British crime fiction imprint Close to the Bone published my short story The Elephant in the Room, set in the drug addled backpacker scene of southern Thailand.
The bungalow burst open, the flimsy lock ripped from the door frame and clattering to the floor.
“Where’s Jimmy?”
Zoe shot up from the bed and shrunk back against the wall, pulling her blanket up to her neck.
“I, I thought he was with you.”
Ryan moved around the small space of the wooden hut, eyes darting in all corners. Next, he was on his knees, checking under the rickety bed. A second later he was up again. That’s when she saw the gun. He had a fucking gun.
Zoe sat frozen. Ryan tore her clothes off the hooks of the open bamboo wardrobe, the only furniture in the room, other than the bed.
“You’re scaring me,” she finally whispered.
He stopped moving. The room fell silent. Only the floorboards creaked underneath his feet as he shifted his weight and moved towards her.
“You’re lying. You’re fucking lying.” …
Read the full story here.
