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“Ugh. Let me sleep.” I grab a pillow and cover my head to drown out Declan’s voice.
“There’s something outside you’re going to want to see.”
“Shh.” I tug the blanket I was snuggled into over my head.
Wait. A blanket?I don’t remember falling asleep, let alone having the energy to grab a blanket.
“This might be your one and only chance to see a leopard, so if I were you, I’d get up. Now.”
“What?” I bolt upright on the couch. The muted TV still plays in the background. Somehow I ended up sprawled out on the couch, taking over my side and the place where Declan sat before.
Huh. Strange.
“Follow me.” He leaves me running after him as he exits the living room.
The only source of light we have is the moon shining through the windows. Declan weaves through the house before taking me toward his bedroom.
“This better not be some ploy to get me into your room.”
Despite the low light, I can make out the glare he sends my way over his shoulder.
“I’m joking.”
“Good because I have no interest in doing such a thing.”
Well, then. He doesn’t need to soundsoagainst the idea.
“Then why are we here?”
“I was in the middle of taking a shower when I noticed something outside.” He walks straight into his dark bathroom.
I’m so focused on his story that I slip on a massive puddle. I slide straight into Declan’s back, and he lets out an oomph. He struggles to maintain his balance, but his quick reflexes save us both from taking a tumble, although my chest takes a beating after running into pure muscle.
“Why is there so much water on the floor?” I catch the reflection of a trail leading from Declan’s shower to the door.
“I was in a rush.”
He bolted from the shower forme? I don’t even know what to make of that knowledge except to concentrate on my breathing so I don’t pass out from pure shock.
He doesn’t give me a chance to harp on the details of him running out of the shower to come get me. His hand motions me forward, and I grab onto his extended palm. He helps me into the empty porcelain tub that is set up in front of a big window that faces a small river to the side of our bungalow.
“Look over there.” He points into the darkness.
“What am I looking for?”
“You don’t see it?” He frowns and leans forward.
I laugh. “It’s pitch black.”
He squints and points. “Right there. Between the two trees in front of the river.”
I try to see what he is looking at and fail. “Nope.”
He leans in closer so he can use my hand as an arrow. “Right there.”
“Oh my God.” I blink again to make sure I’m not seeing some apparition. “It’s a leopard!”
“Shh.”
