“Oh, Ada,” he says, “I really wish you hadn’t pulled back those covers.”
My breath catches in my throat. “I’d like to leave now,” I manage.
He cocks his head to the side. “Would you?”
“Yes.”
“The thing is,” he says, “I’m not sure I can trust you. Your brother is very good at keeping secrets, but I get the feeling you’re not.”
I remember how Nico came home with pee all over his pants. And right now, I’m scared the same thing is going to happen tome. I don’t know if I’ve ever been this frightened in my whole life.
“I can keep a secret,” I squeak out.
Unlike me and my brother and my dad, Mr. Lowell has light eyes. So I can see when the black part in the middle grows larger. “I don’t think you can,” he says. “Which means…”
He’s close enough now that I can smell his sour breath. I squirm, wondering if I can get past him. I need to get out. The whole room is so small, and the door is so close. If only…
“I can’t let you leave, Ada,” he says.
I remember when Gabe told me about that missing boy, Braden Lundie. I had imagined him being trapped in a room just like this. The thought terrified me, yet here I am. And just like Braden, nobody might see me ever again.
Except I have one thing that Braden didn’t have.
I reach into my pocket, and my fingers close around my dad’s pocketknife. After he gave it to me, I practiced in my room. I practiced opening and retracting the blade quickly, the way I have seen Dad do it. Mr. Lowell is staring at my face, so he doesn’t see me slide the knife out of my pocket and extend the blade. He doesn’t see the glimmer of the knife in the overhead lights until I have jammed it right into his belly, exactly where my dad told me to put it.
And then I twist it.
Mr. Lowell howls. I got him right where it hurts. Well, like Mom says, it hurts more between the legs, but I didn’t really want to go for that area. This did the job anyway. Mr. Lowell sinks to his knees, clutching his belly.
“You bitch,” he gasps.
I don’t have time to think. I race past him, prying the door open, and then before he can get back up again, I shove it closed again.
The keyhole on the door is calling out to me, but I don’t have a key. I can’t lock it. So I do the only thing I can do, which is run out of the house as fast as I can.
When I came in, Dad was working in the backyard. But he’s gone. I don’t know where he went. Maybe back in our garage to get some more equipment? I don’t know. I want to look for him, but I also really want to go home.
When I get inside, I run up the stairs. I run to my parents’ bedroom, looking for either one of them, but the bedroom is empty. And then, while I’m standing in the doorway, I hear the footsteps behind me. Growing louder.
Oh no.
It’s Mr. Lowell. I should have figured out a way to block off that door. Or stabbed him again, just to make sure I finished the job. But I stupidly left him there. And now he’s followed me back into my house.
He’s ready to finish me off.
But then I turn around, and my shoulders sag. It’s not Mr. Lowell. It’s Nico, standing in the hallway, his mouth hanging open.
“Ada?” He has a horrified expression on his face. “What happened to you?”
For the first time, I look down at my clothing. I have a few small bloodstains on my shirt, but my right hand is wet with it. Also, the knife has a lot of blood on it. I didn’t even notice.
“Ada?” Nico says again.
“Where… Where’s Dad?” I stammer.
“In the garage getting some equipment, I think.” Nico frowns at my bloody hand, still clutching the knife. “Ada, what happened?”
“I…”
