Page 69 of The Marriage Narrative
“Leave me alone,” Lulie cried, covering her ears. He took a single step toward her.
Instinct took over and Zinnia was standing in front of Lulie before she even thought twice about it. The men outside the store were more surprising than scary, like watching a horror movie. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t hurt them.
This man felt different.
He blinked as if noticing Zinnia for the first time. There was no light there—he had the emptiest blue eyes she’d ever seen in her life. The remorseless kind that appeared in courtrooms and onDateline: murder edition.
“Oooookay.”Chills ran down her spine with enough force to make her gasp. She held up her hand like a stop sign to ward off evil. “I’ve had enough ofwhateverthis is. I’m starting to feel a little threatened! And I don’t recommend doing that!”
“Move,” he growled.
Oh, hell no!His method acting had officially gone too far for her.
“MOM!” Lulie finally remembered she had a voice and began shouting over and over—which must’ve been the cue to set him off. He rushed at them like a linebacker, crouched low with lethal force.
Zinnia screamed as her fist shot out and connected with his throat.“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod.”She shook out her hand, fully on the verge of losing her shit.
His eyes bulged, hands clutching his throat as he gasped for air. He was wearing enough cologne to revive the dead. It rolled over her as he stumbled back, a nauseating wave nearly making her gag.
But her punch only slowed him down. He lurched forward again with one arm outstretched, his claw-like hand swiping at her and missing.
“No!” She rammed the heel of her hand into his nose. “I warned you!” Squaring up, she kicked him in the balls and, when he bent over, kicked him again in the face. “No!”
His head snapped back with a satisfying crunch, and he toppled like a slain giant crashing into the ground.
“Holy shit!” Lulie gripped Zinnia’s arm with both hands, still standing behind her. “Did you kill him?”
“I don’t think so,” she said, breathless. “I hope not.Oh shit.I hope he has actor insurance.”
He groaned and rolled over—they both screamed, and Zinnia kicked him in the face for the second time. “I’M SORRY! DON’T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!”
He didn’t move again.
Seconds later, Amber opened the door with a security guard and a camera pod in tow. They all stared open-mouthed at the man on the ground and then at Zinnia.
“He’s not dead!” she said quickly. “But I might have overreacted.”
Chapter 18
Jordan
“You three cando whatever you want,” Mabel said sweetly. “As long as it’s not sitting on the couch.”
“Oh, it is,” Jordan said.
If his dad wanted to sit on the damn couch in his own house that he worked his whole life to pay for, then that was what the hell they were going to do.
His parents were getting old—his dad specifically had hit that creaky old man stage where he made random noises just for existing. Jordan had already lost so much time being with him. Why couldn’t they try to capture the wonder of how something so ordinary, like sitting in comfortable silence with his dad, could feel so special? Maybe try challenging themselves for once.
“Go get your knucklehead brother.” His dad gently pushed his shoulder. “Meet me in the library.”
Mabel’s eyes widened in surprise, mouth forming a speechless O.
“Really?” Jordan asked. “You sure?”
Librarywas a bit of a misnomer. A better name for it would’ve been an archive—a private family record of all the memoriesthey’d hidden from the world, curated by his mom and maintained by his dad. Cameras were never allowed in there.
He nodded. “Go.”
