Page 135 of Diem

Just in time too, as whoever followed me up the stairs proceeds to pound on the wood.

Who is it? What’s happening?

Covering my ears, I back to the bed, dropping to my ass when my knees hit the mattress. The wood shudders under the brutal force and I eye the hinges, praying they hold.

What do I do? My phone is in my room and Mom canceled the landline a year ago since we hardly ever used it.

This room may have had the lock but I’m not keen on jumping off the roof. If I had gone through mine, there’s a trellis I could have climbed down.

I’m drawn from my terror induced thoughts when the pounding stops. The quiet after the storm sends goosebumps over my skin and rising from the bed, I cock my head to listen.

Where did they go?

When a scratching sound follows, I pause. What the hell is that? But when the doorknob jiggles, I shake my head. Are they picking the lock?

Shit.

Spinning around, I race for the window, but my sweaty fingers are no match for the old ass latch.

What follows is a sound I’ll never forget as I fall to my knees and wood goes flying. With my head pressed to the floor, I stare blindly into the darkness while the pounding starts up again.

Black dots dance before my eyes and I inhale, forcing my lungs to accept air through my tight chest. Focus. Get out of here, now.

Pushing up from the floor, I pause, when I spy a small slim box tucked under the bed.

What? I swear I checked everywhere the last time I was here.

With my heart in my throat, I pull it out and open the lid. Jewelry of all shapes, sizes and types, glitters back at me. Why would Mom store her jewelry under the bed?

Absently, I note the pounding at the door has stopped and I go to close the lid on the box when a pretty necklace shaped in a heart of diamonds with a single pink sapphire catches my eye.

It’s Dixie’s. She wore it all last year. She loved the damn thing.

“Maeve?”

“Dad?” I whisper, glancing up.

He’s on the other side of the bed and he can’t see anything more than my head over the mattress. Thank god. With my heart in my throat, I carefully close the lid and tuck the box into my waistband before rising. It feels really freaking awkward as I stumble to the door while my dad fumbles with the lock.

“What happened?” he says, and I shake my head, tears forming in my eyes. I don’t know what to be more upset about, the unknown assailant or what I suspect is a box containing jewelry the Lucky Charm killer stole from his victims.

After disengaging the lock, he steps inside and pulls me into his arms. Shuddering, I clutch his shirt, keeping distance between our bodies while I tremble with shock.

“Sh, it’s okay,” he says, and I rest my head against his chest, seeking comfort from the man while I hold the evidence of his misdeeds close to my aching heart.

∞∞∞

I’m drowning in lies. But how could I admit what I found? Not only that but I’m afraid whoever came into this house might be related to the rabbit’s feet and if it was my dad, I’m doubly screwed.

So, I denied knowing anything and watched while my parents argued about calling the police. All the while, my dad paced, his face pale and his fingers tapping his knee.

Who doeshethink came into our home?

While they’re distracted, I sneak up to my bedroom and hide the box in a drawer before texting Diem. He should know about this but when he doesn’t respond I sit on the bed and bow my head.

I’m alone. Diem hates me. My brother is off the rails. Matt has gone off the deep end.

A necklace belonging to my murdered friend rests in a box in my drawer amongst the childhood jammies I refused to part with.

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