Page 58 of A Smile Full of Lies
The blonde grinned.
“Oh, honey. That’s nothing.”
My fingers curled around the edge of my hoodie. My skin suddenly felt too hot beneath the thin cotton.
“That’s…” My voice cracked. I swallowed hard. “That’s intense.”
The blonde girl smirked.
“That’s just a warm-up for him, sweetie.”
My mouth felt dry.
“He does this… live?”
The blonde’s eyes sparkled.
“That’s the thing. He’sneverdone an in-person event before.”
My pulse kicked hard beneath my ribs.
“Wait… never?”
“Nope. This is thefirst time ever.” The blonde’s grin widened. “That’s why the tickets sold out within the first half hour of the event being posted. Some of these girls flew in from out of state just for thechancethat he might chase them.”
I glanced toward the line of girls ahead of us. Short skirts. Knee-high boots. Makeup dark and dramatic.
They weren’t here for the haunted house. They were here forhim.
A sharp pulse of heat unfurled beneath my ribs. My mouth dried out.
“What makes him so special?” I asked.
The blonde’s gaze darkened.
“If you have to ask, you’ll never really get it.”
The sheer condescension in her tone made me want to slap the living shit out of her.
“I can’t believe you didn’t know he was going to be here,” the girl with the black curly hair said. “He’s huge. People are flying in from all over just for a chance to see him.”
I ground my teeth, trying to rein in the annoyance she stirred in me.
“And this guy is really… coming to this Haunted House? In Stonewood, Alabama, of all places?”
“That’s the rumor,” the blonde said. “But honestly, even if he doesn’t? The haunted house is supposed to be incredible. The rich guy who owns this property really went all out and did the creepy, spooky, freaky, and true crime communities a solid by allowing the organizers to set up at Stonewood Manor this year.”
My head snapped toward her, my eyes narrowing.
“Yeah?”
The girl nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah, this guy named Philip Knox owns the property, and his whole family was murdered here four years ago. It’s awesome of him to let the haunted house organizers do this here this year. The girls who aren’t here for Nox Obscura are here for the true crime angle.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Apparently, Nox Obscura isn’t even charging the haunted house organizers for his appearance. He’s doing it for free, in exchange for Philip Knox allowing him to film video content here while he’s in town for the event.”
My chest tightened painfully. I already knew Knox had signed off on this, but knowing it and hearing it from this random stranger were two entirely different things.
“That’s… interesting,” I said coolly.
