Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Locke
“I think you should come out more often, you know, introduce the sun to your skin,” my brother said, his voice teasing. I nodded absently. His cigarette was almost finished, and the air was thick with smoke, making it hard to breathe. We’d spent the majority of the morning talking about all the things I should do, and I really just wanted to go back inside before our oldest brother got home. I took a quick peek at the front gate from our hiding spot before looking back at my brother. He’d been pestering me to accompany him for a smoke ever since our brother had left to get groceries, and, as always, I protested until I eventually gave in and watched him take a drag. The smoke made my eyes burn and my lungs choke, but I nodded dutifully as Levi mentioned another thing I could do for my well-being, this time, something about yoga, ‘to calm my frayed nerves’.
It was really hard to relax when there was a dead body in your house, speaking from personal experience. And though I should’ve been used to it by then, I just couldn’t get overit. A human body, lifeless and decaying, in our basement. Levi, on the other hand, was fascinated by them. He was the one who actually disposed of the bodies, and a peculiar look always entered his eyes whenever a body arrived at our home. Thank God my job was just to help around the house.
The weather was lovely that day, with a bright sky and large clouds blocking out the heat, but the graveyard we were facing looked neglected, its path carpeted in autumn leaves. I made a mental note to clean it up that day, even though technically, that week was Levi’s turn. The graveyard always got messier during fall.
My anxiety ratcheted up a notch as I heard the gates of our home creak open.
I frantically looked at my brother, the colour draining from my face. Levi just stared at me with an unimpressed expression, as though he couldn’t believe my panicked reaction to Lloyd being home.
“Can you throw that away now?” I whispered urgently, whipping my head towards the gate before looking back at him. “Lloyd’s home.”
The sound of leaves crunching grew louder as our brother approached the door.
A knot of dread formed in my stomach as Levi waved a dismissive hand, brushing me off. God, I really wanted to punch him, but I didn’t want another argument while Lloyd was right outside.
“Please, Levi.” I gave him my best puppy-dog eyes, which usually did the trick. “Let’s go back inside. You know Lloyd hates it when you smoke. I don’t want another fight today. Please,” I reiterated.
Levi stared at me for a long moment before letting out a long, exasperated sigh. “The things I do for family...” he mumbled as he threw the cigarette to the ground and stamped it out.
I released a breath and waved my hands in the air, trying to disperse the lingering smoke. We were close enough to the door that we could probably get inside undetected, but I bet we reeked of tobacco. I sniffed at Levi, trying to determine whether he still smelled of cigarettes, but I couldn’t tell, as everything around us smelled pungent. I gave him a weak glare for dragging out a ‘quick smoke’ for so long before quietly opening the kitchen door. If our eldest brother found out Levi was smoking again...
Shouting was all but guaranteed, and the last thing I needed was for two grown-ass men to swear at each other before declaring they’d never speak to each other. Again.
The kitchen door scraped against the floor as I tried to open it quietly. Our kitchen was in direct view of the living room, but at least the front door was out of sight. I crept inside, tiptoeing, while Levi, whom I could feel giving me a sceptical look, walked past me with his head held high. I hissed at him, but he just waved a hand before turning the corner and climbing the stairs, probably to go to his room and obsess over his ghost theories.
I padded softly into the kitchen, my back hunched, before straightening up when my brother finally entered. Just as he spotted me, I let out a big yawn and rubbed my eyes.
“Hey, Locke, just woke up?” he asked with a small smile, a bag of groceries in his hand. He dumped it onto the nearest chair. The floorboards creaked under his weight as he walked over to me.
I nodded. “Yeah, slept in late.” I gave another yawn for good measure.
He nodded before glancing back at the groceries. “Could you put those away? I need to go upstairs and negotiate with the woodworker. He’s been pestering me about increasing the price of each casket, and I really can’t afford to pay more every time his parrot gets sick. Ain’t no way veterinarians cost that much,” he mumbled to himself before giving me an apologetic smile and clambering up the stairs.
I nodded, though he couldn’t see me, before putting away the groceries. Since I was already in the kitchen, I decided to make chicken-and-egg sandwiches for Levi and Lloyd before taking them upstairs.
The rest of the day passed calmly, and I spent most of it fixing mistakes in the draft of a novel I was writing. I always found the world of books so much better than reality, and writing was my true passion. Currently, I was writing a novel with a bit of mystery and horror, and I couldn’t wait to publish it, especially considering it was the only thing I got excited about those days.
Running a funeral home was rarely an exhilarating job, after all.
