Page 39 of Let Me In

The words hit like a slap to the chest. My hands go still. My throat tightens.

He doesn’t even say it to me. Just… out loud.

A warning. A threat, thinly veiled.

I step outside a few minutes later, leash in hand, dogs close.

I don’t cry. Not exactly.

But I do pull out my phone.

I’m really sorry… I can’t leave the dogs alone tonight. It’s… complicated. But thank you.

The reply comes almost instantly.

Bring them.

A second later,

I’ve got room for all three of you.

And I just… stand there.

Heart cracking open. Again.

Because he doesn’t ask questions. Doesn’t make me explain.

Something in me loosens. My shoulders drop a fraction. A breath escapes that I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. And for asecond, I want to cry. Not because I’m sad, but because it’s been so long since someone made space for me like that. But Cal...

Just open the door.

Andmeans it.

14

EMMY

I don’t askfor a ride. Not because I don’t want to, but because asking feels like too much. Like tempting fate. Like putting weight on something soft and beautiful before I’ve earned the right to lean on it.

So I pack a small bag—some essentials, some dog food, my notebook—and I leash the dogs.

I tell myself it’s good for them. That the fresh air will help calm my nerves. Cleo walks ahead, alert and steady. Luca stays close, every now and then brushing against my leg like he knows something in me is bracing.

It’s not far. Two kilometers, maybe. Just enough to leave me flushed and breathless when I reach the end of the gravel trail. Just enough to make me feel small, showing up on foot. The ridge road is quiet this time of evening, touched in gold where the last of the sun slips between trees.

But just before I reach the turnoff to Cal’s gravel drive, I see it.

A black sedan.

Tires crunching too slow over the road, like it doesn’t belong. The windows are tinted so dark I can’t see a thing inside.

And the thing that sticks in my throat: no plates. Just the dull metal frame where numbers should be. It creeps past the turnoff, heading farther down the ridge.

I stop for a second. My heart does a slow, uncertain beat. Luca noses my hand like he feels the change in me, and I blink from my daze to reach for my phone. Snap a photo before it disappears around the bend. Because something in me knows… It’s out of place. And not just a little.

I don’t know if I should tell Cal. I don’t want to sound dramatic. I don’t want to take something soft and fill it with shadows.

So I press forward. Toward the porch light.

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