Page 6 of Hollow House
I shrugged. There were plenty of men seated at the bar only feet from our booth, but I hadn’t paid much attention to them. I turned around, scanning for whoever he was referring to.
“Who?” I asked, turning back after seeing no one even glance slightly in our direction.
He poked his head around me, and his brows pulled together.“I swear…” He stood slightly to get a better angle, almost completely leaving his seat.“He must’ve left,” he said, disappointed.
I looked back one more time just to be sure. A new feeling crept in, like I was being watched, but not a single patron at the bar met my gaze.The hairs on my arm stood up like a warning.
“Sloane…” Felix said, waving a hand in front of my face.
“What?” I asked, startled back into reality.
“I asked if you wanted another drink,” he said, a brow quirking.
“I’m alright. I really should get going,” I said with a small sigh.
My one sliver of hope was extinguished. It wasn’t Felix’s fault—I asked the impossible of him, but I couldn’t help that small ember of disappointment from taking root.
“Want me to call you a ride?” he offered.
“No thanks,” I said with a weak smile. “I’m going to walk home.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, giving me a look of hesitation.
“Yes. It’s barely sunset, and I’ll text you the second I’m home, I promise,” I assured him.
“Fine,” he sighed, knowing arguing was useless. “You’re lucky I have your location.” He held up his phone and tapped it.
“No one’s going to kidnap me, I promise,” I laughed.
“You’re right. If they did, they’d return you in seconds. Far too insufferable,” he teased and rolled his eyes dramatically.
“Fuck off,” I laughed, standing and holding out an arm to him.
He linked his own around mine as we walked out. I missed the days when it was far easier to spend nights like this, when there weren’t responsibilities constantly weighing on me and holding my attention.
“We should do this again soon,” I said.
“I’m sorry, did Sloane Hill just admit happy hour is actually a good time?” He gasped.
I teasingly pushed him away.“I will never admit that.”
Chapter 3
The walkhome started peacefully enough.
I crossed my arms tightly across my body, the night providing a cool breeze and taking any remaining warmth with it.
From the road I was on, there wasn’t much blocking the view just beyond the small town. The one house beyond the outskirts sat on a hill, making it an easy sight to see. Its large presence remained year round.
The vague lighting of the gate to Hollow House glowed in the distance. The gothic mansion sat on a hill just outside town, and I could just see the start of the property.
Its eerie presence was like a shadow watching over everyone.
No one knew much about it, but everyone knew it was there.
When I was a child, we would bike out there just to catch a peek inside. We never saw much. Instead, we told stories about the things that happened in that house and tried to scare each other.
We were far from knowing the truth.
