Confessions About Colton (Wattpad Books Edition)

The humid evening air clung to me like a shroud, heavy with the scent of damp earth and the distant hum of crickets. Milo, my old dog, trotted faithfully beside me, his usual boundless energy tempered by the deepening twilight. Our routine walk, a comforting ritual, took us along the familiar path at the back of the house, skirting the park behind my neighborhood before veering onto the street towards Lake Mason.

The sun, a molten disc of orange and purple, was beginning its grand descent, painting the sky in a breathtaking, ephemeral canvas. The streets were deserted, the late spring air unusually still. It was a picture of tranquility, broken only by Milo’s occasional, labored panting.

But as we reached the water’s edge, the peace shattered. Milo stiffened, a low growl rumbling in his chest, his hackles rising. He barked, a desperate, frantic sound, at something by the dock, pulling frantically against his leash. My first thought was a squirrel, or perhaps another dog, but then his whimpers joined the barks, a mournful, anxious cry that chilled me to the bone. He dragged me forward, an undeniable urgency in his tug.

And then I saw it.

A body, floating lifelessly in the dark, still water.