The Line That Binds by J.M. Miller Read Free Book Online

and started the list, thinking about the things we needed versus the things we’d love to have but could no longer afford. At least he was searching for a job right away. Well, of course he was. That’s all he knew. Even if we had the money for him to stay home, he’d search for a job anyway. Before he lost his all-mighty six-figure entertainment management position at The Illusion Hotel/Casino, he was never home. He was foreign to us. Being around him all of the time now was brand new, like a new person entered our family … a new person that couldn’t wait to get back to work to get away from us.
    “Didn’t you talk to that Simone lady about working over at the event house?” I asked while turning the corner into the mud room, checking for additional cleaning supplies. Going by what I’d used from the upstairs storage closet, I’d need more soon. I planned to flip the house on its roof and shake it out tomorrow. Then I’d bleach it all, twice over.
    “Oh, yes. I had quite a chat with Simone.” Dad’s voice was snippy.
    I traveled back into the kitchen and leaned against the countertop near to the sink while he finished chewing a bite of pizza.
    “She’s a piece of work. I tried to negotiate with her, but she wouldn’t entertain my ideas at all. She didn’t even offer me a part-time position. I don’t think she likes me much,” he said then took another bite of pizza and flipped though the local newspaper’s want ads.
    “I doubt it’s just you,” I replied, staring at the well painting perched behind the square dining table. I stepped over to the painting─numbered twenty-four─pulled it off the wall then looked at the groundskeeper’s house through the double window. “I’m guessing no one really expected, or wanted us to move here.” Benjamin’s mannerisms were an indication of that, too. He was offish, but I was also naked so that could’ve had something to do with it.
    “I suppose not,” Dad said, rubbing his hands together to rid them of pizza crumbs, effectively spreading the crumbs all over the counter I’d be cleaning tomorrow. “But I explained our situation to her when I arranged for us to move in. Even if she doesn’t like us being here, she didn’t have to be so discourteous. She didn’t even offer a tour. I had to troll around myself, after she basically kicked me out of her office over there in the event house, or whatever they call it.”
    He was bothered by the whole ordeal. I’d watched him during all the low points─Mom’s addictions, Mom leaving, losing his job, losing the house─and usually he kept his feelings to himself, quietly wallowing in a cesspool of misery separate from the one Gavin and I struggled in alone. Either everything was wearing him down or he was opening up to us. If it was strictly the latter, the attempt was a little late. He should’ve opened up when we needed him the most, not now when he happened to be stuck sharing the same airspace with no job to run away to.
    I grabbed a dish towel from the sink and wiped the counter in front of him, irritated by his lack of concern and emotion for the mess he’d created, both in life and with pizza. He lifted his arms and closed his green eyes in a squint, silently questioning me. I ignored him again and wiped up the rest of the counter. One less thing to clean tomorrow.
    “The event house is cool, Lila. You gotta go check it out,” Gavin said, without tearing his eyes off the game. “It has a huge ballroom and a big kitchen. One of the employees was spying on me so I couldn’t really explore anything else. I’m sure it’s got some more creepy crap just like this place.”
    “Did you find the well?” I asked him, finally taking a slice of the pizza. I leaned against the sink and stared at the painting behind the dining table while I chewed. Its gray tones were weirdly captivating like all of the others, blending together in a way that made the painting hazy and surreal. The brush strokes of