AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Where the fuck have you been?”
“Church?” Severin tensed. His brother’s voice was all wrong.
“Yeah.” His voice broke on the word. “I’ve been trying to call the house all night.”
“I turned the ringers off.”
“Fuck.” His brother sounded weird. Broken.
Severin held the phone away from his ear, letting his index finger hover over the end call button. Whatever Church had to say it was bad, and he didn’t want to fucking hear it. This was what happened when you let yourself care about people.
He swore and put the phone back to his ear.
“Did you hear me?”
“No.”
“I’m flying in to see you tonight.”
“No.”
“Sev – we need to talk.”
“Just tell me who.”
Church’s silence said everything that needed to be said.
“When?”
“Last night. Late.”
Of course. He’d probably been balls-deep in a woman while his mother lay dying.
“I don’t want to see you.” He punched the end call button.
The ground shifted strangely under his boots and he sat abruptly. He rose and walked a few feet. Sat again. His legs refused to obey him. Nerve endings all over his body prickled, numbing his legs, his face. His vision wavered. He got his legs under him again and staggered into the forge. He put his phone on one of his anvils and smashed it with a hammer, then stared at the pieces for so long his eyes hurt.
After all the promises she’d made, she’d left him.
Church’s mom, Church, and now Sutton. Gone.
What was wrong with him?
Why did everyone leave?
He’d known he’d pay the price for what he had with Minnow, but he’d thought she’d be the one who would go.
Now he had her and Rodrigo. That was his whole world because he’d gotten greedy. Now he had no family left. Again. Gone.
One of the memories came of The Man with the big fingers and stinking breath fighting to pry open his mouth. Telling him to stop acting like a baby.
Suffocating.
Mother being angry. Telling him he was bad.
The tall servant and the black car.
The dream that came again and again, but hadn’t begun as one.
