SIXTY-NINE
It was late afternoon before Paula's nausea subsided. Fortunately, dinner that evening was easy-spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread and salad. She'd forced herself to be as upbeat as ever for Phillip that evening, even though she felt like dropping to the kitchen floor and staying there all night. She held her breath as her hands squished into the raw beef she would use for the sauce, struggling not to let the smells or cold, wormy texture dislodge her stomach. She managed to stumble through the torture with a smile on her face, not daring to show Phillip her pain.
It worked, since Phillip had commented how she seemed to be improving in her duties. He'd even kissed her on the forehead and congratulated her on a job well done. Paula had breathed a sigh of relief that she'd passed inspection. She couldn't take a night in the closet. She was just too worn out. That night, she clutched her pillow against her stomach, feeling comforted as she drifted off to sleep.
YOU ARE READING
Killing Me Softly (#Wattys2016)
Mystery / ThrillerOn a bitterly cold January evening, Tracy Ellis went for a jog along Chicago's snowy lakefront and disappeared. Her body is discovered days later, her beautiful face bashed in with a rock. Police determine her brutal death to be a mugging gone wrong...
