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At about a quarter to midnight, the engines of both cars purred from outside as Charlie and Skyler finally left.
Sadie focused back on the nostalgic film she’d turned on while lying on the fur rug in front of the unlit fireplace. She drew her blanket tighter, too tired to move to the futon. Her eyelids became heavy, and they fell shut as the movie continued to play. When she used to do this, River’s fingers would stroke her hair, skim down her neck, across her jaw. She missed that touch. Instead, it was imaginary fingers caressing her.
But then, a honey and sandalwood scent tickled her nose and real fingers trailed along her cheek, her lips. And she knew that touch. She gasped, cracking open her lids for a moment. Only no one was there, but his smell was.
As though under a spell, her limbs were too heavy with exhaustion to search the cabin, and her eyes closed. She fell into his scent, wishing to feel his touch once more. The sounds of the film faded, replaced by gentle music—like a dark lullaby—outside as a dream tugged at her.
Sadie finally forced herself to stand, the world swaying, the walls closing in on her while she walked toward the door. She opened it to the night sky, and an orange light shone in the woods to her right.
A silhouette slipped out from behind a wide tree trunk, beckoning her forward. Only a single form this time. She caught sight of alabaster horns curling from what looked to be a goat skull, like the ones she collected.
Sadie’s lips parted, and her heart sped. She stretched her arm out when walking toward the creature, hoping she would reach it this time. But then the world opened below her feet, and she fell into darkness as a swarm of moths flew above her.
Chapter Eight
“Make a wish. Any wish.”
“Will you marry me?” River knelt on one knee, his fingers laced with Sadie’s.
She cocked her head, fighting a smile, her heart booming with thunderous excitement. “Will I marry you? Hmm…”
“I can entice you if you wish.” River’s hooded gaze pinned to hers while he held up the white gold ring, a brilliant sapphire in the middle.
“I suppose I’ll spend the rest of my life with you,” Sadie drawled. She couldn’t hold the serious expression for another second and beamed, sinking down in front of him so they were both on their knees, her lips capturing his. No longer would she be Sadie Smith, but Sadie Hawkins.
The sweet kiss became needy, desperate, their hands exploring, and she didn’t ever want to stop touching him—her future husband.
“Now, I’m taking you to the bedroom.” He grinned as he pulled back from her mouth, his lips swollen. “Till death do us part, my sweet nightmare.”
“Till death do us part, my vicious dream,” Sadie whispered now, her legs tucked to her chest as she studied her wedding ring, reliving the proposal, that perfect moment. She thought about the way she’d inhaled River’s scent the night before, the way she’d sworn his fingers had caressed her flesh. It could’ve been part of the dream that had come after, where she’d experienced the delirium, the skulled creature in the woods, the falling, the moths… But she’d smelled River on several occasions when awake.
The phone rang, jolting Sadie from her thoughts. She snatched the cell from the table and looked at the name, her chest tightening. River’s mom.
“Hi, Coral.” Sadie pressed her back against the coffee table.
“Hello, dear. I was checking in to see how you’re settling in at the cabin,” Coral said, a smile in her voice.
“It’s perfect, and frankly, it was just what I needed.” If it came down to it, Sadie could reveal what was happening at the cabin—River’s smell, his touch, the strange dreams luring her into the woods, the quiet outside, the shadows—with Skyler and her sister. But she couldn’t tell Coral that she might or might not be smelling her dead son in places.
“I was wondering if you’d like to have lunch at my home today? If you’re free, that is.”
“Of course.” A part of her wanted to say no, linger here, but she wanted to thank Coral for following through with River’s wish for her birthday. Sadie had only texted her to say she’d decided to move into the cabin—she should’ve at least called her, stopped by in person.
Sadie ended the call and collected her clothes on the way to the bathroom. She halted in her tracks, inhaling sharply, as the strong scent of River filled the air around her. There was no denying his distinct smell. Closing her eyes, she whispered, “If you’re here, show yourself.”
When she opened her lids, Sadie was alone. Except... A shadow stretched across the floor. A shadow that wasn’t her own. Sadie fell to her knees, her fingers tracing its outline, feeling only the oak floorboards.
“River,” she murmured. And then the shadow sank through the floor, vanishing from sight, the same as she’d seen a silhouette do the other night outside.
Hands trembling, Sadie stood and gripped the counter while studying herself in the mirror, the dark circles beneath her brown eyes, the hair a little below mid-neck that was in desperate need of a trim. She thought about the rumors of the woods being haunted—the silhouettes she’d seen. It could be other paranormal entities playing tricks, manipulating her. “Or you’re imagining it all,” she said softly.
But no, Skyler had heard the quiet of the woods, too, even if he believed it was normal. Never once had it ever been like that when she’d come to these woods to work on her stories.
Stripping away her pajamas, she let the shower temporarily wash everything away. The hot water pelted her back as she shut her eyes. In a supernatural film, if she were to open her eyes, a ghost would be standing before her in the shower. But she remained alone.
Sadie finished getting ready, then grabbed her purse and laptop before heading to Coral’s house. She turned up the radio, letting the music blare even though the distraction of the instruments couldn’t stop her thoughts from turning to how she’d smelled River, seen a shadow in the bathroom with her. Then to the dream of the creature in the woods, where part of its silhouette had been an animal skull. She hadn’t caught a glimpse of the rest of the figure before falling. Desperation to find out more clawed inside of her…
Sadie drove onto Coral’s street and parked in the long driveway. Only Coral’s SUV and Valentina’s car were there. She opened her laptop and used Coral’s Wi-Fi to email one of her finished articles to the horror magazine publisher. Once sent, she closed the laptop and went to ring the doorbell.
