Gemotions

The will said they had to split the house, which felt like an invasion of her space. It also said her brother could come visit. Amelia felt her stomach churn. She made sure all the doors were double-bolted.

She crept through the house, checking each room again, though she had already done so five times that morning. Her shadow on the wall seemed to move independently of her, a looming, unwelcome guest.

She refused to eat the food left on the counter. She watched her brother. Did he put something in her coffee? She poured it out into the sink.

The floorboards groaned upstairs. She froze. The noise had been there before her brother had arrived, but was it a coincidence? He wouldn't…would he? She grabbed a knife from the kitchen drawer and held it out.