Page 61 of Don't Scare Me, My Love

We took our time, and after three minutes, we finally made it up the stairs that led us into the building. Luckily, the door that led to the kitchen was unlocked, so there was no need to fumble with the big-ass keychain again.

The first floor looked surprisingly nice. It was a new kitchen, matching the overall white-painted wooden style of the house, with lots of appliances. A small tower with a big red button on itstood in the middle of the room, with a laminated note taped to the top.

Jason picked it up. “If at any point this experience feels too real, press this button. It will stop all the pre-programmed effects.Hopefully.” He looked at me and held it up, laughing. “I love their uncertainty about whether the place is haunted for real.”

The sound of a bell rang through the house. We looked at each other and remained silent for a second to see if it would ring again.

“Are you expecting someone?” I asked.

Jason shook his head. We both turned to the open casing that led from the kitchen into the small foyer that connected the kitchen, living room, and upstairs. The walls displayed thirteen framed pictures of a heterosexual couple in their forties and their two teenagers. Two plants lined the doorway and made everything look so pretty that you’d never know this place was horror-themed.

Jason walked up to the door, peered through the spyhole, and laughed. “Look,” he said and stepped aside.

I pressed my eye against the spy, and a curved view of the front porch showed only my car in the back. “There’s no one there—” A pale face that looked like the wrinkled old version of the Dad in the pictures on the wall appeared in the spy, staring right at me. Startled, I stumbled back and would have fallen on my ass if Jason hadn’t caught me in his arms.

“What is it?” Jason took my place and looked through the spy again, only to furrow his eyebrows at me like I was crazy a second later. “Why did you scream?”

“There was a face!” I pushed him aside and pressed my eye to the hole, but now all I could see was the empty porch and my minivan in the background.

This place might have been more horror-themed than the decor had us believe.

Jason looked at me like he wasn’t sure if I was telling the truth. He looked out there again, but even after five seconds, he pulled his head back and shook it.

“I’m not making this up,” I said.

He stepped in front of me, took my hands, and kissed me on the cheek. “I believe you. I’ve heard that scream before. It doesn’t happen unless you’re genuinely startled.”

“Thank you.” I brought my lips close to his, and just as they were about to touch, a loud knock on the door interrupted us.

We both spun around and just as we faced the entrance, the plant on the right side of the door toppled over, followed by all the picture frames on the wall next to it shaking as if they were afraid—one after the other, almost as if some entity was moving them, making its way toward us.

I screamed again and wrapped my arms around Jason, who was biting his lips to keep from laughing while I was still enjoying the scare.

Just as the frame next to us started to shake, they all stopped at the same time.

For a second, everything went silent.

With a buzzing sound, the eyes of the people in the pictures glowed red, and they all turned upside down like synchronized swimmers.

Behind us, a loud, shrill shriek forced us to turn around. We hugged each other tighter as the chandelier hanging above the stairs fell a few inches, the glass ornaments now shaking as if an earthquake had hit us.

Everything stopped at once.

We turned back to the door. The frames looked as if nothing had ever happened to them. The plants stood as straight and healthy as when we first walked in.

No more strange noises, nothing.

We clung to each other, and after a second of silence, we both burst out laughing.

“Do you like it?” Jason asked, still holding me.

“How did you even find this place?” I kissed him. I grabbed both of his cheeks and held them tight because this was so damn awesome that he deserved a deep, intense smooch. “You’re amazing.”

“Come on, let’s make some more videos,” Jason said, reaching into his pocket.

I didn’t let him pull out his phone. I held his head and pushed my tongue deeper into his mouth, which he willingly accepted.

“How about we make some videos later?” I moved my hand from his cheek down to his crotch, grabbing his bulge and squeezing it gently. “And instead, I’ll give you your reward now?”

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