Chills explode over my body as my heart pounds like it’s trying to escape. Silence permeates the space between us, louder than the faint chorus of music still playing on the ground.
His presence feels like a blanket of fear, and it’s suffocating. The thunder claps in the sky, making my shoulders jump. But not his.
“Sorry,” he says quietly, almost monotone. “Didn’t mean to scare you. The door was open,” he offers coolly, motioning to it. “And your cat was outside.”
He lifts Princess Peach from beside him, kissing her head.What the fuck.
I draw my brows together, wishing he’d let her go. Because no, my door wasn’t open, and my cat wasn’t outside. She never leaves the house now.
Everything inside of me is in panic mode.
There’s a man in Noah’s doorway. And I’m alone.
He’s lying, and there’s no way I could fight him off.
Fuck. I can feel my chest rising and falling faster as I take a slow step backward, the pressure on the ball of my foot sinking to my heel. But his eyes jump to my feet as his head tilts, his large hand roughly stroking the cat. I freeze.
Can I make it out the back door?I just need to stay calm. Play it cool.
A small, forced smile peeks out on my face, making the heavy breaths through my nose loud enough for me to hear.
“Thanks for bringing her back,” I rush out, pointing to the floor. “You can just put her down there.”
“It was probably unlocked,” he says, not letting go of the cat. I frown, confused and really freaked out. “Your door ...” he adds as if reading my mind. “These old houses do that ... open easy. If you don’t lock them, a good gust of wind will swing it right open.”
I want to be relieved, but there’s something off about this guy. Still, I nod, trying to feign nonchalance.
“Okay, yeah. Good tip. I’ll make sure to pay attention to the locks better.”
My pulse is throbbing, beating so fast I can feel it on my neck.
He takes a small step inside, making the metal threshold creak under the weight of his foot. I blink faster.
Stop him. Now. He can’t come in!
“I just cleaned the floors,” I rush out loudly.
His eyes bore into mine, all the shadows from his face removed, giving me a better look at him. He has deep pox scars all over his gauntcheeks and an angular jaw, like someone who could’ve been handsome once, but life got to him.
“Sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just ...”
Anything else I was going to say is lost because fight or flight is kicking in, and I think I’m a “scared in place.”
His voice is so level, as if he’s detached or void of emotion.
“You really should be more careful. You never know what could happen to the things you love.”
As he says it, Princess meows hoarsely, and too quietly, like he’s squeezing her. My lips curl under my teeth as I try not to cry or run because all I want to do is make sure she’s okay.
I reach into my back pocket, hand around my phone, trying to remember how many times to press the side buttons to call for emergency.
Goddammit. I should’ve paid better attention to everything. Not just the phone instructions but to Noah as well. He’s so adamant about locking the doors and windows. I didn’t listen. I don’t even remember if I locked the door behind me when I came in.
The wind howls outside, and he turns his head, so I take the opportunity to take another few steps backward, repeating myself from before. “Hey, thanks again. Really. You can just set her down.”
But he doesn’t. He hums a quiet laugh, making my blood feel ice cold.
His eyes shift back to mine slowly before they narrow, and he holds her out to me—by the scruff of her neck.
