House of Fallen Trees Read Online Free

the same as killing the contents of her mind. She didn’t want to think about this stuff anymore. Didn’t want to dwell on Sean and what had become of him. Lord knew, she’d already done enough of that and it had gotten her nowhere except in a plush chair opposite a fucking shrink. “Definitely need more wine.”
   She leaned over and poured the remains of the bottle into her glass, knowing perfectly well what they said about people who drank alone. Though what choice did she have? She was a loner; always had been, always would be. An anti-social hermit who liked it that way. People were so bothersome…so demanding of her time and energy. Time and energy she didn’t care to share. All she needed was her words, her characters. They gave her trouble sometimes, sure, but all-in-all they made for better company than anyone in the real world ever had.
   She’d always lived inside her head best and saw no reason to change. Sean had been the lively one. The vivacious one, outgoing and funny. Smart and handsome. The two of them had been like night and day, yin and yang. She had to laugh now, bitterly, wondering not for the first time if her parents wished it had been her who’d disappeared. “Sorry, Mom,” she said loudly, her own voice startling her. “Sorry Daddy-O.”
   She was half-tempted to call them up right now, in the middle of the damn night to announce to them that their precious baby boy was a homosexual. Wouldn’t that stick in their craw nicely?
   Then she froze, wondering just what the hell had gotten into her. Why was she thinking all these ugly negative thoughts? Yes, her parents had favored Sean. Sadly, parents often cared for their sons over their daughters. It was a simple, though unfortunate, fact of life.
   But it was the wine, of course, bringing out the ugly in her. The sour bitch on wheels, who dutifully kept her mouth shut and resented them all the more because of it.
   “Put on a happy face!” she shouted abruptly, clambering off the bed, being careful not to spill her drink.
   Maybe what she needed was some fresh air. Perhaps she should go for a walk. Any fool knew women had long ago lost the privilege of enjoying a night walk alone, but Karen didn’t give a shit about that right now. She would pity the poor fool who dared to fuck with her tonight.
   Stumbling around her bedroom, she stepped into her favorite flip-flops and prepared to leave the condo, wineglass in hand. She was turning towards the doorway when the laptop on her bed bleated. She stopped, swaying slightly, and gazed down at the computer with curiosity. Someone had sent her an instant message.
    Ignore it , she thought. Go on your walk. Pretend you didn’t hear it.
   “That’s ridiculous,” she muttered. “It could be something important.” Though she couldn’t imagine what. Not many people had her screen name, but her publishers, agent, and editor were among those who did. As far as she could remember, her mom might have had it as well, though she was certain her parents were long since in bed by this time of night. Setting the glass on the bedside table, she sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the laptop to her, turning it so she could see the screen. The instant message was from someone calling themselves SeanL14. She gasped, clicking open the IM before she could think better of it. Her eyes widened as they scanned the words typed into the message box.
    Two men have the carcass.
   All she could do was stare at the words, suddenly completely sober, palms growing damp as her pulse thumped in her temple, her heart a tiny terrified bird in a cage of bones.
    Bing .
   New message.
   But not a new message. The same one, repeated.
    Two men have the carcass.
   She wanted to respond to whoever was doing this, ask them who the fuck they were and what they wanted, but she was paralyzed. Had her dream of the other night not been a dream