The Swallow by Marie Snow

Author:Marie Snow [Snow, Marie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Marie Snow
Published: 2020-08-24T18:30:00+00:00

30

Johnny

One week later

“I wish we could spend the whole day together,” Michelle cooed against my chest as she kissed me there, her arm tightening around my stomach in a half-hug.

“I do too,” I lied as I got out of bed. I felt myself pulling away involuntarily. It wasn’t something I planned on, wasn’t even something I was trying to do. It just happened, and after seeing that body on my front lawn of my landscaping business, I felt this part of me closing in.

I grabbed my pants off the floor and put them on, zipping myself up as I looked down at her. I saw the confusion, the hurt and sadness on her face. I should feel guilty, and maybe a small part of me that wasn’t already dead inside did. I liked Michelle. I cared for her. Yet, ever since that body was discovered, it felt like the walls were closing in.

I needed a break. So, I was taking today away from Michelle. I needed to breathe, to sort and wade through the shit in my head. She thought I had to work. In reality, I was planning on doing nothing more than spend the day alone.

“But work calls,” I added, and then because I saw the fear in her gaze, I bent down and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll call you when I get done for the day,” I promised her, knowing I had no plans on getting back to the house until well after dark.

“That will be nice. Maybe we can have dinner together,” she said so hopefully that it irritated the shit out of me. God, I’d become a bastard. I tried my best to keep the annoyance out of my face.

“Maybe,” I agreed and then turned to go into the bathroom and get ready.

I heard movement in the bedroom as I finished brushing my teeth and getting ready for the day.

“Is this another picture of you and your brother?” Michelle called out. “You’re so young.”

My body went stiff as I walked back into the bedroom, pulling my shirt over my head as I did so.

Michelle was holding the small frame I kept on my bedside table. I cursed myself under my breath, wishing I had put that in my nightstand drawer. I only kept one picture of me and my brother out, and that was the one in the living room. It was the only one I could stomach anyone seeing.

But this picture was private, and it wasn’t something I wanted to share with Michelle, not yet at least. Maybe not ever. I was still trying to figure out what I was doing when it came to her. I didn’t want her knowing anything about my past, not until I knew this was something more than it was.

I took the picture out of her hand, doing my best not to just snatch it. I looked down at the image staring back at me. Me and my brother Blue. We were in the front yard, riding a bike that was almost beyond riding.

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