Page 25 of Deadly Obsession
Then he lifted me up and sat me back down on his lap, and we resumed our game. Though it was obvious we were all keeping an eye on our screens, watching for more comments from Robert or Lyndsey.
None came.
Danielle adjusted herself in her seat, setting her board on the ground by her feet before taking the jar. “All right then, let’s get a good one,” she said as she reached her hand inside, shuffling around a bit before pulling out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and a wicked smirk appeared on her face. “This is a damn good one.Only now she’s?—”
A loud boom of thunder shook the entire cabin to the point the water in my glass on the coffee table reminded me of the firstJurassic Parkfilm.
The roar made me jump, and I could have very easily fallen off James’s lap but he’d gripped me tighter, pinning me down on him.
“Fuck!” Jade cried out beside us.
I glanced out the window, and it was as if that thunder clap had torn open the sky. Just as James had predicted, it was downpouring. I was too distracted by everything going on inside to notice when it started. But now there was no missing it. You could hear the intensity of the rain assaulting the cabin. A flash of lightning illuminated the windows, eliciting yet another scream from Jade and this time Brian as well.
I felt the quick rise and fall of James’s chest as he attempted to suppress himself. But at a second boom of thunder,he couldn’t hold back any longer and his laughter filled the room. Lola joined in and soon everyone was cackling. Including our viewers.
LOL!
Ha-ha-ha!
OMG, was that MaskedGentleman squealing!?
“I think that’s a sign for us all to take another shot!” Brian declared, standing and holding a hand up to the laptop screen. “One moment, everyone.” He then made his way over to the liquor table. Without question, the rest of us followed his lead.
“That was fucking wild timing. Brian, I want something better than the Fireball, though. Pour me a Jameson,” Danielle said, closing in on the table.
Another brilliant flash of lightning filled the windows, trailed by multiple booms. But none of the thunderclaps were nearly as loud as the scream that erupted from Jade’s throat. She stumbled backwards, tripping over her own feet, and would have likely crashed to the floor had James not been quick to move behind her.
“Whoa, easy there, darlin'. It’s only thunder,” he said in that soothing voice of his.
“Fuck no! A face! There was a fucking guy or monster outside the window!” she shrieked, pointing towards the sliding glass doors. The same ones James had appeared in front of on our first night here.
SIXTEEN
JAMES
I hadn’t seen anything myself, but Jade didn’t seem the type to hallucinate and she wasn’t drunk yet either.
“Stay here. I’ll check it out. I’m sure it was nothing. Just the weather playing tricks on your mind,” I said in an attempt to comfort her. I patted her on the shoulder before stepping past the others. Brian motioned towards the door as if he intended to join me, but I held up a hand before he had the chance. “Stay here with the girls. Do your shot and get back to the live. I’ll just take a look around and be right back.”
“Be careful, James!” Jade cried out.
I peered over a shoulder to see Sera handing Jade a shot while rubbing at the girl’s shoulder. Our eyes locked, and I recognized the concern painted on her face. I gave her a wink and turned away before she could tell me to stay inside.
Sliding open the door, I stepped out into the storm. The rain was practically sideways in the wind, cutting through my hoodie like razor blades. I held up my hand, shielding my eyes as I scanned the area. The growing darkness of the night made it near impossible to see much farther than the perimeter of the cabin between the frequent flashes of lightning.
Back home, this sort of storm would immediately raise concerns about tornados as we sat around the ranch, waiting for the sirens to start wailing. But this wasn’t a tornado zone.
I slowly crossed the deck to peer over the railing, but all I saw was the outer grounds of the cabin now being assaulted by the rain. When I reached the top of the stairs, something finally caught my eye. A set of muddy footprints trailing up and down the wooden steps. Apart from a few thicker clods of dirt, the prints quickly vanished as they washed away in the rain.
Fuck, someone was out there.
“Robert, you fuck…” It had to be him or some lost hunter, or maybe the owner was a creep and wanted to see what his guests were doing. Anything was possible but my mind kept pulling back to the idea of a pissed-off Robert camping out somewhere in the woods, perhaps joined now by Lyndsey, trying to play tricks on us.
I started carefully down the stairs, my eyes darting along every surface as soon as my feet hit the landing. Including the area beneath the deck against the house, out into the tree line, and then over to the water’s edge. There was no one in sight but what I did find were more sunken pits filling with rain in the shape of footprints, leading away from the stairs towards the stream.
“Well, fuck…”
Whoever this was had the common sense enough to cover their tracks. They knew how to avoid being followed. This made me doubt it could be Robert, as he didn’t seem too high on the common-sense scale. However, I knew better than to underestimate anyone. There was one other possibility that had crossed my mind. A possibility that would escalate the situation far worse than any stupid prank.
