My head shoots up, looking to the office door handle gleaming through the open bedroom door.
“Never go in there, Mariella.”
Before I can breathe, my fingers are curled around the cool metal. I twist the knob, releasing a breath when it doesn’tbudge, locked. I press my ear to the door and a faint ticking filters through. Perhaps the key in his bedside drawer—
Someone pounds on the front door, and my heart jumps into my throat.
I creep along the hallway and peer through the peephole. My heart drops. Rose stands outside, clad in black, white vapor curling from her mouth. She brings her knuckles to the door and pounds again. Gone is any sign of the vulnerable woman from last night.
“Ella, are you there?” she says, her voice taut.
I pause, clutching my charm. I’m not ready to talk to her, but if I don’t, I’ll never understand why I feel this familiarity toward Parker, or why they’ve been following me.
“How did you know I was here?” I call through the door.
“Your roommate.”
Damn it, Anna.
“Open the door and I’ll explain everything. Starting with this.” Something drops through the mail slot, falling at my feet with a softtink. Picking up the necklace, I brush my thumb over the writing inscribed into the worn gold. My fingers fumble to the heart-shaped charm resting between my collarbones. How does Rose have an exact copy of my mother’s necklace?And why?
“It’s not a replica,” she calls.
This doesn’t make any sense.I press my eye back to the peephole. Parker stands a few paces behind Rose, leaning against the porch railing with his hands tucked into his pockets. His words from last night flicker through my mind.“I can’t do this again.”
Do what again?
Rose’s gaunt face moves in front of the peephole. “Let us in and I’ll explain everything.”
I shouldn’t let them in, but I want answers.I need them.With a deep breath, I open the door, the necklace still clutched in my hand. Rose steps forward, but Parker remains still, watching me.
“You have five minutes,” I say.
“Thanks.” Rose barges past me to enter Silas’s cottage, her boots thumping on the wooden floor. She snatches the necklace from my hand on her way past and secures it around her own neck, pulling her dark, thick plait free from the chain.
“Are you coming in too?” I ask Parker. He’s still relaxed against the balustrade, despite the tense muscles in his forearms. He offers me a small smile, but something about it feels wrong.
“Jimmy, get the fuck in here,” Rose calls from the hallway.
Jimmy?
Parker pushes off the railing and steps inside, avoiding my gaze. We all linger in the tight corridor.
“Can we sit?” Rose asks, her full eyebrows raised.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Why do you have that necklace?” I’m doing my best to keep my voice stern.
“Can we please sit?” repeats Rose.
I lead them to the kitchen table and pull up a heavy wooden chair. Rose grabs the chair directly opposite while Parker stands at the end of the table, hands still tucked away in his pockets. His gaze flickers to me as I sit, but he immediately looks away.
Rose’s sharp eyes survey the room, pausing on the soccer magazine lying open on Silas’s coffee table. “Will he be home soon?” she asks.
Wouldn’t I like to know.“I’m not sure,” I say, and Parker smirks.What exactly did Anna tell them?
“In that case, I’ll make this quick. I’m sure you have questions and, to save time, I’ll give it to you straight.” She lifts the duplicate of my mother’s necklace from underneath her black hoodie. “This necklace isn’t a copy of yours. It’s the same one. You’ll give it to me in the future, because you know I’ll need it to prove you can trust us. I know how important it is to you.”
I glance between Rose’s hard stare and Parker’s averted one. He shifts on his feet. I’m waiting for them to laugh.Do they think I’m an idiot?
