Page 45 of Make You Mine

As I approached him, the scratching noise grew louder and more insistent. Nimbus hissed and lunged at the wall, scratching at it furiously as his growls turned into trilling yowls, a sound I’d never heard from him.

I turned, searching for Smog. He was still perched at the foot of the bed, alert and keeping an eye on everything.

“We’re getting out of here.” I gathered Smog in my arms, then bent to grab Nimbus, but he darted under the bed, hissing, spitting, and growling his fluffy brains out.

“I’ll come back for you.” He was completely freaked out, fur standing on end. If I tried to catch him, he’d probably scratch the hell out of me. “Shit, shit, shit,” I chanted as I darted out the door and down the stairs.

I threw open the front door and was met by the crisp night air. I shivered in the dark as Smog twisted in my arms, but I held him close as I hurried down the steps and onto the walkway.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart as I stood there. The faint glow of the streetlights cast long shadows across the yard. I turned to look at the house, the scratching sound still echoing in my ears. Nimbus’s yowling could still be heard faintly as I’d left the front door open.

Just then, the headlights of a car swept into the driveway. Ren stepped out, concern etched on his face as he took in my disheveled and freaked-out appearance. I stood there shaking, my cat held tightly in my arms.

“What’s going on?” He asked, voice low and steady.

“There’s something in there,” I replied, my voice shaking. “I heard it… scratching and rustling in the walls. Nimbus went wild. I’ve never seen him like that?—”

“I’ll check it out.”

“No! What if it’s a ghost? Wait, I have to get Nimbus. I can’t leave him in there. Oh my god?—”

“Get in my car. I’ll go inside, yeah?”

“But what if it gets you? You could be killed!”

“There’s no such thing as ghosts. It’s probably an animal, an insect nest, a beehive, I don’t know, something like that. There’s a rational explanation. This house is old, Piper. Not haunted. I was just teasing you the other day.” He gestured to his car. “Get inside, get warm. I’ll be right back. Promise.”

“No, I’m coming with you. I can’t ask you to go in there by yourself. You shouldn’t die alone, rescuing my cat, who has gone out of his mind…”

He smiled softly and held his hand out. “We’ll be okay.”

“Okay…” I took his hand, only slightly embarrassed that I held it in a vice grip. I was scared out of my mind.

We entered the house, and I opened the downstairs half bath, and put Smog in there. He protested loudly.

“Just for a minute, I promise.Shh, we have to rescue your brother.”

“Where was the noise?”

“In my bedroom. Nimbus woke me up, scratching at the walls and yowling. None of this feels real. Am I awake? Are you really here?”

“I’m really here, sweetheart.” He chuckled. “Let’s go upstairs.”

I followed him up the stairs, sticking close to his back, wishing I could callGhostbustersor Sam and Dean, anything to avoid confronting the noise in my room.

We stopped in the hallway right outside my open door. Nimbus was back in the corner, staring at the ceiling where we could hear the same light scratching as before. But now that I was calm, I could hear it in the hallway above our heads as well.

“Tell me you hear it too, and I’m not stuck in a bizarre, haunted house-themed lucid dream.”

“I hear it,” he confirmed. “There’s definitely something up there. What’s above your room?”

“The attic,” I answered, with my eyes glued to the ceiling. “But I don’t go in there.”

He looked at me like he thought I was cute, and a smile played about his lips. “Why not?”

I met his eyes, glad for the dim light since my cheeks had gone up in flames. This night was embarrassing on so many levels. “Because it’s dusty and scary and old. Mrs. Fenwick, uh, the previous owner, left her porcelain doll collection up there when she moved out. She said I could keep it, but I don’t like how they look at me. I don’t want anything to do with them. I was going to hire someone to clear it out up there, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”

“God, I’ve never met anybody as fucking adorable as you are, Piper.”

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