Free Meet Me In The Dark: (A Dark Suspense) by J.A. Huss Page B

answers. “I’m not gonna be near a computer for a few weeks, probably.” She’s silent on the other end. “Sasha?”
    She sighs. “I thought you were done working?”
    “I am,” I lie. “I’m just taking time off away from shit. Call me in a few weeks if you still like this guy and I’ll help you out.”
    “Hmph. Well, I got into grad school. And I already got an internship for the summer. Just lab stuff. But it’s a good start.”
    Sometimes I do wish she was my kid. Then these proud moments would be the result of me instead of her normal family. But if I was the one who’d kept her, she’d be all kinds of fucked up by now. “I never doubted you, brat. I’ll call you in a few weeks and we’ll celebrate.”
    I end the call before she can say anything else and then throw my phone onto the couch and pick up the guitar. I start strumming that song again. It’s soft and slow. Reminds me of that year all the shit hit the fan.
    I hum along with the melody, the meaning behind the words taking over for a little bit.
    Happiness is not what you think, this song reminds me. You spend your whole life looking for it, but you can’t find it. It’s not a thing. It’s a state of mind.
    My fingers continue to strum as I think about the words and then I stop and set the instrument aside.
    Way too depressing.
    I get up and turn out the lights and then dress so I can go check the property. Make sure that fuck Garrett didn’t really set me up. Of course, it’s been ten days, but old habits never die.
    I get my winter gear on and step out into the cold night air. In the summer you can hear the river from here. But it’s frozen over now and will be for at least three more months.
    I don’t like it out here in the winter too much. But this cabin is the perfect place to kill a girl. That’s why I brought her here, after all. I will kill her. She’s Garrett’s weapon and she needs to be neutralized. It’s not my fault he did this to her. It’s not my fault she’s so fucked up..
    My feet crunch along in the snow as I think about that for a moment. Sydney Channing is probably gone. Her mind is very messed up. And if I tell her just how badly she’s been used, it might complicate things.
    I really need to keep this simple. I pat my pocket looking for smokes, shake one out, and light it up. If I go back in there and tell her what I think is going on, things will not be simple. Things will become more than complicated. I’ll start something I might not want to finish.
    If, on the other hand, I go in there and cut her throat? Well, then things get real simple.
    Maybe Garrett is looking for her right now. Maybe I can take her somewhere and parade her around to get his attention. Make her bait.
    I take a long drag of nicotine and blow it out as I consider my options. When the smoke is finished I toss it down into the snow and stub it out. I start the snow machine in front of the cabin and patrol the outer perimeter of the property, checking for tracks. Garrett. Wolf. Mountain lion.
    All predators.
    But the only tracks out here are mine.
    When I’m satisfied we’re alone, I park the machine in front of the cabin and walk back inside. My mind is made up.
    Simple is definitely the way to go.
    I need to be with Sasha. Do that little job for her. Make her happy. I need to catch up to my friends and get a life. Put this shit behind me.
    It’s time to kill Sydney Channing and move on.
    Tonight.

“Things have meaning because we give them that meaning. Everything. From the song in your head to the photos in your phone. They mean things. For me, they just mean a little more.”
    – Sydney
     
    T he phone call throws me. Sasha Cherlin. I’ve heard a lot about that girl but I’ve never actually met her. Seen her, back when she was a little girl. Heard about her. And maybe, if I’m honest, wished I was her on more than a few occasions.
    Her life might’ve gotten off track—fucked up is a much better way to put it—but she had