Page 28 of Beneath Her Skin

"Hello?" I whisper softly, when I hear a large crash somewhere upstairs, causing me to freeze. Slowly, I creep around the living room, stopping at the end of my stairs, watching as the small wind-up car falls down the stairs. A scream escapes my throat, and I fall back on my ass, my eyes drifting to the elongated mirror on the wall?—

And I see her.

The woman dressed in white, her face beautiful... her brown skin littered with small cuts, a busted lip, her dress torn. She looks at me and terror washes over me as dead glassy eyes stare at my womb, and then she reaches for me.

No.

My stomach clenches, and I clutch it protectively.

"No." I say out loud as she inches closer. Her hand moves towards her flat stomach, and I see the deep burgundy stain that trails down her white, tattered dress.

"No," I shout louder as I crawl backward, trying to avoid her touch, but she looks past me.

Her sole focus is my swollen belly.

"No!" I scream, squeezing my eyes shut.

And just when I think I’m done for, strong, calloused hands grab mine, pulling me into him.

Lavender and sweat. Not an unpleasant scent at all—it is calming.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asks.

I pull away, dreading to look into those icy-blue eyes.

"I am. How did you get in here?"

"The door was unlocked, and I heard you screaming."

I nod, brushing off imaginary dust from my short denim dress.

"Josh. Can I call you Josh?"

"That’s my name, of course," he says with a charming smile as he removes the baseball cap, pushing his curls back.

"What did you know about the previous owner?"

Josh’s face goes blank; his voice almost changes when he answers. "Why do you ask?"

I regret instantly asking. "I don’t know… curiosity."

"Look, Mrs. Garcia?—"

"Call me Serena."

He lets out a shaky breath. "Look, Serena, don’t go looking for answers you don’t wanna know."

"What does that mean?"

He shrugs and offers me a small smile. "It means that tragedy happened here. I wasn’t working here at the time. The real estate company offered me the job after the murder."

My hand moves to my neck, my eyebrows knitting together. "Murder?"

He nods.

"Yes. It looks like the husband was killed, and the wife and his unborn child were never seen again."

I continue to massage my neck, wondering why Rey never told me about the house’s history.

---