Page 113 of Secrets That Bind Us
Like it’s beckoning me to follow to the door leading to the side porch.
Scraaatch.
I look up to see a hooded figure at the window looking in. Panic rising, I stand to my full height, my stomach dropping, heart beating fast.
“Dean?”
I open my mouth, but my lips are sealed together. I put my hands to my lips and feel… My reflection shows thick, red thread sewn tight over them. I scratch at the thread, tearing it off my lips, blood pouring, landing on my chest.
“Dean!”
I turn back around to see Mama Marie closing in on me– gray and decaying.
“DEAN!”
I spring out of bed, barely making it in time to get to the bathroom. Sweat drips from my forehead, down my temples. I stare at the black gunk that just poured out of me, now slinking to the bottom of the toilet. My heart rate spikes. I’m seeing shit. I blink a few times, flush mynormalsick down, and get to the sink to brush my teeth. When I spit, it’s fine. Regular fucking toothpaste foam. Nothing black. No blood. I clear my throat and look up to see my face is fine– other than the black bags under my eyes. Fuck.
“Baby, are you okay?” I hear from the threshold.
I shut my eyes before looking over at Verity, still sleeping in my shirt. I shake my head. “No baby, I’m not. Did we have sex last night?”
She tilts her head to the side, confused. “Yes? We have sex every night. Are you okay?”
“I mean literally just a few minutes ago?”
She shakes her head. “No… it’s three in the morning. We went to bed at nine. You have to work in three hours.”
I blink rapidly.
“Dean, you’re scaring me.”
I walk past her to get back into the bed, where the sheets are soaked through in the shape of my body. “We need to get the fuck out of this house, Verity. It’s fucking with my head. I feel like I’m going fucking crazy here.” I grab one end of the sheets and tug while Verity grabs clean sheets from the little chest at the foot of the bed. My stomach is still lurching. “I fuckin’dreamt about… fuck, I don’t even know. A hooded figure on the porch staring back at me.” I won’t tell her about Marie.
I see her tense from where she’s standing.
“What is it?”
“You… dreamt of a hooded figure?”
“Yeah, babe. The more I think about it, the sicker I feel, Verity. It’s our last fucking night here. I know my house isn’t done, but we gotta go.” I grab my phone from my nightstand and call the station to let them know I won’t be coming in. “The kids are missing school. We’re getting out in the morning. You hear me? The only reason we’re setting foot back into this place is for the wedding. That’s in four fucking weeks. And thenneveragain. Alright?” I make another quick call to my deputy stating a slight family emergency to do the same, apologizing for waking him up so early.
We finish making the bed, and she climbs in with me. I tug her to me and only feel right when she has her head on my chest.. “Okay, baby. You got it. We’ll pack up the kids and the things we need. Anything else, we’ll just purchase.” She traces her fingers up and down my stomach to my chest. “Go to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us.”
Except I don’t sleep.
Feeling unsettled, I grab my gun and go to the living room, sitting on the only one-seater. I stay silent in wait until alarms start blaring in every room.
Savvy finds me first. She looks down at the gun in my hand and back up to my face. But she’s unafraid. She blinks slowly, her chest steady in its rise and fall, taking measured breaths. “Cold in here, isn’t it?” She makes a motion with her head, jerking her chin to the side door.
Gun in hand, I get up slowly and prowl forward. When I get to her, I see the door iswide fucking open.
I look at my daughter, and together we walk to it in time to see the barn door slide shut. “You ready to get the fuck out of here?”
She dips her chin once. “I’ll get mine and Noah’s things. You get Mom.”
I dip mine in silent agreement.
Chapter Forty-Two
