Read Online Particles of Obsession (A Shadow of Death Romantic Suspense Book 2) by Charlotte Raine - Free Book Online
Authors: Charlotte Raine
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sorry, but…I think I know how this story ends, and I don’t…I don’t want all this build-up. Just spit it out.”
He nods. “The biological son bruised her up pretty bad. There wasn’t any outright punching or anything, but he wasn’t gentle and he even wrapped his hands around her throat a few times. At one point, he dragged her to his room. My foster brother followed him, but I went outdoors. I was scared. I can’t say for certain what happened, but…I think we both know. Shortly after that, the biological son got into some legal trouble. My foster parents wouldn’t talk about it, but I think he hit another car while he was driving drunk, so all of us foster kids were sent to different homes. I never knew what happened to her.”
“What was her name?”
“Maggie Thompson,” he says. “I’ve tried to find her again, to apologize, but I’ve never been able to find her.”
“You were a kid,” I say. “You wanted acceptance. It’s understandable.”
“I was fourteen,” he says. “I should have done something. And that’s why I don’t want to just stay on the sidelines anymore. That was the day I learned that there are no innocent bystanders if those bystanders don’t do anything to stop a crime from being committed.”
He covers his face with his hands for a couple of seconds before rubbing his eyes.
“Should we post this blog entry?” he asks, turning the laptop at me. I look at him for a couple seconds longer. This confession should make me less attached to him, but it’s the first time that I’ve seen him be truly vulnerable and not this flawless, charismatic human that students flock too. This is a man who turned his back on someone who needed him—like I did—and it has dictated a good portion of his life.
It’s certainly not a story that you fall in love with, but it’s a time when you see someone who is drowning in their shame and you reach forward to grab their hand, pull them toward the shore, only to realize that you were drowning as well and the only solution was to swim together.
I nsomniac Writes & Retreats: A blog by John Zimmer
D o you ever wonder why humans kiss? It has nothing to do with reproduction. Many cultures don’t do it. Most animals don’t do it. Some scientists say it’s a good way to choose a mate because when we’re that close to somebody, we can subconsciously figure out if the other person is a good match. I’m certain, on some level, that those scientists are right, but I think there’s something more to a kiss than reproductive benefits. When my lips touch Mira’s, when I feel the soft texture of her lips, when I feel her warm breath mixing with my breath—it’s a first union. It’s when the private spaces of two individuals becomes obsolete and is replaced by a private space for two. We have created something new in a single kiss and it’s a beautiful place that lacks the walls and masks that we have around other people. It’s freedom without loneliness.
Mira has been busy, so that’s where all my thoughts are occupied lately. I don’t mind—I’m glad she has passions other than our relationship because if a woman’s dreams and ambitions only revolved around her relationship with a man, I would think she would be relatively boring. A relationship can’t be whole if the two people in the relationship aren’t whole.
Mira plans to attempt to grow plants in the old greenhouse behind the college. It’s her newest goal. She’s going to get started tonight because we haven’t gotten permission from the school yet, so she wants to make everything look nice before the Dean can make a decision. I wish I could be around to help her, but I still have to write up final exams (I’m not sure if they’ll actually be able to take them with the school lockdown, but I can always use them another semester). She plans to plant some tree seeds now that will later be used in memory of my deceased students.
She is truly a blessing. I could not
He nods. “The biological son bruised her up pretty bad. There wasn’t any outright punching or anything, but he wasn’t gentle and he even wrapped his hands around her throat a few times. At one point, he dragged her to his room. My foster brother followed him, but I went outdoors. I was scared. I can’t say for certain what happened, but…I think we both know. Shortly after that, the biological son got into some legal trouble. My foster parents wouldn’t talk about it, but I think he hit another car while he was driving drunk, so all of us foster kids were sent to different homes. I never knew what happened to her.”
“What was her name?”
“Maggie Thompson,” he says. “I’ve tried to find her again, to apologize, but I’ve never been able to find her.”
“You were a kid,” I say. “You wanted acceptance. It’s understandable.”
“I was fourteen,” he says. “I should have done something. And that’s why I don’t want to just stay on the sidelines anymore. That was the day I learned that there are no innocent bystanders if those bystanders don’t do anything to stop a crime from being committed.”
He covers his face with his hands for a couple of seconds before rubbing his eyes.
“Should we post this blog entry?” he asks, turning the laptop at me. I look at him for a couple seconds longer. This confession should make me less attached to him, but it’s the first time that I’ve seen him be truly vulnerable and not this flawless, charismatic human that students flock too. This is a man who turned his back on someone who needed him—like I did—and it has dictated a good portion of his life.
It’s certainly not a story that you fall in love with, but it’s a time when you see someone who is drowning in their shame and you reach forward to grab their hand, pull them toward the shore, only to realize that you were drowning as well and the only solution was to swim together.
I nsomniac Writes & Retreats: A blog by John Zimmer
D o you ever wonder why humans kiss? It has nothing to do with reproduction. Many cultures don’t do it. Most animals don’t do it. Some scientists say it’s a good way to choose a mate because when we’re that close to somebody, we can subconsciously figure out if the other person is a good match. I’m certain, on some level, that those scientists are right, but I think there’s something more to a kiss than reproductive benefits. When my lips touch Mira’s, when I feel the soft texture of her lips, when I feel her warm breath mixing with my breath—it’s a first union. It’s when the private spaces of two individuals becomes obsolete and is replaced by a private space for two. We have created something new in a single kiss and it’s a beautiful place that lacks the walls and masks that we have around other people. It’s freedom without loneliness.
Mira has been busy, so that’s where all my thoughts are occupied lately. I don’t mind—I’m glad she has passions other than our relationship because if a woman’s dreams and ambitions only revolved around her relationship with a man, I would think she would be relatively boring. A relationship can’t be whole if the two people in the relationship aren’t whole.
Mira plans to attempt to grow plants in the old greenhouse behind the college. It’s her newest goal. She’s going to get started tonight because we haven’t gotten permission from the school yet, so she wants to make everything look nice before the Dean can make a decision. I wish I could be around to help her, but I still have to write up final exams (I’m not sure if they’ll actually be able to take them with the school lockdown, but I can always use them another semester). She plans to plant some tree seeds now that will later be used in memory of my deceased students.
She is truly a blessing. I could not
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