AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nothing.
Although did it sound like someone breathing? She reached into her pocket to grab her switchblade, thankful she’d brought it with her. She drew herself quickly out of the cupboard, hitting her head as she did. Tears filled her eyes, but she made herself jump up, her knife at the ready.
Only, there was no one there.
Well. Heck.
That was anticlimactic.
But what made that noise? She looked around, but the kitchen wasn’t that big.
“Urgh, at least no one saw me,” she muttered. “That would have been highly embarrassing.”
“Who are you talking to?”
She spun at the voice, relief filling her as she saw the lady who lived across from her standing there. What was her name? Mrs. Andrews? Mrs. Sanders?
“Sorry. No one.”
“Why you got that knife out?” she asked suspiciously.
Shoot. That was hard to explain.
“Ahh.”
“Did you see one of those giant rats again?” the older lady asked, peering around suspiciously. “The other day, I saw one running around with a whole block of cheese in its mouth.”
Gross.
No, she had not seen a giant rat. And she didn’t want to see a giant rat. Who knew there was such a thing as giant rats? Weren’t they already big enough? Why make them bigger?
Okay. Chill, Maeve.
It’s just a rat. It’s not like it can hurt you.
“Well? Did you see one?” she barked.
Mrs. Ellis. That was her name.
“Yeah . . . yeah, I did.” She didn’t think it was a lie since that’s probably what she’d heard. A huge, enormous rat. She shuddered, feeling ill.
But she made herself tuck away the knife.
Mrs. Ellis grunted. “You look pale. You need to toughen up.”
Funny, she’d thought she was pretty tough. But she’d only just learned about the existence of giant rats, so what did Mrs. Ellis expect?
“Um, right. I need to get a vase.”
“Back cupboard.”
“Good. Good.” She opened it cautiously, not wanting anything to jump out at her. Grabbing the vase, she held it tight, then headed out of the kitchen while Mrs. Ellis muttered about rats stealing all her food.
She was never, ever going back to the kitchen. She wondered if she could wash all of her clothes in the sink in her bathroom. Or maybe she’d pay to take them to a laundromat.
Yep, that could work better.
Rushing into her room, Maeve shut the door behind her and breathed in deeply. She felt shaky and sweaty. Between thinking someone was in the room with her, to learning of the existence of rats big enough to carry off an entire block of cheese . . . yeah, she didn’t need any more excitement in her life.
