirits, how can one that keeps taunting her with a bracelet prove to be too real.

"UserError" Flash fiction: If you’re going to use a computer to cheat, don’t drink coffee.

“Green Cheese” Flash Fiction: Green Cheese: What if the moon really was made of green cheese?

"Fortress" Poetry: If the past is a dead thing, should a tombstone marks its grave?

Brittany Joy Chadwick "IF" Short story: If Frank could only believe in his Imaginary Friend.

Robert L. Arend "Snow Globe Short story: If only Ralph hadn’t been so ambitious, greedy and selfish, he and his family might not be homeless and struggling to survive the harsh Philadelphia winter. If only he could change their present by changing his past.

"The Andre Peterson Conspiracy" Short Story: If Sirhan Sirhan didn’t kill Robert F. Kennedy, who did? Time will tell.

Read an excerpt from "If You'd Only Listened" 

Dale picked up the bullhorn to try one more time to bring his best friend out before things got ugly. He knew the sheriff would call reinforcements soon and things would go downhill fast. He hoped to get Will, and Will’s family, out of there before that happened.

“Will, what’s going on in there?” Dale yelled. After waiting a few minutes, he added, “Come on, answer me. What will it hurt?”

“It’s Judgment Day, Dale.”

Dale’s gut clenched. He didn’t like the sound of that at all. “What do you mean, Will?” he asked, taught to keep communication going, even if you didn’t want to hear the answer.

“We all have to pay for our sins sooner or later, Dale.”

Sherriff Tucker hissed, “Shit,” before getting on the radio and telling dispatch to call in the tactical unit. They all knew that when people starting talking about sin things were going straight to hell. Nobody rewarded those who they thought sinned against them, and Dale knew this wouldn’t be the first time it happened.

“We’re all sinners, Will. It’s up to the Good Lord to make us pay for them,” Dale called out. “You can’t be takin’ matters into your own hands.”

“Sometimes that’s the only thing you can do, Dale,” Will yelled back out the window.
“No!” Dale shouted, but Will pulled the window closed and ignored him.

“This is bad, Dale,” Sherriff Tucker said. “This is really bad.”

A gunshot rang out from the house, startling the deputies. Each one, to a man, drew their sidearms and waited for instructions.

“Hold your fire!” yelled the sheriff. “We don’t know who all’s in there.”

“Will!” Dale hollered. “What happened in there?”

“Frank! No, God, no!” Dale heard Marge scream from inside the house, and then, “You killed him, Will. You killed your own father!”

Will said something in return, but none of the men outside could understand him. Dale tried to get Will back to the window and talking. It did no good. It seemed Will was through communicating, and Dale couldn’t do anything but stand by and watch events unfold.

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Author Bio:

Angel Sharum is a Georgia Peach who sometimes writes stories that are rotten to the core. Never one to shy away from voicing her opinion, Angel found the perfect venue to share her thoughts when she started writing non-fiction articles for online publications.
The success of her articles convinced her to try her hand at other forms of writing. Putting what friends and family called a vivid and sometimes twisted imagination to use, she began writing poetry and short fiction. It didn't take long for her to realize this was where her true passion lay.
Writing short stories allows her to take readers on journeys of imagination that linger beyond "The End" and poetry offers a way for her to shake up people's emotions and make them think. According to Angel, when she accomplishes her goals a truly special connection exists between her and her readers.