The only sound audible is the whistling wind, making a rushing sound that slices through the stillness of the night like a sharp knife. It feels like a high-pitched eeriness, relentless in its pursuit of whoever dares disrupt it.
”What the fuck was that?” I hiss out, my voice trembling and barely steady.
Grey silently stands on his feet, the bed creating a creaking sound as it shifts under his weight. He approaches the window, where the wind crawls through the crevices like a human-like wail—is someone lurking just beyond the walls?
One beat passes in which Grey pulls away the curtains, peeking out into the darkness. Tension rolls off him in waves as his shoulders hunch involuntarily, prompting me to approach him. My mouth is as dry as the oasis when I grab his hand, seeking reassurance in the warmth of his touch.
Yet, his body language speaks volumes, and his calm demeanor is stunted by terror. I follow his gaze into the darkness beyond the window, and my own heart pounds like a drumbeat.
Something sinister lurks outside, because there, lying right outside our window, is a note in sprawled and red bold letters, dripping as if it were written in fresh blood.
I take a step back, the pounding rush in my ears making them ring violently. The wind quickly grabs the note in its hold as itflies away, and yet, I managed to see what kind of words were written across the paper.
From Grey’s clenched jaw and expression looking nauseous, I know he saw it too. The exact same words Arthur stuttered out the seconds before his death.
“This isn’t the end.”
Chapter 6
Grey
”W-what?” Naya stutters out,and I can’t do anything but shake my head, my eyes set in a hardened look.
The world tilts on its axis as a relentless feeling of dread settles over me, dragging me into the depths of a vile grip resembling a black hole, impossible to crawl my way out of.
Inside my head, it feels like a stormy sea.
She swallows, opens her mouth, then swallows again, as if she cannot find the right words.
”Was that real?” She finally wonders out loud, uncertainty clouding her voice.
I can’t answer her, because the second emotion that washes over me is anger. Pure, fiery anger that makes the blood in my veins boil at the thought of someone leaving that note here. Rage at the person causing my little doll such a frightened state of mind.
Naya shifts uneasily on her feet, glancing at me from the corner of her eye, probably wondering if I saw the note too. I did, and the clenching of my fists proves it. Nails dig into my palms, creating crescents that burn along my skin as emotions roll over me like endless waves refusing to dissipate.
”It was probably nothing. Maybe someone trying to play a prank.” My voice is determined, knowing I have to believe my words. There’s no other way, and the alternatives are much worse.
”I didn’t imagine it, right?”
Adrenaline spikes through my body as I force myself to stay composed. I grab her hands, my warm touch enveloping hercold ones. It’s as if a phantom has taken over her being when I lean forward, drawing the curtains to conceal the outside world until there’s only me and her.
”No, you didn’t. I saw it too,” I kiss her forehead.
A thought hits me, making unease rumble in my stomach like a dangerous drug. “No one knows we’re here except for Daxton.”
I push out the words, hating to say them aloud, yet knowing I can’t trust my brother. Not after what he did, and not for leaving me like that. I want to scream at the entire world, to force them to revel in the anguish I feel from not getting a goodbye from my own fucking brother. He merely stood there, looking at Naya as if she lit up his entire world. Then he left, leaving me without a brother once again.
I hate to admit that he left a hollow space in my soul that may never be filled.
Our parents abandoned us, and I thought he at least would love me enough to stay, but that wasn’t enough.
“He wouldn’t do that,” Naya says, her eyes flaring with trust for a friend in whom she confided for months. There’s resolution in her tone, a hopefulness that it wasn’t Daxton who did this.
I pause, scanning her from head to toe as I sigh. “Okay. You know that I trust you. If you trust him, then it wasn’t him.”
She bites her lips, sending a rush of desire through my veins despite the inappropriate moment. Like my own goddamn drug I need to take, she always messes up the chemistry in my mind.
“Let’s just try to sleep. It’s late, and we’re safe in here,” I tell her gently as I make my way over to the door, checking to make sure it’s still locked and the chair prevents anyone from breaking the handle to enter.
