Sweetheart

by Victoria Hyder

Love is a very dark thing to want. Being in love is even darker still. However, having someone love every part of you -every inch, every fibre, every molecule so unrelentingly -is the darkest of all deficiencies.

David didn't expect to fall in love with Sebastian the way he did. Seeing him drinking coffee everyday in the Costa's where he worked, and going back and forth to school, he treasured every second that he shared the same air as the boy. He also had no idea just the lengths he would go to love and nurture the young boy as part of his life, despite what society would say about him, how they'd look down on him.

They'd call him a monster, a pervert or even a paedophile.

But he was none of those things -he was in love. That was all.

65 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 2, 2015

Reviews

[Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful horror read! Couldn't put it down and loved the psychological torment of Sebastian. It was harrowing to read but at the same time perfect for Halloween. To see how calm and collected David appeared the majority of the time when doing such treacherous things was alarming in so many ways -but seemed incredibly accurate of what is expected of a sociopath! If you love a good, creepy thriller this is definitely worth a read :D

[deadrun · Rating 1 out of 5]

This could have been a really interesting psychological thriller from a sociopath's point of view as he navigates his completely inappropriate obsession with a 15 year old boy, gradually building a relationship and growing closer to him... but it all falls apart about halfway through when he ends up abducting the boy and quickly grows bored of him.
Instead of an interesting battle of wills as Sebastian navigates his situation (and David's volatile temper) trying to survive, Sebastian is reduced to full on Stockholm Syndrome and is completely broken to the point of offering himself up to David because he's now so desperate for human companionship he thinks he loves the man. (Sex happens off screen thanks much)
Then... things go bat shit. The ending is rushed, which is standard fair for short stories, and to a degree that is understandable, but the ending was so chaotic and confusing I have no idea what even happened aside from Sebastian hitching a ride with a stranger (?) and riding off into the night. Yeah.

From a technical stand point, there are lots of editing errors and really messy POV changes that hurt my head. We stay in David's POV for most of the story and then suddenly we switch to Sebastian's, which would be fine but then just as Sebastian's POV is established David's POV begins to bleed in again and it left me wondering what the fuck was even going on.

I give it three stars because it kept me engaged for the most part and it did tickle my morbid curiosity. /shrug
Edit: 12/16/18
The more I think about it the less I like this one.