Page 28 of Don't Watch Alone
My steps sound unnaturally loud now, every slap of my shoes bouncing off the tile. The overhead lights flicker. I can still feel Gus’s presence behind me, but it’s the weight of his words that really sticks. Son. Girlfriend. Maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe.
But if it wasn’t him… then who the hell was it?
I think of Andy and Greg. The way they peeled off together, whispering low, their backs to me.I am surprised Andy didn’t offer to walk me to my car, especially after closing. That shit doesn’t sit right with me. Something’s off. He wanted to tell me something about Mary, but it was like he was scared of Greg. Or maybe Andy’s trying to protect me from something bigger.
A cold knot settles in my chest.
Greg’s been off since the day Mary didn’t show up. Not concerned, not curious. Just... calm. Like he already knew she was gone. And Andy now suddenly tagging along behind Greg like some obedient fucking puppy. There’s something there. A secret. A lie. A plan. My mind claws at the possibilities, and each one feels worse than the last.
I keep walking, but every inch of this damn mall feels wrong now. Too quiet. Too empty. The storefronts stare at me like hollowed-out skulls. Every sound I make bounces back at me. I glance over my shoulder more than once. I can’t get rid of the feeling that someone’s watching, that someone’s waiting to see how much I know, how close I’m getting.
I pick up the pace. My heartbeat thuds in my ears, steady and loud like a war drum. I need to get the hell out of here. I need to get to my car, get home, get to Tony. He’s probably already at my place, maybe stirring a pot of something on the stove, with that familiar grin on his face like everything’s normal. Like people don’t just vanish without a trace.
Tomorrow’s my day off. Thank goodness. No Greg. No Andy. Just me and Tony and some friends at the midnight horror movie called Don’t Watch Alone. Andy tried to spook me with one of his cryptic little warnings about it—said something bad was gonna happen. Of course, he did. But now, walking through this haunted silence, his words hit differently. They stick to me.
Still, it’s just a movie. Just Andy being dramatic. Right?
I shove through the glass doors and step into the night. The air hits my face it’s sharp cold and real, clearing some of the fog in my head. The parking lot is dead quiet. I zero in on my car and make a beeline for it, my keys are clenchedin my fist. All I want is to get home. To slam the door behind me. To get home to Tony. To pretend, if only for a few hours, that this nightmare hasn’t wrapped its fingers around all of us.
Because something is happening. I just don’t know what the hell it is yet.
Chapter thirteen
Blaiz
November 9, 1984
Iwakeupwitha pressure in my chest I can’t explain, a strange tension coursing through my muscles before my eyes are even fully open. Andy’s voice echoes in my head like a ghost that I didn’t invite—Don’t go to the midnight movie tonight. I try to dismiss it, brush it away, but it lingers in the back of my mind. I roll over to see Tony still asleep. His face looks gentle in the quiet morning light, his lips slightly parted, unaware of the slow storm building in my stomach.
I slip out of bed and walk into the bathroom, twist the knob until the water steams and step into the shower, hoping it’ll wash away the unease creeping at the edges of my mind. The heat helps a little. I close my eyes andlet it soak into my skin. After I am done, I step out of the shower. But even as I dry off and reach for the blow dryer, that thought creeps back in—Don’t go to the movie.
The blow-dryer comes alive with a loud sound, and I focus on the noise, the pull of hot air against my scalp. Then something cuts through the noise—faint, but persistent. My phone. I shut off the dryer and listen. It rings again. I quickly put on my robe to go answer the phone.
“Hello?”
“Are you excited about seeing the new movie tonight?” Jade asks.
“Totally. I’ve been dying to see it since the trailer came out.”
“Derrick thinks we should all meet at my place first, grab some drinks, loosen up before we go.”
“That sounds perfect. What are you going to wear tonight?”
“My new jean skirt with the matching jacket. Hot pink tee. Hot pink Keds.”
“Damn, that’s rad. I’m thinking Guess jeans, my black turtleneck, and leather jacket.”
“You’re gonna look totally chic,” she says with a laugh.
From the bedroom, I hear a yawn; Tony’s finally waking up.
“I should go,” I tell her. “Tony’s up, and I still need to finish my hair.”
We hang up. I return to the bathroom and switch the blow-dryer back on. The mirror fogs slightly around the edges as I tease my hair into shape. I catch Tony in the corner of my eye as he moves past the doorway, headed for the living room. Then I hear voices—a girl, and someone else’s. I stop the blow dryer again and lean into the hallway.
The front door is open, and Tony’s smiling like whoever it is, is no big deal. I finally can see who is standing just outside the door. It is Drew and Eva.
Why the hell are they here so early?
