Page 217 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 5
He put his fingers through one of the fountains. “It’s just red food dye.”
I knew that. And yet…it was all still creepy. “Your house was pretty much made for Halloween parties. I’m surprised this isn’t always the décor in here.” I jumped when a spider fell from the ceiling.
“Are you really scared?” Matt asked.
“I’m terrified.” I held his hand even tighter.
He stopped in the middle of the hall and pulled me to his chest. “You have nothing to be afraid of. Not when you’re with me, Brooklyn.”
A fake scream echoed from somewhere down the hallway and I flinched.
Matt walked me backward until my butt collided with the side of a smoke machine. “I’ve got you,” he said as his lips brushed against mine. “And I’ll never let anything bad happen to you.”
It didn’t seem nearly as scary in this hallway when I focused on him. Tonight had been perfect.Hewas perfect. Halloween was quickly becoming one of my favorite days of the year. “So this is what you wanted to steal me away from the party for?” I asked. “To make out behind some spider webs?”
He laughed. “No, not exactly. I was hoping I could get you pants-less like me.”
“Very smooth.”
He winked at me and then pulled me away from the fog machine. We started running down the hall. I only flinched one more time, which I considered a win.
“I can’t run in these shoes!” I yelled to him.
We were both laughing as he picked me up and ran out into the foyer. He didn’t waste any time as he carried me up the stairs to his bedroom. He somehow managed to open the door while holding me. And he kicked it closed. He skipped the lights, carried me right to the bed, and threw me down into the middle of it.
And my excitement quickly turned to disgust. “Matt, why is your bed so wet?” I blinked, trying to make my eyes adjust to the dark room. Oh God, it smelled gross too. What was that?
“Huh?” He leaned over me. “What the fuck?”
My hands were definitely wet. But I couldn’t see a thing.Ew.My back was wet too.Oh crap, all the curls in my hair!I reached up to touch the back of my head and realized my mistake. Whatever was on my hands got even more into my hair.Gross.
“Let me go get the lights.” Matt crawled off of me. He flicked the lights.
The first thing I noticed was that his hands and forearms were covered in…blood? “Matt!” I screamed. There was even some blood splattered on his shirt. I looked down at myself and screamed even louder. I was covered in it too. I wanted to laugh it off. The house was oozing with fake blood. But this wasn’t water with red food dye. It was thick and sticking to my hands. The whole bed was soaked in it. It was everywhere.
“What the fuck?” Matt said.
I crawled backward on the bed and my hand touched something soft. I looked down and screamed again. There was a dead dog in Matt’s bed. No, not any dog. A sob escaped my throat. It was Isabella’s dog, Sir Wilfred. Her adorable little puppy had his stomach sliced open.Oh God.His guts were pouring onto the bed and his white fur was matted with blood. I covered my mouth with my hand so I wouldn’t puke. But the blood smeared across my face, spreading the horrid smell of blood right under my nose. I was going to be sick. I started gagging, but nothing came out.
Matt ran over to the bed and pulled me off, holding me tight. “Don’t turn around,” he said as he led me away from the bed and toward his bedroom door.
It was a little too late to protect me from seeing Sir Wilfred dead on his bed. I hadn’t just looked at the poor dog, I’d practically bathed in Sir Wilfred’s blood. How could someone do this to a sweet little animal? My stomach rolled. I looked up at Matt as he opened the door. And I realized he wasn’t staring at the bed. He was staring at the opposite wall. I turned to see what he was looking at.
On the wall above his dresser were the words, “You’re next,” written in Sir Wilfred’s blood.
You’re next.
The words rolled around in my head.
Isabella’s going to kill me.
My heart started racing.You’re next.As much as Matt’s arms comforted me, I didn’t need Matt right now. I needed my dad. He was the only one that knew what to do with Isabella. I needed to get to Miller or Donnelley so they could call my dad. I pushed myself away from Matt and ran out the door.
“Where are you going?” Matt yelled as he ran after me.
I barely stepped out of his room when I ran straight into Freddy Krueger. I screamed so loud that I was pretty sure they could hear me in the ballroom downstairs. Freddy Krueger grabbed me. “What the hell is going on?” he yelled down at me. His scarred face looked even more grotesque in real life.
“Get off me!” I screamed and tried to shove him off.
