Gemotions

He ignored the emails. He ignored the calls. The news had sunk in, a lead weight. He just wanted to be left alone to exist in the bleakness. He’d signed the lease, he’d paid the deposit. Now, the knowledge of what had happened inside the house had extinguished whatever flicker of excitement he had.

He sat on the porch, watching the rain. The wind howled, rattling the windows. He imagined the sounds of that night, the fear, the struggle. He felt his own heart pounding, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow.

He went inside and slumped on the couch, pulling the blanket over his head. The darkness offered little comfort, only a deepening of the gloom that had settled upon him. He didn’t want company, didn’t want sympathy. He just wanted to be somewhere else.