“I’m okay, but my dad was stabbed.”
I wince when she all but screams, “Your dad was stabbed?”
“Who was stabbed?” I hear Tate’s muffled yell in the background. Kendra says something I can’t quite hear and then comes back on the line and says, “Tate’s here. I’m putting you on speaker.”
“What’s going on?” Tate immediately asks. “Kendra just screamed that your dad was stabbed?”
“It’s a really long story. But I was attacked last night on the way back from the library, but I’m all right. But then some guy jumped through our window and stabbed my dad.”
If I thought they’d take the news well, I was wrong.
They both start talking at once, firing questions I don’t have answers for. It takes a few minutes to calm them before I give a quick rundown. Someone’s after me, I’ve left town, and I’m safe for now.
Since I can’t exactly tell them a demon is hunting me, I say it’s a stalker. I just need them to quietly check in on my parents and make sure they’re okay.
“Where are you now?” Tate asks, her voice tight with concern.
“I’m still in West Virginia,” I say, keeping it vague.
“Haven, this is crazy,” she says. “Come back and we can go with you to the police. You can stay with us until your dad gets out of the hospital.”
“Didn’t you hear her?” Kendra says. “She’s on the run. There’s some psycho out there who wants to hurt her.”
“I heard her,” Tate says, and then she and Kendra start arguing about whether I should come back or stay away.
My eyes start to sting as I listen to the two of them bicker like an old married couple. I’m going to miss them so much.
“Listen,” I cut in, trying to regain control. “I don’t have much time. Text me only if you have news, okay? I need to keep communication to a minimum.”
“Why?” Tate asks.
I bite my bottom lip. “The guy I’m with doesn’t know I have a phone, and I want to keep it that way. He thinks it’s too dangerous to contact anyone. If he finds out, he’ll take it away. So don’t freak out if it takes me a while to reply, all right?”
There’s a short pause before Tate says, “You’re with a guy?”
“Um, kinda. He was there when I was attacked yesterday. He helped me get away.”
“I have a serious question,” she says slowly. “Have you been kidnapped?”
A laugh bursts out of me before I can stop it. “No, it’s not like that,” I say, though it kind of is.
“Is he hot?” Kendra cuts in, and I have to slap a hand over my mouth to keep from barking out another loud laugh.
“It’s not important if he’s hot or not,” Tate snaps. “We need to know what his deal is. What if he’s a psycho like the guy who attacked her?”
“He’s not a psycho. He’s . . . a friend of the family.” A bit of a stretch, but I can’t exactly explain he’s best friends with the twin sister that up until last night I thought had been murdered as an infant.
Kendra whispers into the phone, “But he’s hot, isn’t he? I’m getting those vibes.”
“You have no idea,” I finally admit.
“Okay, so are we talking regular hot, or like Adonis level?”
“Kendra!” Tate admonishes her.
“Think blond Adonis with an eighteen pack.”
Someone gasps, probably Kendra. “Oh, girl, are you finally going to get some, because—wait, is it that blond hottie I caught checking you out yesterday? Because that was kinda stalker behavior.”
