Read Online Ashes to Ashes by Nathaniel Fincham - Free Book Online

spent. And no one would talk to
him anyway. He did not have a badge or even his consultant
laminate.
    He groaned and rubbed his tired eyes. A
seemingly normal day had turned rabid and bit him in the ass.

Chapter 6
     
    Feeling along the wall in the dark, it took
him several seconds to locate the light switch. Flipping it, his
kitchen exploded around him. Pain shot across the surface of his
eyes. Giving his pupils a moment to adjust, Ashe waddled toward the
sliver fridge, heading for either a beer or some water to wash down
a pain pill. For the second time that evening he found himself
arriving at home, stressed and on the verge of a migraine.
    He would take anything that would kill the
tension building in his head...short of a bullet to the brain. It
was tempting but that would relieve a little more than just the
tension. Like gray matter. The thought brought back images of
Owen's blood soaked bed.
    “Where the fuck are you, Scott?” He asked the
house. But the building didn’t have a voice to answer. It was
hollow and lifeless. The emptiness of his home had never bothered
him as much as it did at that moment. Over the years it had become
his sanctuary, his fortress of solitude, so much that he had
forgotten what it had been like once upon a time. He remembered a
time in the past when the walls were filled with life and love. But
no more. It had become nothing but a tomb, a tomb that his mind
pretended was his home.
    Home.
    The house was a place for him to rest and to
sleep, but it had not been a home in many, many years. He could
burn it down, Ashe told himself. He could watch it disintegrate and
return to the Earth. He would never be able to do it, however,
because the memories of his wife might burn with it. And where
would he be without the ghost of his Susanne? Where would he be
without the specter of his lost love and the mixture of pleasure
and anguish that haunted him during the days of his life? Happy?
Possibly. But happiness is overrated, or at least that is what he
often told himself.
    For a brief instant he pictured Katherine and
the red of her shiny hair. He instantly forced her image away. He
didn’t deserve the normalcy of a second date with a good looking
and interesting woman.
    Pausing at the island, Ashe dropped the dream
journal down on the smooth and reflective surface. Fishing in his
pocket, he found the black and gold container. Putting it on top of
the notebook, he glared at it. Unexpectedly, he snatched the
container back up and opened it. Empty. As he had figured.
    “What did you hold?” he asked the container,
as if it would speak.
    Closing the container, he put it back on the
journal and turned away.
    Opening the fridge, he ducked his head
inside. Grabbing a bottle from a shelf, he pulled a red bottle
opener from a nearby drawer. Violently, he amputated the top of the
bottle. Ashe moaned lowly as the cold flow of the Sam Adams entered
his throat. Sometimes it was like drinking gold...but better. He
swallowed hard before taking another pleasurable gulp. Using his
heel to bump the fridge door closed, he flicked the beer cap toward
the garbage can. It hit the outer rim of the can and bounced upward
and onto the counter top. He walked over to the counter to properly
dispose of the cap when he noticed that his answering machine once
again had two messages instead of one.
    Reluctantly, he pressed the PLAY button.
    Katherine's voice sprung to life. “Ashe?
Usually I take a man storming out on a first date as rejection. But
I will forgive you ...for bailing on me in the middle of a
meal. It wasn't even the middle of the meal. It was...pre-meal.
There is a first time for everything. And it was the first time, I
hope you know. I am a damned sexy piece of red head and men usually
wait until the next morning and sneak away. Just kidding. I am not
a whore. I swear.” She giggled. “I hope your old friend was dying
or something. Or at least believed they were.” Another cute giggle.
“Anyway. I forgive