And when I’m done, he cleans the kitchen while I take a quick shower. As usual, the water isn’t hot enough, so I hurry through and change into my cat onesie.
When I open the door, the kitchen and living room are already dark and Connor’s waiting right outside for me wearing black sweats and a thin, charcoal t-shirt. Taking in my onesie, he chuckles lightly. “Kitten. I knew there was a reason I called you that.”
Hesitating for one small moment, I hold out my hand. “Stay with me? Please?” I don’t want to sleep alone. Not tonight. And maybe he can get some better sleep, too.
“Oh, kitten.” His dark eyes soften. “You already know my answer.”
And with that, he leads me to the bedroom, pulls down the covers, and tugs me into his arms. Lulled into a state of calm by the steady beating of his heart, I fall asleep in his warm embrace.
Safe.
Chapter ten
Rosanna
“Rosanna...”Someone rasps my name.
Looking up from the register, I cautiously glance around the shadowy store. Why is everything suddenly so foggy?
“Come here, Rosanna. Find me.”The voice sounds familiar, but the wheezing undertone stops me from recognizing it.
Nerves pooling together and building a pit in my stomach, I stand and take a step into the dense fog. “Where are you?”
“H-here,”the voice gurgles out.“Help me.”
Gathering my dwindling bravery like a cloak about me, I reach a hand out, having to feel my way around through the heavy thickness. “Keep talking so I can find you. I can’t see you.”
“Eugenia... Is that you, my love? Come sit with me and hold my hand.”
Mr. Wright? Squinting, I can see a break in the fog and then the dark outline of a man. There he is, sitting on one of the couches. Remembering he needed help, my feet pick up the pace and take me closer to him. Close enough to see the back of his balding head. Why is his neck tilted?“I’m here now. Is everything okay?”
“No, Rosanna.”Mr. Wright’s crooked head turns to the side, showing me his gray face with dark, empty sockets. Ohmigod...his eyes! They’re gone!“You left me.”
“Please, stop,” I whimper, unable to look away from the grisly sight. “I didn’t mean to. You sent me home, but I wouldn’t have left you here by yourself if I’d have known what was going to happen.”
Worms crawl in and out of his orbital cavities, their slimy, segmented bodies wriggling around. His head turns even further, a perpetual grin splitting his rotting skin and gums as he locks his black gaze with mine.“But you did. I whispered your name, and you didn’t answer.”
A scream climbs my throat as his neck continues to rotate, the tendons there cracking loudly as the strained pressure rips them apart. Somehow, Mr. Wright’s head keeps turning in full circles, even though it’s not connected to his body anymore.
“Find me.”The bodiless head babbles the same phrase over and over.“Find me. Find me.”
“I found you already.” Tears and snot coat my sleeve as I swipe it across my face. “I’m so sorry I left you alone. So sorry.”
“Take my hand, Rosanna, and I’ll give you a raise.”He extends a bruised, skeletal arm, fingers beckoning me. No, not fingers. Worms! And their ugly little mouths open and close with his words.
“No. I... I can’t.” My bladder threatens to release its contents as my feet scoot backwards. I can’t go back, though. Something blocks my retreat, but I can’t take my eyes off of the repulsive sight in front of me to see what it is.
“No?”The ghastly head tilts back with a dry, brittle laugh as it circles around again.“That’s all right. I’ll come to you and we’ll look at the books together. I’ll just need to borrow your eyes, though.”A wicked cackle chokes its way through severed vocal cords.“I seem to have lost mine. Hold her still, Silas.”
Silas?
Silas’s menacing chuckle meshes in a jarring way with my boss’s as arms wrap around me in a threatening embrace.“You didn’t listen to me, Rosanna. Now it’s time to take care of things my way.”
I can’t walk. My feet are trapped. I can’t move!
“No! This isn’t real. Wake up!” I scream to myself as I’m forced to watch the nightmarish body jerk up from the couch and stumble my way, worms slithering everywhere. “Wake! Up!”
“Rosanna! Baby, wake up. Wake up. Just a dream, kitten. Open those eyes and let me see them.”
