AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"No problem." Simon grabbed my hand as I thanked Mrs. Crewe for lunch.
"Wait here," Simon said when we reached the foyer. "I just want to put our bags upstairs."
I nodded, waiting patiently while Simon ran up the stairs with our suitcases as if they weighed nothing. He was just gone a few minutes but my heart surged when I caught sight of him coming back down the stairs. He still made my pulse quicken every time I looked at him. He was so gorgeous and masculine and all mine. It was hard to process sometimes. Between vardogers and Simon, it was a wonder that I hadn't had a heart attack yet.
Simon grabbed my hand when he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Let's go."
The drive to my aunt's house was quick, almost too quick. I felt like I needed more time to prepare myself for seeing her house again. It was filled with so many ugly memories, but the hardest part was imagining what possibly could have happened to my aunt that night I gripped the phone and heard her scream on the other end.
Simon pulled up in the front of the house and cut the engine. The house looked so eerily normal, with no outward sign of the horror that had happened inside.
"Ready?"
I took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be."
We got out of the car and walked to the front door. I mentally prepared myself before twisting the doorknob. A mixture of relief and disappointment flowed through me when I found that the door was locked. A part of me badly wanted to go inside, but another part of me was afraid of what I might find.
"I guess I should have expected this. I don't know why I thought I could waltz right in. The police must have locked it."
Simon rubbed the back of my neck, trying to release some of my tension. "At least we tried."
I bit my lip, thinking back to when I had shimmied through the basement window with Lenore. "There might be another way."
I walked to the side of the house and bent down in front of the window. I wasn't sure if I was glad when I was able to push it open, but Simon let his feelings be known loud and clear.
"No. You are not going in through that window."
"Simon, I've done it before. It's no big deal." I looked up at Simon, assessing his body. "You're way too big to fit, so I'll just climb in and open the front door for you."
Simon grabbed my hand as I kneeled and started to push one leg through the opening. "Are you crazy? This is breaking and entering."
"Technically, I'm not breaking anything. So I'm just entering."
"Caitlin." Simon said my name with exasperation.
"Simon, it's no big deal. Please. I need to go inside. I don't know why, but I just have this feeling that there's something in there I need to see."
Simon sighed but I could tell I had won by the slump of his shoulders. "Just be careful. The last thing you need is to bump your head again."
I carefully lowered myself through the window and onto the table below it, my head the last part of my body to slip inside. It was dim in the basement even though it was still light outside.
"Caitlin, are you okay?" Simon's voice sounded distant.
"I'm fine. I'll go upstairs and unlock the front door."
I jumped down from the table, coughing as I breathed in dust. I quickly made my way up the stairs, pausing for the briefest second before I opened the basement door.
The air inside the house was stuffy, almost suffocating. I was drawn to the living room. It looked completely normal except for the large blood stains on the carpet. I remembered Claudia's dead eyes as her life seeped out from her. I reminded myself that the real Claudia had died long before that.
I was drawn to the blood stains like a magnet, crouching down next to them. The fear came rushing back as if I were in the moment again, o
n the brink of death.
I don't know how long I was huddled down on the floor, but I was startled out of my reverie by pounding on the front door.
"Caitlin, what's taking so long? Open up!"
I shook my head, trying to banish the ugly memories, and stood, walking quickly to the front door. I unlocked it and Simon practically shoved his way in.
