Page 29 of Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are

“The bird,” I whispered, choking on more sobs. “I had no choice.”

“Shh,” she soothed as she pulled me into her arms.

Clinging to her with my chin on her shoulder, my gaze fell to the wet leaves.

The bird was gone.

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

SKYLER

Evelyn dabbed the sponge on my cheeks and a crease formed between her eyebrows as she applied the white paint to my face.

She’d made me change into a black dress of her choice and curled my hair. I felt ridiculous. We were in one of the bedrooms upstairs, the boys’ rowdy laughter drifting through the floorboards as she turned back to the dresser, rooting through her makeup bag. “He aimed a gun at you?”

My eyes skated over the soft curls of her blonde hair cascading down her back. Evelyn was a vampire tonight, and she insisted I needed clown makeup. I didn’t argue.

“He’s fucking crazy, Evelyn,” I whispered, keeping my voice low in case someone listened through the door. It was unlikely, but paranoia dampened my palms as a trickle of sweat trailed down my face, disturbing the white makeup.

Evelyn turned back around, swirling a thin makeup brush through a pot of red face paint.

Bending over, she stared into my eyes for a fraction of a second before the wet brush trailed over my lips in soft strokes.

I held still, fisting my palms in my lap. My heart wouldn’t settle, beating an unsteady, restless rhythm inside my chest.

The wind whistled through the cracks in the window frame, and a thin branch of a nearby tree tapped the glass as it swayed and danced in the icy breeze. Max had turned the heating on, but the cold still lingered, seeping through every small crevice.

“You need to stay away from him,” Evelyn said, placing the paintbrush back down before reaching for the sponge. She dabbed black paint on my eyelids and nose. “He’s dangerous.”

“I hate feeling this powerless.”

Evelyn paused, the sponge cool against my skin. “I wish we could tell someone.”

“I feel like I’m going crazy.”

“Why?” The sponge was back, dabbing softly as more laughter drifted through the floorboards to disturb the gentle silence. I sighed, thankful that the soft glow from the lamp on the windowsill hid the truth in my eyes from Evelyn’s cautious gaze. There were so many unspoken truths between us.

“You flirted with him.” The words slipped from my lips, uninvited and unbidden. “Is that why you want me to stay away from him?”

Turning her back on me and placing the sponge back on the dresser, her gaze found mine in the oval, silver-framed mirror. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

I lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “Why not?”

“So many reasons.” Her gaze fell and she packed up the scattered makeup, her long hair hiding her from me as it slid forward from behind her ear to shield her face.

My eyes danced across the room to the window to my left. I could only just make out the skinny, crooked branches moving in the wind, tapping the glass insistently, as if they wanted to gain entry.

I breathed in the slightly musty scent in the air mixed with Evelyn’s floral perfume and rose to my feet. The darkness outside the window called me forward, tugging on the deeply buried ache at the bottom of the well inside me. Evelyn bent down to pick up a brush, which had fallen.

As I inched forward, the worn, cold floorboards creaked beneath my bare feet, and my warm breath fogged up the glass as I peered outside and let my hands drift up to touch the cold surface. The darkness pressed in, swirling like fog on the glistening grass dusted by a layer of sparkling frost. The silvery moon was out, bathing the night in an ethereal glow.

I drew in a sharp breath when I spotted the boys walking outside. Nate placed a cigarette between his lips, struck a lighter, and cupped it.

The orange embers lit up his sharp features for a brief moment and then the flame flickered out. He handed the lighter to Lewis at the same time his other hand drifted up to his mouth.

Pinching the cigarette between two fingers, he inhaled deeply into his lungs and tipped his head back to look up at the stars overhead.

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