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“Man,” I sigh. “When was the last time we came up here, just us? Feels like forever ago.” A lifetime.
“A year…two tops.”
“We should do this more,” I admit, suddenly feeling nostalgic for when life was simpler.
Cole snorts. “What, are all of us living together at college not enough?”
Eli frowns in response. “No, that’s not what Finn’s saying. Physically yeah, we see each other, but that’s school. Here we can hang out and just chill. Back up there, we’re usually all busy doing our own things.”
I shudder. Yeah, they’re all busy growing up.
The lights flicker above as soon as I swallow down another drink.
Weird.
The scratching is back at the door, and this time, I’m not the only one who hears it. It sounds like claws turning insistent, and the crazy thing is, I don’t remember it being windy on the drive up.
The lights inside flash again. This time, leaving us in complete darkness for a solid five seconds before circulating back on.
Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!
We’re all already up and out of our seats, alert and on guard before you could say bogeyman. Each of us is of similar stature with straight, high shoulders and bent knees.
The bulbs overhead flash once more and we all wait, but after a solid minute, I know they’re out completely. “Fucking awesome,” I complain.
“Shush,” Eli hisses. “Did you hear that?”
“What was that?” Cole agrees.
Something creaks and I can’t vouch for the other guys because, y’know, darkness, but I’m spooked.
“It sounds like it’s coming from the stairs,” Eli says in a hushed voice.
It happens again and I shift my weight toward the noise. It’s definitely coming from over there.
“Anyone other than you have access to this property?” I whisper out the side of my mouth to Cole. I have no idea if he’s even beside me anymore, but he answers anyway.
“No, only me,” he affirms. “I had the locks changed years ago and an entirely new security system set in place after I turned eighteen.”
True, this place is built like it is a fortress.
I hear movement and Eli’s insides are nearly dislodged outside his stomach as my fist chops through the air. Okay, so they would’ve been had he not used his even quicker reflexes, fisting my wrist and hurdling it back toward my side.
“There’s something off about this,” Eli says, taking a step past me.
I rub my sore skin, and I swear I can hear his smirk.
Slowly my eyes start to adjust, and I begin to make out their outlines. Eli is still decently close, while Cole is only several more feet past him.
“You tell anyone else about this little abduction mission?” Cole asks, double-checking. His tone is too snide.
I snort, rolling my eyes. “We did not abduct you.” Eli merely pressed the weights Cole had been benching to his chest while I shoved a bag over his head. He came willingly after we drove off and locked the doors.
The room around me sharpens back into focus. For my friends, it’s the loud thud above our heads. For me, it’s the tail end of a dark braid being cut off as it rounds the wall in the opposite direction.
I curse. “I think I might know what’s up.”
“What?” both Cole and Eli spit in unison, both of them stopped on their way upstairs.
