Page 27 of Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are

“Right…” I dragged the word out before lifting my chin to a glass cabinet filled with porcelain dolls in the right-hand corner. “What about them?”

“My grandmother used to collect dolls just like them,” she replied, shuddering.

Creepy smiles and beady, dead eyes followed me around the room as I approached each window to peer at the trees outside. The rain smattered against the glass, a chill seeping in through the gaps in the framework. As I turned and rubbed my arms to ward off the cold, the old wooden floorboards creaked beneath my weight.

Max flopped onto the couch and spread his thighs obnoxiously wide, his white teeth gleaming in the dim light. Lily tried the light switch, but it wouldn’t work, and we soon discovered why when glass crunched beneath my shoes. The light bulb was in pieces.

Lewis stared up at what remained of it, then left the room. “I’ll look for another one.”

“Good luck,” Max hollered after him, his voice thick with amusement. He scanned his brown eyes around the people in the room, flashing a smile. “Anyone bring candles?”

My gaze drifted back to the windows and the dying light outside, made worse by the drizzling rain. Giggling in the kitchen caught my attention and I walked out of the living room.

My feet slowed to a halt when I reached the doorway. Evelyn was leaning back against the kitchen sink, smiling widely, trapped by Nate’s towering frame.

Something ugly unfurled inside my stomach as I watched him reach up to tuck her blonde hair behind her ear before leaning close to whisper something that made her giggle even more.

Fucking asshole.

“Okay, you two need a room,” Lily said, sliding past me. Nate turned around, and his eyes landed on me.

Walking up to the fridge, I pretended it didn’t bother me that I’d caught him flirting with my best friend, pretended I didn’t want to claw her eyes out, pretended I was unaffected. Why did she look at him like that, when she’d been there that night too, helping me make the crash look like an accident?

Lily rooted through the cupboard for glasses, grimacing at how grimy they were. “Well, these have not been used for years.”

Evelyn tried to catch my eye, looking apologetic as Nate swiped up a bottle of vodka from the circular wooden table in the middle of the room.

I tried hard not to look at him from across the crystal vase filled with withered roses that had long since died.

His gray eyes held mine as a taunting smirk played on his sensuous lips. Unscrewing the lid, he took a large swig, letting his eyes fall down my body.

Despite wearing a hoodie and jeans, I felt naked under that heated gaze.

“What do you want to drink?” Lily asked, causing my heart rate to spike.

I quickly looked away from Nate and the dangerous flicker in his intense eyes. “Something strong.”

On his way out, Nate reached out and grasped Evelyn’s chin possessively. Then he let his hand fall away and glanced back at me, flashing a hint of fang as his lips pulled back into a side smirk.

My throat dried up. I stood rooted to the spot, holding my breath until his overwhelming presence left the room.

Evelyn glanced at Lily before clearing her throat and looking at me. Excuses screamed in the thick silence between us while Lily poured us drinks.

A loud bang on the window startled me and I screamed, looking past her at the window. Bright red blood smeared the cracked glass, where a bird had flown straight into it.

“Oh, my God,” Lily breathed out behind me.

Max appeared in the doorway, grabbing the frame. “The hell was that noise?” He followed our line of sight, stiffening. “What happened?”

“It was a crow,” Evelyn whispered.

Max moved out of the way when I left the kitchen. Something was very fucking wrong with this place. I could feel it in my bones.

Before I could walk out, Alice grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop, her long nails pinching my skin through the thick layer of my hoodie while she rounded on me. “Let’s get one thing clear, bitch. Stay away from Nate.”

I frowned, wrenching my arm free of her tight grip. Her plump lips pulled back into a sneer and she stepped closer, her heels clicking on the wooden floor. “What does he see in you anyway? You’re nothing special.” She pinched my gray hoodie, snorting with disgust.

“What’s your fucking problem?” I growled, getting up in her face. “I’m not the competition. Nate is all fucking yours.”

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