Penny texted saying Luke was down, but then they said we won and there’s a party later
Kenz:
One less horseman for you *smiley face emoji*
No. Well, yes, but no, I don’t want that. I feel like I’m cut off from everything and can’t even ask if Luke’s okay because I might show my hand. That maybe I care a little about him. About all of them.
Me:
Do you know if the guys are on the way back?
Kenz:
Brandon said he’d be here in thirty
You aren’t really worried. Are you?
Luke is Death. No one takes down Death
Me:
Just curious
I drop my phone on my bed before I do something stupid like call Luke. I can just imagine his gloating smile. Ugh!
A glass of water will help. I head down the stairs without turning on the light. Midway down the stairs, loud knocks at the doors burst into the silence. My feet stop moving. My heart clogs my throat. I freeze as the escalating noise seems to surround me.
The knocks continue pounding like the hounds of hell want in. Occasionally, a knob will rattle like someone is trying the locks. I back slowly up the steps, one step at a time, to get to my phone and away from the doors.
Then the noise stops abruptly. I hold my breath.
Clenching the handrail, I pause to listen over the pounding of my heart. Did they get in? With all the noise, would I have heard a door opening? The only sound now is the emptiness of night. I keep my eyes trained on the darkness of the lower level for any movement as I creep to the upstairs hallway.
I turn and bolt into my room. Lock the door and move anything I can in front of it. When it feels like I have enough blocking the door, I go to my bed and pick up my phone to call Mom. My hands shake.
Her phone rings and rings.
“Come on, come on,” I whisper, my gaze fixed on the door. I search my room for a weapon, but the only thing that comes close is a piñata stick with ribbons on it from my tenth birthday party. I grab it and the weight of it in my hand feels good.
No sounds come from the other side of my door, but my pulse is chaotic and I can’t stop shaking. The call goes to voicemail.
“Mom, call me when you get this.”
I look at my phone and try to think. Maybe it was the horsemen playing a trick. Maybe it was some neighborhood kids, bored on a Friday night.
Okay, reason, come on, Harper, think. The guys just finished a game a half hour away. They aren’t pounding on your doors. If they wanted in, they would come in.
The kids messing around scenario is more likely. My phone buzzes and I shriek a little.
I take a breath and answer my phone. “Mom?”
“Hey, what’s happening?”
“Someone knocked on the doors for like five minutes straight. It’s quiet now, but I’m up in my room.” I don’t tell her I’m scared shitless.
“I’ll call the neighbor to check it out. Okay? Are you safe?”
I nod and realize she can’t see me. I need to talk. “Yeah, that sounds good. Can you have them text when they finish?”
