Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
I still remembered the older brother who was sweet and funny. Who taught me how to skate. Held my hand the first day of school when I was afraid. Comforted me at night if I woke up from a bad dream. He always brought me water and sat with me.
I wasn’t sure when our roles reversed. Probably when my mum died and I had to grow up fast. Help more with chores. Learn how to cook. After she passed, my dad left all that to me, and somehow I became the mother Brian had lost.
What, I wondered, would she tell me to do right now?
She always supported my dad. He used to say she was the glue that held the family together. That because of her, he was stronger. Was I strong enough to be that for Finn? To accept his decision and keep moving forward?
I wiped my face. I couldn’t answer that right now. I was too tired and drained.
And I needed to talk to my brother.
I went for a run, needing to stretch my legs and clear my head. There was a trail by my building and a small park, not as nice as the one that had been in my old neighborhood, but it was fine. I noticed a man walking toward me as I headed away from my building. He looked at me, his gaze focused intently on my face as I went by. He was older, his expression cold and removed. I felt a shiver run down my spine, and I had a feeling if I looked over my shoulder, he’d be staring at me, so I kept going, grateful when I went around the corner and spotted two other women running. I kept close to them, following them around the small park and veering off once I got close to my building again. I looked around as I slowed, feeling as if I was being watched, but I didn’t see anyone and I shook my head in annoyance at myself. I was tired and overwrought. One creep with a lingering glance was all it was. He probably leered at all the women. Inside, I stepped off the elevator, running into my neighbor.
“Hey, Emily.”
“Hi.”
“Um, didn’t you get my note?”
She frowned. “Sorry?”
“About watering my plants while I was gone?”
“I did, but I saw Brian in the hall, so I assumed he was doing it.”
I was confused. “Brian moved out a few weeks ago.”
“Oh.” She scratched her chin. “I was sure I saw him coming out of the apartment, but maybe I was mistaken. He’d probably dropped over to say hi and he was walking away. Oh God, are the plants okay?”
“They’re fine. I only buy the hardy ones,” I assured her.
“Okay, great. Sorry for the mix-up.”
“No problem.”
I stepped into the apartment, feeling anxious. Emily thought she saw Brian leaving. I checked his keys, but they were still on the hook, the dull bronze matching the one I had. I knew the super wouldn’t let him in. Emily must have been mistaken, as she said. I hadn’t told him I was away, so he must have dropped over to say hi. Unless he’d had a second key I didn’t know about. Why would he come inside, though?
I went to his old room, pushing open the door. I sniffed, the air a bit stale with a slightly odd scent mixed in. Everything was in its place. I crossed to the closet, opening the door. The backpack he’d put in it was still tucked into the corner of the shelf. With a shake of my head, I shut the door then headed for a shower, leaving the bedroom door open to air it out a bit.
A while later, I came down the hall, stopping in confusion. The bedroom door was almost shut, but I had left it open, hadn’t I?
I pushed it open, looking inside. Everything was normal. No one was there. I headed to the front door, checking that it was closed. It was locked, the dead bolt firmly in place. The bedroom door probably drifted shut on its own and I was making too much of it.
I sat down, staring at the floor. I rubbed my eyes. I was tired and overreacting. I was sure I was, but I decided I would ask the super about changing the locks the next time I saw him.
I was tired the next morning, having hardly slept that night. I tossed and turned, thinking of Finn. Worried. Upset he hadn’t called.
Then I realized not once in my worrying had I wondered about Brian.
And I wondered if my subconscious was telling me something.
I went to work, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. As I stepped off the subway, I got the feeling again of being watched. I looked around, but the station was busy—packed with morning commuters. I thought I glimpsed the same man from the day before, but he was gone too quickly for me to be sure.