Phantom Scars Read Online Free PDF Page A

was all I noticed, the scars."
    "Oh, that poor girl."
    I let out a sigh. "Look, Ma, just let me know if you need help when your shipment comes in."
    "Will do, sugar," she said kissing my cheek. "You be good now," she warned, and I promised I would.
    When I returned, Emma was of course cleaning. The place was spotless. I didn't know when she’d had time to do it. I also heard the little stacked washer and dryer going in my closet.
    "You've been busy," I said, and she smiled and nodded at me. "I feel kind of useless. At least before, when you were cleaning up after me, I was working on the ship, but now I'm just sitting around." She frowned and then walked into our room. She came back, handing me her book. I laughed at her and rolled my eyes. "Funny girl, I'm not into romance novels or any novels, actually," I said scratching my neck, realizing I sounded like an illiterate idiot. "But I guess I could give it a go," I said quickly, as she eyed me and then smiled, so I cracked the book open and started to read.
    Thank heaven the phone rang a few minutes later, because the book was melting my eyes. I quickly answered it and found my momma was on the other end, asking me to come down and unload the farm delivery truck.
    I told Emma I had to go help momma unload, and she waved goodbye, as I hurried out the door. I was met by Clayton on the boardwalk. He was already on his way to help out our momma. He lived five shops down in a duplex over a candy store. "Hey, Bro, I heard you were back in town. Good to see you again. Are you sticking around for a while?"
    "Um, yeah, I suppose."
    "Cool, there are some openings at the warehouse if you're interested," he offered.
    "Maybe," I said, not sure if I should leave Emma. I had made enough to support us for the rest of the year on my last ship run.
    "He'll be doing no such thing, he has a wife to look after now, don't you, sugar," my momma said, and my brother looked at me as if I had grown a second head.
    "Wife?" he asked.
    I cleared my throat. "Yeah, she's at home right now."
    My brother turned and was ready to run to my apartment, causing me to panic, but luckily, my momma grabbed his arm. "You get to work unloading the truck now, you big oaf, and then we can go and visit with Ms. Emma."
    "Thanks, Momma," I said and got to work. It didn't take nearly as long as I’d hoped it would to unload. Eli, the souse chef, got to work on putting the food away, leaving my momma free to join us. She could see I was panicking. Clayton was big, loud and obnoxious. I just knew he would freak Emma out.
    "Clayton, baby, you need to take it easy on little Emma, she's very timid and shy, so you need to stand back and keep your mouth shut, until Devin lets you know it's okay to talk to her," my momma instructed, and I was thankful for that.
    "What? Man, that sucks."
    "Hush, boy, or I'll send you to clean the toilets," she threatened, and Clayton stood quietly by the door. “That’s what I thought.”
    I knocked lightly, letting Emma know I was coming in, and Clayton looked at me like I was nuts. I opened the door slowly and saw that she was switching the laundry loads. She jumped a little when she saw me and sighed in relief. She smiled, though, when she saw my momma walk in behind me.
    Of course, that smile fell as soon as Clayton came into view, and I hurried to her side. "Emma, this is my brother, Clayton. He won't hurt you, I promise. He just wanted to meet you. I swear he won't hurt you, or he’d have me and my momma to deal with, and he's no match for my momma," I joked, and she cracked a small nervous smile. I let out a sigh of relief and looked up at my brother. "Clayton, this is Ms. Emma, my wife."
    He took off his hat and tipped his head at her. "It’s real nice to meet you, Ms. Emma. I'm sorry if I startled you."
    She nodded, letting him know it was okay, and my momma walked over to help her gather the laundry. "This place is actually looking livable, Emma. You're doing a wonderful job with it.