Page 146 of Five Mountain Daddies

“I don’t know. But I think she knows more than she’s lettingon.”

We walk in silence for a second, and when we finally make it back to the car, Cora looks at me. “She was afraid,” shesays.

I nod slowly. “Yeah. I think you’reright.”

“Reallyafraid.”

I meet her gaze. “Who didthis…”

“Dangerous,” Cora finishes forme.

We look at each other for a second before climbing into the car. I pull away, my mind still trying to work out how Kristi is involved in all ofthis.

7

Cora

Atticus looks down at me. His eyes are glowing red, two pinprick dots in the otherwise black room. I’m stuck to the bed and shaking, trembling, terrified, but I don’t knowwhy.

“Go ahead,” I say to him. “Go ahead. Goahead.”

He grins a wicked grin and slams the knife down into me over and overagain.

I wake up with a start. I’m sweating, practically shaking. I get out of bed and stumble into the bathroom where I palm some water into my mouth straight from the tap. It’s lukewarm, but I feel like I might getsick.

I used to have nightmares when I was younger. My mom called them night terrors. Atticus was the only person in the world that could calm me down when they hit. He’d get into bed with me and sing softly until I’d fall asleep again. We were really young back then, and I haven’t had a night terror since I was akid.

My pulse slowly comes down. I walk out into my living room and get a cold glass of water. I sip it, staring at the back wall, trying to make sense of thedream.

When I hear something outside. It sounds like the trash. At first, I think it’s a cat, but I hear itagain.

I walk to the window and peek through the blinds. I peer down the side of the house and I can just barely make out a dark figure, rooting through mytrash.

I jump back, eyes wide, the terror from my dream striking back into my chest again. I nearly drop my water as I turn and run back into mybedroom.

I dial without thinking. The phone rings and I’m shaking with horror. Someone’s out there, right now, going through my trash. Maybe it’s a fucking homeless guy, or maybe it’s the people that had Kristi soafraid.

I’m about to give up when he finally answers. “Yeah?” he grumbles, voice heavy withsleep.

“Someone’s going through my trash,” I hiss into thereceiver.

He pauses a second. “Cora?”

“Someone’s going through my trash,” I hiss again. “Rightnow.”

“There’s a person outside of yourapartment?”

“Yes!”

He sounds more awake now. “Lock your doors. Stay where you are. I’ll be there in a fewminutes.”

“Pleasehurry.”

“Call 911 if they try to come inside. Can you dothat?”

“Yes, justhurry.”

Wyatt hangs up the phone. I stare at my bedroom door before shutting it and locking thehandle.

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