Page 22 of Don't Scare Me, My Love

“Aren’t you?”

Jason paused for a moment before his stern frown gave way to a grin. “I am. Not this second, though. I promised to make this night special, and I will keep my word. That’s why we’re going somewhere else first.” He fixed his eyes on me. “Before I take you there, you must promise to keep it a secret.”

“I can keep a secret,” I replied, pulling my shoulders back.

“Swear on your eyeball.” Jason tapped his prosthetic.

I couldn’t help but smile at how weird this would have been for anyone but me. Without hesitation, I crossed my fingers, placed them over my right eye, and locked my left eye with him. “I swear on my eyeball that I will tell no one what you’re about to show me.”

He nodded in agreement and motioned to our cars. “I’ll drive ahead. Just follow me.”

Without taking our eyes off each other, we walked to our cars. As I started the engine, he nodded at me through the window again and drove out of the parking lot. Instead of turning left onto the main road, he turned right—onto the street with a big yellow sign next to it screaming at everyone that this was a dead end.

The road wound through the forest, taking us further and further away from civilization. After four minutes, there was still no dead end in sight, just as there were no intersections or…anything. The whole scenery reminded me of at least three horror movies that started with a happy family driving to a hotel or cottage—the perfect place where no one could hear you scream. With the addition that in the movies, it was still bright as day, while in my case, it was pitch dark. Only our headlights and the red taillights of Jason’s car allowed me to see anything.

The further we drove, the worse the road got, and the higher the trees seemed to rise above the street as if to shield us from the sky.

A shiver ran down my spine and made me smile. Nothing terrible like in those movies would happen, but I loved how the anticipation Jason had built up felt unique—almost as if he was doing it just because he knew I was into it.

After another three minutes, I could make out a building at the end of the road. The closer we got, the more the trees opened up to the sky again, revealing an extensive structure that actuallylooked like a hotel. We drove through a metal gate with a sign next to it stating “Private Property. No Trespassing.”

The road ended in a cul-de-sac with a red roof over it, leading to the entrance of the building. The hotel's windows appeared dark, and the parking lot to the left, hidden among the trees, seemed deserted.

Jason drove right under the covered part of the cul-de-sac, triggering a white light underneath. He parked his car, and I stopped right behind him.

The bang as he slammed the door of his car shut made me flinch. He strolled over to me, a confident grin on his face as I opened my door and got out of my car.

“Are you scared yet?” he asked.

“Should I be?”

I took in everything around me. The front entrance had a large glass door with more windows to the left and right. The empty flower pots next to the sidewalk were evidence that this building had once been full of life, but that was only a memory of the past.

“What is this place?”

“This,” Jason said, opening his arms wide and pointing to the entrance, “is where I live. Welcome to the Grand View Hotel, the abandoned disgrace of Seastone.”

“You are shitting me,” it gushed out of me.

“Would you like to be shown around?”

“If this were a horror movie, all my instincts would tell me to make up an excuse and leave. Tell me that this isn’t a horror movie, please.”

“It is Halloween, and I can’t promise you won’t be startled by cracking floorboards or creepy old paintings. But I promise you can leave at any time.”

My heart beat faster. I knew this guy was kind and couldn’t hurt a soul. I’d seen enough evidence throughout the week, andmy gut feeling was never wrong. But to take me to a creepy place like this?Exciting.

“Your last sentence is,uh,comforting,” I chuckled.

Jason pressed his lips together. “We can also go to the bonfire and be around people.”

“In any horror movie, people would now say:No, let’s go inside. I trust you.”

“Are you going to make the same mistake?” he laughed.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

My mouth watered a little at the prospect of either being on the most exciting date ever or becoming the inspiration for a soon-to-be-filmed horror movie based on the real-life events that were about to take place.

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