AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But my fingers caught air as she disappeared.
From behind me, that creepy voice announced, “There you are,” just as a hand wrapped around my bare ankle.
I shrieked and kicked out, hoping to dislodge him. But he merely caught my other ankle as well.
“Got you now, little mouse.”
He started to pull me out, and the carpet burned against my resisting skin.
Pain screamed along my stomach, elbows, and knees as I tried to grab hold of the fuzzy fibers under me, but I couldn’t catch a good grip.
I managed to get one foot free, though, and I kicked him somewhere in the face, I think.
But that only caused him to shout out his anger and come back at me with fingernails that dug into my calves and raked through my flesh.
“Thalia,” I screamed. “Thalia, help!”
I was more than halfway dragged out from under the bed when the lights suddenly started to blink on and off. All the doors in the room banged shut and open and shut again, and my favorite ghost on the planet must’ve done something physical to my intruder because he suddenly cursed, “What the hell?” before abruptly releasing my legs.
“Now!” I heard Thalia shout over his shrieks of fear. “Oaklynn, go now.Run!”
She didn’t have to tell me twice.
I rolled out from under the bed, scrambled to my feet, and streaked toward the door.
The lights were still flashing on and off, messing with my vertigo. My attacker was screaming as if the hounds of hell were after him, and my heart was beating so fast, I’m surprised I didn’t have a damn heart attack.
I clutched the wall as I pounded down the stairs.
My phone, purse, clothes, and shoes were all upstairs, still in my room, but there was no way I was going back for them.
I did have the presence of mind to remember that I always left a spare key to my car hanging from a hook next to the back door, so I darted that way and snatched them as I passed by, unlocking the door, then shoving my way outside and hitting the electric locks on my car as I sprinted to the driver’s side.
The lights in my upstairs room were still blinking eerily by the time I got my car started, so hopefully that meant Thalia continued to keep our visitor occupied.
Throwing the gears into reverse, I peeled out of my parking spot and then cranked it into drive before burning rubber and getting the hell out of there.
I didn’t even think about where I was going; I just drove straight to Damien, sobbing uncontrollably the whole way.
The lights were off at his place, and the driveway was filled with automobiles, so I parked at the curb.
There were no other vehicles driving by on the road or behind me, so I was pretty sure I hadn’t been followed.
But I stumbled out of the car as fast as I could, anyway, and raced up the front walk, barefoot, to frantically knock on the door and then find the doorbell to ring it a dozen times in a row, not letting up until I saw an interior light come on.
I knew I was hysterical and hyperventilating, but I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t remember ever being this scared in my life.
As soon as the door opened and I heard a startled voice saying my name, I launched myself at it, clinging pathetically and sobbing, “Damien.”
But his chest felt all wrong. It wasn’t nearly as filled out as Damien’s, and his arms weren’t nearly as muscular. Didn’t matter. I latched onto the body, anyway, trembling uncontrollably and unable to stop crying.
I was so out of it. I couldn’t see much but movement, vague blurs of color, and outlines of people.
“Here, sweetie,” I finally heard what I thought was Hudson’s voice rumbling beneath my ear. “Here’s Damien for you.”
From there, I was passed off into another set of arms, and finally, everything felt right.
This body felt like Damien’s, smelled like Damien’s, and it curled possessively around me like Damien would.
