Page 25 of Hollow House
The best sex I’d had in a long time, possibly ever. Okay, definitely ever.
But I wasn’t about to tell him that. I sensed he already had a big enough ego, and he didn’t need more to fuel it.
I pulled myself out of the bed, refusing to sulk and wait for the mystery man to come back. He may have been great, fucking fantastic, but I also wasn’t about to let myself become the woman who wasted the party waiting for him.
I at least needed to find a bathroom and clean up.
The hall was empty when I pulled the door open. I knew I was on the second floor, but I hadn’t been paying attention when running for my life.
I walked for a while, hitting dead ends and trying to follow the sound of music I could faintly make out. Stairs appeared in front of me after far too long spent wandering the halls. They weren’t the main staircase, but I imagined I could still get down to the party from them.
As I walked down, the music grew louder. It beckoned me back to the main room, begging me to join the festivities. I’d almost forgotten how many remained downstairs.
Eventually, I spotted a woman walking toward me and waved to her. She eyed me cautiously, and I realized how manic I looked, with my hair a tangled mess and my mask covering half my face.
Her own mask was a pastel pink, silver outlining the edges.
“Where is the bathroom?” I asked politely, needing to clean myself up.
“Right down that hall,” the woman answered and hurried off before I could even thank her.
I noticed the narrow hall branching off to the right in front of me. It was not the same as any I’d gone down before.
A waitress appeared in the hall, carrying a tray of drinks and walking toward me. I could hear the music following from where she came as she offered me another drink of wine. I politely declined, my head feeling clouded.
Maybe it was the high of another orgasm, or perhaps I’d had too much to drink too fast.
I wandered down the hall, the instructions enough to get me away from the party. But once in the hall, I quickly realized how misguided I was.
Doors lined the walls, all unlabeled. I opened a few, closets and sitting rooms behind each. Nothing remotely close to a bathroom, though.
I turned down a hall that branched to the right, hopeful I’d find something. All this space—there had to be at least one around.
After many failed attempts, I finally found one in the furthest corner of the house. The door groaned as I pushed it open. The dim lights just barely lit the stalls enough to see. It wasn’t quite what I was imagining in a mansion. Instead, it resembled more of a rundown school bathroom.
I picked the middle stall, realizing I had my pick with no attendees in the bathroom with me. The door shut behind me, and I had to fidget just to get the lock in place.
I peed as fast as I could, anxious to get back. The more time I spent away from the Wraith, the more I found my morals and plans going out the window.
My body craved his presence. The longer I was away from him, the more I itched to feel his touch again. I’d make my way back to the room he left me in and wait for him.
A small thud echoed through the bathroom, and I froze, standing up in the stall. Another guest had to have entered.Itried to catch a glimpse through the crack of the door, curious about each party goer. The more I learned, the more I could write for the article.
At first, I saw nothing. The longer I stared, I realized how ridiculous I was being. I smoothed out my dress, ready to step out and wash my hands. If someone was out there, I could see for myself then.
“Sloane.”
The word was a whisper, barely even there. Did I even hear it?
The water dripped—perhaps it was that, the sound echoing and playing tricks on my mind.
I looked up through the crack, convinced I heard my name.I could just make out the sink and counter, water dripping and driving me crazy. The little sliver wasn’t enough to capture the bathroom, and my stall was too small to move around and see beneath the others.
Steps echoed lightly, and I tried to quickly gather myself and flush. The sooner I could get back around the people in the main room, the better. I couldn’t shake the dreadful feeling.
I turned from flushing the toilet and caught movement in the crack of the door. My eyes tried to focus, and I leaned in to catch a glimpse in the narrow view.
A woman moved into view, and I tripped back, steadying myself on the wall. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.
