Page 19 of Grotesque
The manor sank back into silence once the officer left. I looked out at the yard to the spot I had last seen the stranger. I knew he was out there somewhere, waiting. Would he come back tonight? Or would he make me wait? Slinking back from the shadows just when I’d had the audacity to relax my guard?
“You okay?” Quint asked.
I rubbed my arm to hide the way his voice had made me flinch. “I’m fine,” I lied. The whole interaction had gone as well as I had expected it to.
Quint leaned against the wall separating the living room from the kitchen. There was a tight smile on his face that made me realize that perhaps he didn’t believe me. He hadn’t tried very hard to back up my story to hisbuddy. But he was here, so that meant he didn’t think I was totally insane. He’d told me his story of the horned man after all. My stranger didn’t have horns.
“I can stay, at least for tonight to give you some extra peace of mind. That couch looks comfy.” He nodded to the couch in front of me. A smile played at the corner of his mouth.
Part of me wanted to refuse. On the other hand, it would be nice to share the big empty space with someone else. For a night.
I nodded, before a smile of my own pulled free. “You know how to fight a vampire?”
He snorted out his nose. “No, but I do know how to make a mean pasta sauce. I’ll load it up with extra garlic to be safe.” He winked before turning to the kitchen to scour the pantry.
In the back of my mind, I wondered whether I was putting myself or Quint in danger by breaking one of Macky’s rules. But what danger could a guest bring compared to an intruder?
Quint had downplayed just how good his cooking was. The entire house smelled like an Italian restaurant, making my mouth water. The food itself, garlic and all, had been to die for. There had been enough for lunch and dinner and I’d happily stuffed my stomach full both times.
After dinner we sat curled on the couch, the TV murmuring something about an unsolved murder. My mind had been hyper focused on the stranger as the sun began to set, but now that I was warm, full, and cozy beneath a blanket next to Quint,hewas all I could focus on. His heat was an antidote to the chilling dread that still clung to me.
A shadow of rougher stubble grew across his cheeks and chin, giving him a more roguish look. There was a white scar tucked in the corner of his mouth. Was that new? Or maybe it had already been there. Maybe the cut of his jaw had always been that sharp, and I was only just now paying attention to how handsome he was.
I bit the inside of my lip when his fingers brushed against mine under the blanket. Quint hadn't taken his eyes off the TV but I could feel his attention zero in as the electric shock sparked between us. The spark ignited when he slid his hand over my knee, his thumb working in slow circles.
I should have pushed his hand away. Instead, an invisible force turned my face to his. His hand slid higher as I tipped my face up–
BANG!
We jerked apart. I worked to untangle my legs as I lurched up from the couch, spinning to the window. Quint was already moving, jerking the front door open and sprinting down the porch.
“Quint,” I hissed.What if he’s out there and we’re running into a trap?The thought chilled me as I ran after him.
Quint was standing with his back to me, staring at something on the decking. Peering around him I saw what he did, a crow, wings spread limply on the wooden boards, its neck twisted at an awkward angle. My fingers flew to my lips as I looked down at it.
“Fuck,” Quint breathed.
“What is it doing out at night?” I dragged my eyes up to his face and turned.
The quiet pressed down on me as I looked across the lawn. Fog spilled from the forest, making its languid advance toward the house. I was an idiot. There was a stalker or crazed monster on the loose and I’d allowed my guard to drop,literallythe next night, and nearly kissed Quint.
Heat bloomed up the side of my neck as I dropped my fingers to it. “Let’s get back inside.”
Quint made a slow turn of the porch, looking into the darkness as I had. “Yeah,” he agreed. I let him lead me with a touch to the small of my back.
“Lock the door,” I said as soon as we were back in the foyer. I took long strides to the kitchen and tested the handles, locking, unlocking, and relocking the French doors. If there had been a key out front that the stranger had, I doubted that he would have been kind enough to put it back, but the ritual made me feel a tiny bit better regardless.
Quint was returning from the back of the house when I rounded the corner. “Everything’s locked up.”
I wrapped my arms around myself. “There are plenty of bedrooms if you’d like to sleep somewhere more comfortable.”
He shook his head. “I’d rather be down here so I can hear if anyone tries to get in.”
“Alright,” I breathed. I rubbed what was going to turn into a permanent crease in my forehead if I didn’t stop pinching my brow. “I think I’m going to go ahead and try to sleep. My nerves are shot.”
“I’ll come get you if anything happens.”
I was already at the foot of the staircase. “Thank you.”
