“Nyx is a nice name, too. Unusual, but nice.”
“He’s unusual but nice, too. I think he’ll have a long time to heal, but... Well, I don’t seem to mind that.”
“You have an appreciation for old things and the time it takes to build things.” Nana shook her head in awe. “Now that you tell me all of this, it clicks. He’s actually a nice fit for you, sweetie.”
“Thank you. Now, you tell me all about you. Where’s G-Pop? Can I— Nana?”
Grace watched with a suddenly aching heart as Nana's face faded and the lights went out.
Somewhere in between awake and asleep, she heard something slam downstairs.
Chapter Nineteen
Grace moved sluggishly, even though her eyes were wide and her heart was racing.
Something slammed downstairs.
Thunder and howls of wind raced past the bedroom window, rattling the glass until she worried it would shatter.
Just the storm. Did I leave a window open? Wind must have knocked something over.
It might be something on the porch...
What’s on the porch?
She rolled over sleepily, arm drifting over the side of the bed. “Nyx?”
She yawned. Was it her imagination, she wondered as her heart rate slowed and her eyelids closed, or did she feel fingertips brushing hers from beneath the bed?
THE PLACE WAS DIFFERENTthis year, The Stranger could tell at once. Cleaner. No more holes in the floor. Of course. Pamela lived here now, so it would be fixed up.
They could stay here. He could keep an eye on his “garden” in the woods. Pam would understand why they should stay.
He found the stairs, groping his way in the dark. His fingers ached where they’d been broken, and his jaw suddenlytightened. Why hadn’t Pamela come home? Why here? How had she known he would be here?
Was she spying on him? Was she avoiding him?
He ignored the pain and the slippery feeling of his wet shoes on the polished wooden staircase. He raced upward, his anger mounting. How dare she hide all this time, waiting, alive, making him do horrible things?
What if she wasn’t waiting for him? Was she still with those frat boys? They’d be older now, the same age as him.
At the top of the landing, his footsteps slowed. He thought about calling out again, but he didn’t. He would surprise her, and if she screamed and tried to run, he’d stop her and— His mind turned off.
If she opened her arms and gave him what he’d been waiting for, what everyone else had gotten to have... His mind shut off again, a wall of anger blocking out everything.
