“I know. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I think you’re right.”
“Good, I just didn’t want you to be, y’know, blaming yourself for stuff you couldn’t control. I may have blamed you at first but I was wrong and I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, I--”
“Mark I gotta go, my Mom’s coming.”
“Okay. Well, take care of yourself, okay? Merry Christmas.”
“You too,” she said, and then hung up. Even though he’d done everything he could to make peace with what had happened he could now feel the final piece of the puzzle click into place and a weight lifting from his shoulders.
Oh sure, everything’s fine. All you have to do now is live in a crappy “group home” with people that make Jack look like Sunshine Bear while you wait for some family to decide you’re worth having around. Then you get to go out in the world with the small bit of life insurance money Joe left you. It’s nowhere near enough to go to college so good luck finding a job in a crappy economy with the albatross of being connected to a mass murder spree around your neck. Yeah, everything’s coming up Watson.
“You know what,” Mark said. “I don’t think I need you anymore.”
Mark waited, but there was no response. He went out to the dining room, finally looking forward to the future.
###
About the Author
Thacher E. Cleveland grew up in Montclair, NJ which is totally nothing like Cedar Ridge. Honest. He moved to Yellow Springs, Ohio after school and stayed for about 15 years, selling books and comics for most of that time, even becoming a co-founder his own shop, Super-Fly Comics & Games. In 2010 he left the retail side of life and relocated to Chicago. Thacher is a contributing writer and columnist for the website Panels on Pages.com and is one of the hosts of the Super-Fly Comics Podcast on the Panels on Pages podcast network. He can be found online at his website, www.demonweasel.com or via Twitter at www.twitter.com/demonweasel.
Also by Thacher E. Cleveland
NEVER LET GO: A Winston & Churchill Case
Lexie Winston and Henry Churchill are private investigators that specialize in the unusual, the unexplained and the unnatural. When they're contacted by a man who's worried about his wife after the loss of their son, they realize some people will go to any lengths to be reunited with the ones they love. Beyond murder, beyond sanity and into the realm of pure evil.
Available on Smashwords & Amazon
Shadow of the Past Page 27
