36. Brothers
Zander
The house felt strangely quiet and I stood in the doorway for a long moment, one hand still resting on the doorknob. Usually, walking through this door brought peace. Today, the smell of smoke followed me inside.
I shut the door behind me and for a few seconds, I simply stood there, listening. There was nothing. No sound of the television, no laughter, no footsteps racing toward me.
Mara was still at college and part of me was grateful. She didn't need to see the expression on my face.
I dragged a hand through my soot-covered hair and headed to my bedroom. The bathroom mirror nearly made me stop.
Ash covered my face and my beard was streaked with gray. The collar of my shirt was black with soot and I looked less like a man and more like one of the ruins I had left
