Among Wolves by Erica Blaque

Author:Erica Blaque [Blaque,Erica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Polis Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

13

Open House

Standing at my kitchen counter, gazing out over Deep River, I scroll through Facebook on my cellphone. I find Rob had checked into the gym about two hours ago, complete with a selfie of him and Abe Brown on the basketball court. I don’t mind him spending time with Abe, he’s a good man—a self-made man. Recently, Abe has spent a great amount of time with Rob, helping Anexa acquire another company.

I continue scrolling, my mind is infected quickly with dread when I come across an article from the Deep River Herald that mentions another murder that took place last night. The headline reads, “Another Woman Killed. Police Scramble for Answers.” The short article describes the death as matching the other victims and shares her name, Abby Usher, and her photograph. She is beautiful and young, just like the others. I examine her, studying her glossy red hair, button nose, and porcelain skin.

Guilt at the death of another young woman pulses through my veins, followed by a crushing anxiety. My phone falls from my hand, tumbling to the kitchen counter as my body grows heavy with my eyes fixed open. I want to cry but the numbness created by a strange cocktail of sensations won’t allow tears to form. I assume the detectives will be contacting me again, and soon.

I float to our bedroom and crawl under the covers. Closing my eyes, allowing the satisfaction of sleep to slowly slide over me. The peaceful break from my bizarre reality is welcomed until I’m interrupted by the quiet hum of Rob’s car pulling slowly into the garage.

I wait to hear him. The door to the garage closes loudly and he makes his way to our bedroom, playing noisily with his keys.

I close my eyes, pretending I’m asleep before he makes it to our bedroom.

A tickle dances on my nose, causing me to open my eyes abruptly to find him above me, kissing my forehead.

“Hi,” he whispers.

I moan, still pretending to be sleepy.

“I need to shower and get ready to go. Will you drive me to the airport?” he asks, hovering over me.

“Yes, of course.” I sit up lazily to watch him walk to the bathroom and undress, tossing his dirty gym clothes to the hamper and missing. I don’t have plans today, but it would be nice if he would have planned my driving him to the airport sooner than thirty minutes before leaving.

He says something from the shower, but I can’t make out his words from our bed. I pitch the heavy down blanket off my naked body and walk to the shower where Rob stands scrubbing his face.

Something that always annoyed me about this man: he would be on the opposite side of the house, yet assume it is my job to come to him to hear what he has to say. Yet, if I needed to speak to him, it was my job to walk to him so he could hear me. A twinge of anger simmers in my chest as I stand at the open marble shower watching him.

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