Hidden Sins Read Online Free Page A

be a home that was taken care of, but that wasn’t the neighborhood standard. Concrete block walls were tagged in colorful spray paint murals. My stomach knotted as we drove deeper into the neighborhood I’d be calling home.
    “According to GPS, it looks like we’re about a block away,” the driver said, interrupting my thoughts.
    “Great. Thanks for driving me here,” I replied, still staring at one rundown home after another. The car slowed and my pulse began pounding as the home came into view.
    It occurred to me then that if I’d known where I was going, I might not have come. I let out a deep breath and glanced at the driver who was staring at the house. It was larger than most of the ones we’d passed on the way here. It had a half-built concrete wall and overgrown weeds in the front yard. My mind flashed back to the carefully constructed homes I’d left behind in my community, if you could call it that. Everything was in its place back home. Here it looked like everyone’s dirty laundry was exposed, and maybe that’s what I needed. All of the problems back in New Hampshire were hidden. Secrets filled every crevice and dirtied the soul. Here, maybe things were more transparent from the start, which might be a good thing. There was nothing worse than bearing the weight of hidden sins from another.
    “You sure this is where you want me to let you off?” the driver asked.
    I nodded and smiled. “Yeah. This is it.”
    I opened the door and grabbed my belongings off the floor as the driver climbed out of the vehicle.
    “I’ll start bringing your things up to the front door,” the driver said.
    “Thanks,” I said, walking up the steps. There was a gate at the base of the stairs and it was open. “But you don’t have to…”
    “Orders from Mr. Fletcher,” the driver laughed, holding up his hand to stop me from continuing.
    “He’s very persistent,” I muttered.
    “You have no idea.”
    When I reached the top of the steps, the front door opened, revealing a very stern woman. Her hair was long, stringy and brown, framing her harsh features and hazel eyes. She wore a pair of jeans, an orange t-shirt, and white flip-flops. Her eyes stayed on me for a beat too long and a funny feeling crept over me.
    “Who’s he?” she asked, looking over my shoulders.
    “My driver. I—”
    “You had specific instructions,” the woman’s voice cold and callous.
    “I know. I’m sorry, but my truck broke down and…”
    “Don’t let it happen again,” she responded, as the driver brought up a box and left it on the steps.
    “You’re Nancy?” I asked.
    “I am.”
    “I really should help him,” I said, setting my things down on top of the box. I marched back down the stairs. This wasn’t the warm welcome I’d hoped for, and it also told me that maybe my new beginning wouldn’t be full of Lukes.
    When I reached the SUV, I grabbed my suitcase and hauled it out of the vehicle. The weight of it landed on the sidewalk with a thud. The driver was already carrying his third load up the stairs when I glanced back toward the front door, and Nancy was no longer there. I grabbed my chair and managed to hold it in one hand as I carried the suitcase in the other.
    As I walked back up the stairs, the driver was coming down and he stopped. “Doesn’t seem like a particularly friendly gal you’ll be rooming with.”
    I pressed my lips together and gave a slight nod of agreement, but I kept walking.
    Reaching the top of the stairs, I wheeled my suitcase into the entry of the home and set the chair down. The brown tile was cracked in areas, and the walls were painted a dingy, pale yellow and in need of a fresh coat of paint. Walls didn’t exist like this where I came from. Every chore to keep the properties up was handled, and if it couldn’t be taken care of by the occupant than it was doled out to one of the other residents.
    “Miss, I carried the last box up. I’ll be on my way if there isn’t anything else