
The Guest: ‘The tension never wavers’ (GUARDIAN)

the sky was dark, the yard lit by floodlights.
Emma Cline • The Guest: ‘The tension never wavers’ (GUARDIAN)
So many nights she remembered only as a sour feeling,
Emma Cline • The Guest: ‘The tension never wavers’ (GUARDIAN)
his casual stride the ultimate sign of belonging.
Emma Cline • The Guest: ‘The tension never wavers’ (GUARDIAN)
As in other moments, Alex found herself smiling for no reason.
Emma Cline • The Guest: ‘The tension never wavers’ (GUARDIAN)
The dog was gone, truly gone. The sadness was instant, piercing—her eyes watered. But then, almost as quickly, the fact of the dog’s absence seemed, all at once, like just a fact, another thing that she could not change, a thing she could not help.
Emma Cline • The Guest: ‘The tension never wavers’ (GUARDIAN)
Their interest was forever reflected off someone else, forever mediated by another aim.
Emma Cline • The Guest: ‘The tension never wavers’ (GUARDIAN)
Alex had the sudden feeling, for whatever reason, that she had been inside the white car. That she had died, here on the highway. It was a dumb thought, but she couldn’t shake it.
Emma Cline • The Guest: ‘The tension never wavers’ (GUARDIAN)
Alex felt some camaraderie with the men—here, like she was, to perform.
Emma Cline • The Guest: ‘The tension never wavers’ (GUARDIAN)
A lit candle made jumping shadows on the baseboard.