Page 29 of The Road Less Traveled By

Only, the tiny voice in the back of my mind wishes I had something like that too. Sure, I have my friend Ellie, but she’s aninfluencerfriend. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s using me to gain more followers. Teags is all I have, really, and even that might change when she starts college.

The front door slamming open makes me pause.Did my parents forget something?Huh, maybe I’ll have the option to yell at them about earlier before they leave for two weeks. I throw my covers off, determined to march downstairs and pick a fight, before I stop in my doorway.

Something doesn't feel right.I heard the door slam open, but I don't think it ever closed. The hairs on my arms are pricking my skin with awareness, and my stomach is turning. I’m sure it’s nothing.Maybe I left a window open somewhere.

But in my mind, that doesn't feel right. Ever since my stalker surfaced, every window has been locked, every entry point sealed.

But the alarm isn't going off yet. You have a certain amount of time to punch the code in before police are alerted and the alarm sounds, so it could only be my parents since the only other people who have the code are Liv and Connie.

I shake off the tension covering my body, but when I peer downstairs, I know that my parents aren't home.

Because there’s a person standing in my doorway, back to me, punching in the code to the alarm, something shiny in their right hand.

It looks like a knife.

It’s him. He’s here.

I quietly step back into my room, swiftly shutting the door behind me. I grab my pillows and turn my reading light off, hoping he’ll think I’m asleep.

Maybe he’s not here to hurt me. Maybe he’s just here to scope my house out for next time. Maybe he’s here to watch me sleep and nothing else.

No matter how many excuses come to my mind, I know they’re all wrong.

I might die tonight. I might die all alone in my house, and since my parents won’t be home for two weeks, Liv is probably going to find me.

Liv.I should call Liv. She’ll know what to do.

I grab my phone and head for my favorite hiding spot, shutting the doors to my closet softly behind me as I try not to make noise.

I can hear his heavy footsteps downstairs from here. I wonder if he’s looking for something or if it’s just me he’s trying to find.

Deep breaths, Bree.

But I can’t breathe. There’s not enough air in here, and I suddenly wish I’d die because of that rather than whatever he has planned for me.

When, not if.

His last note was angry. He’sangrywith me and how I’ve ignored him, so I know for a fact that when he finds me up here, it’s not going to end well.

Please let me run out of oxygen and not die by his hands.

I dial my sister, turning down the volume in case he gets up here and can hear it. “Don't worry, sis, I have your bracelet. It must’ve—”

“Livvy, there’s someone in the house,” I whisper to her.

“Bree, what are you talking about?”

I try to sound as coherent as possible when I whisper again, “There’s someone in the house with me, and I don't know who.”

“What? Where are you?”

“I’m hiding in my closet. I heard the door slam open, and I thought it was Mom and Dad, but when I looked downstairs, I saw someone.” My chest starts to seize as the words become hard to get out. I can practically feel my pulse thrum through my body. “I-I think they had a kn-knife, Liv.”

“Stay where you are. Call the police, and they’ll come in from outside. Hang up and call them, Bree. I’ll be there soon.”

Thump. Thump. Thump.His boots are on the stairs. I know for sure because the third step up on our staircase creaks. I think I even hear him whistling some sort of song—like this is a game to him. “Okay, I will. Liv, I’m scared.”

I’m scared that I’m going to die. I’m scared that I’m going to leave this Earth without a trace, that nobody will remember me. I’m scared that I’ll never see you again, that this might be the last time we speak. I’m scared that you’re going to find my body and fall to pieces.

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