Page 35 of Haunted Prey

The rain was starting to slow outside as the wind picked up. I could hear the creak in the window beside me. Morning had come and gone now and anxiety was starting to eat at me. My hand drew up to the necklace, and I took to rubbing it between my fingers again. I told myself I was going to try and figure things out, to get my life back in order, but I found it hard to know where to start. My laptop was still confiscated. I was still dealing with side effects, and it was all too tempting to just lie down and spend the whole day in bed.

So lost. So alone. Poor little rabbit.

Before I could give in to the temptation of another nap, Lena called for me.

I closed my book, readjusted the sling over my arm as I got up from the futon and padded over to the stairs.

“There you are, I wasn't sure if you were sleeping.” Lena smiled as I stood on the landing. I noticed her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. There was a tension in her as she wrung her hands in a way that meant something was amiss and she was nervous to tell me.

“What’s up?”

“You and Jamie talked yesterday, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, studying her closely. “Why?”

“You didn’t tell him where you were, right?”

My jaw clenched. “No.”

She nodded, the tension in her easing if only a little. “Yeah, so, guess I’ll just tell you then. The cops came to my house this morning.”

Before I could respond, Marcus, who I assumed wheeled her inside, came out of the kitchen. “We got take-out if you’re interested,” he said.

“We’ll be right there, thanks, Marci,” Lena responded.

“I need to grab some more things from the car, I’ll be right back.” As he left, I looked back at Lena.

I wrapped my good arm across my chest, gripping the sling. “What did you say to them?” I asked quietly.

“I told them you weren’t there with me.” She shrugged. “Wasn’t a lie at least. But…kinda had to lie when they asked if I knew where you were.”

I frowned. “You know I don’t want you getting in trouble.”

Lena reached out for me, and I came down to take her hand. “If a friend needs my help, and is being harmed in some way, you best fucking believe I’m going to do what I gotta do. I can see how scared you are, Eve. I believe you when you say therewas something off about that place. If that place wasn’t helping anyway, then we need to find something else.”

Tears stung my eyes, and I blinked them away. “Thank you, Lena.”

Smiling, she let go of my hand.

I followed her over to the dining table and we helped ourselves to the thai Marcus had picked up. He returned with some boxes and placed them in his room before joining us.

Marcus talked our ear off about the next season of football and how his coach had promised him more field time this winter. Lena assured him she’d be there for his games and even suggested throwing a party for his first game of the season. That had him grinning from ear to ear.

I couldn’t help but smirk, noticing the way he clearly had a boyish crush on her. Though he was a year younger, he didn’t look it. Built like a true athlete, he boasted about earning more plays on the team and having the third-fastest field run.

He was about as tall as Emery had been actually, though not as big. Emery had been a damn giant.

Thinking of him and seeing the way Marcus looked at Lena suddenly made my heart sink to my stomach and my throat tighten. Emery had looked at me like that not long ago…

No, I wasn’t going to break down. Not now. I took a sip of water and forced the feelings down.

“Speaking of parties,” Lena said, picking at her pad thai. “There’s this thing I got invited to down in Detroit. Real word of mouth, private sort of thing. I’m allowed to take a plus one, but Marcus already has plans that night.” She eyed me curiously. “I thought, maybe, if you’re interested…”

I tried not to roll my eyes. “You can just say rave, Lena.”

“It’s not! I swear it’s not. It’s more laidback.”

I looked at my plate. “Don’t think it’s a good idea. If I get seen...”

---