Gemotions

It was the first question the new neighbor, Kevin, asked. “So, you know about the… thing, right?” Mark didn’t meet Kevin’s eyes, busying himself with watering the petunias. He knew. The police files were available online. He'd looked, driven by a morbid curiosity he now deeply regretted.

He felt the familiar knot tighten in his gut. The report detailed the meticulous, calculated crime that had occurred within those very walls. He shivered, despite the warm sun. He'd painted the walls himself, planted those flowers himself. Now the house felt like a cage.

He squeezed the watering can so hard his knuckles turned white. He wanted to go back inside, to hide, to pretend he didn't know. But the knowledge was there, a heavy weight that crushed him. He spat a curse under his breath and turned away from Kevin.