Page 46 of Haunted Prey

He looked at me like I was crazy. Which I was. But I’d have a fucking panic attack if the cops showed.

He was ready to press the number. I could see it. I could see the fear in his eyes. “You sure?”

I forced myself to be calm and collected, hoping he didn’t change his mind. “Yes. Sorry to freak you out. I’ll just clean up. No need to worry.”

“Yeah, right,” he mumbled as I turned to go to the bathroom.

I sat on the edge of the tub, pressing the towel to my head for at least a half hour before it was manageable enough to clean and slap a Band-Aid on. I then locked my room door, turned on the headlight and curled into the corner of the bed.

I didn’t edit any more of my thesis that night. I didn’t sleep either. When I heard Lena’s voice downstairs, I leaped from my bed and unlocked my door, practically running down the hall to the stairs.

“Hey, Eve, still didn’t sleep much, huh?” Lena said as Marcus moved around her into his bedroom.

I shook my head.

Her eyes flicked up to my forehead. “What happened there?”

“Just a little accident.”

She arched her brow. “You okay?”

“Yeah, totally fine.”

“All right, well, we're off to bed so…see you in a few hours.”

I stepped down to her as she started to wheel into the bedroom. She paused again, to study me. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Mmhm. Hey, listen, about tomorrow.”

“Oh, yeah, I have therapy around noon.” She covered her mouth in a yawn. “But Marcus and I will grab lunch and bring it back after, okay?”

“I meant about later. Are you really set about going to that party?”

“The goth one? I mean, yeah, I’m still planning to.”

“I couldn’t make you change your mind, could I? And stay home?”

I didn’t want to say it. But I didn’t know if I could take another night being alone. Only, seeing her utter disappointment made me somehow feel worse.

Her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know…My friend was pretty excited about it. She’ll be pretty disappointed. I hate to go back on that.” She wheeled toward the room. “Maybe we’ll talk more about it tomorrow.”

I gripped the strap of my sling, catching the sad tone in her voice. Dammit, Lena.

“Wait,” I said, already exasperated. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“I’ll do it…I’ll go.”

I expected her to say it was too late since she obviously had someone else to go with her. Instead, her face lit up. “You serious?”

Honestly, at this point, I’d rather be in a crowd with people to distract me than alone with the shadows. Even if it was probably a lie, it might help. “Yeah, I’m serious. But only if I wear a disguise or something. And if we even see one cop there or anyone giving off bad vibes, I’m out.”

Lena grinned. “Deal. We won’t stay long either.” She squealed. “You won’t regret it, Eve. We will make sure no one recognizes you. This is going to be fun, I promise.”

“What about your friend?” I asked as she wheeled into Marcus’s room.

She snorted as Marcus moved to shut the door. “Oh, she’ll get over it. Good night!”

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