Page 31 of Sins of Autumn

“It’s gone,” Daniella announced, her voice rising as she turned with disbelief.

“It’s not there?” Ryan questioned.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s not.”

Another knock came.

Ryan muttered a curse under his breath, running a hand through his hair. “Stay here,” he instructed. “Don’t move. I’m going back to the foyer.”

“What is happening?” Daniella gripped the edge of the counter to steady herself.

I crept forward and peeked around the wall to watch him.

After a second, Daniella was right behind me. Ryan moved toward the front door cautiously and pressed his face to the peephole.

“There’s no one out there anymore,” he said finally, though the tension in his tone betrayed his unease.

“What you mean is that there’s no one at the door right now. Someone is most definitely out there,” Naija corrected. She’d fully woken up at this point.

Cherish joined us, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “What’s going on?”

I didn’t even try to explain. “We can’t find the phone box,” I divulged instead, frustration thick in my voice.

“Alright,” Jason began, his voice gruff, “we need to figure out what’s happening.”

Liza nodded, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

“If someone’s messing with us, we need to stay inside and keep the doors and windows locked.”

I pressed my hands flat against my thighs, squeezing my eyes shut to think. The panic wasn’t helping. I needed to calm down. Around me, the group buzzed with scattered questions, fragmented ideas, and mounting tension. Cherish stepped up beside me, her hand finding mine and squeezing it firmly. “I’m right here with you,” she said softly.

I nodded, forcing myself to breathe deeply. “Okay,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “Let’s figure this out.”

Ryan rubbed his jaw. “First things first—our phones. Naj, you said you left the box in the kitchen, right?”

“Yeah, I did. Right by the paper towels. It was there last night. I know I was drunk off my ass, but that happened before then.”

“Well, it’s not there now,” Gabe pointed out. “And unless someone here moved it, there can only be one other explanation.”

The implication hung in the air, unspoken but crystal clear. Liza frowned. “If it’s not inside the house then that means someone came to get it. And then they just left?” Her words dripped with skepticism, but there was a nervous edge beneath them.

“Someone is clearly fucking with us,” I stated the obvious. “My dog didn’t just open a door and walk away. And how did that girl from the gas station know to find us here? We’re hours away from that place.”

My sister shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense. This house is in the middle of nowhere.”

“Are we sure someone was inside the house, why didn’t we hear them? Why didn’t they… do anything?” Naija questioned.

“Because they didn’t need to,” Gabe replied.

“They wanted to mess with us. It’s psychological. Freak us the fuck out.”

“They’re doing a damn good job of it,” Daniella snapped, rubbing her temples.

“We should search the entire house. Every room, every closet, every corner. If the phones are gone, we need to know how they got in. And if they’re still here…”

Jason, now leaning against the banister, scoffed. “So we just wander around this big-ass house like it’s a Scooby-Doo episode?”

Liza shot him a glare. “Got a better idea?”

---