Page 2 of His to Fear
“Besides,” she adds with a wink, “Maybe you’ll find a fling. You need to get over that douchebag.”
We used to work together at the Rosén Newspaper—me, Eveline, Max, and another guy who was murdered that night. Ever since, we’ve split up. I went on sick leave, going into extensive therapy, and now I’m slowly easing back into work. Though it’s only two days a week as a proofreader at an editorial paper.
I sigh, because Eveline’s right.
“Look,” I tell her, mimicking her first word. I’m unable to meet her gaze, my eyes flickering everywhere but her. “I’m really sorry for not being the friend you deserve since.”
Her arms encircle me, which I didn’t expect. God, it feels so good to have my best friend’s arm around me, wrapping me in a cocoon of safety. I blink fast, refusing tears to come forth.
“You have nothing to apologize for. We all go through shit inour own way. Real friends stay, no matter what. I’m just glad to have you.”
My chest warms, and I swallow the lump forming in my throat. She looks back at her men, smiling and beckoning them closer.
“You okay?” Eros asks as Zack approaches Eveline, arms coming around her waist in a way that makes jealousy and longing twist sharp and hot inside me.
I wish I had that.
I force a smile, willing my words to come. “Yeah.”
“Liar.”
I merely offer him a smile, and he doesn’t push for more, which I appreciate.
“Let’s just head inside,” Zack grumbles, sending a sharp, playful glare at Eveline.
It’s obvious he doesn’t want to be here either, but he’s doing it for Eveline’s sake. I guess I’m here for her sake, too.
Halloween used to be our favorite time of the year, and we didn’t celebrate last year for obvious reasons.
“Have you gotten your tickets?” the admission attendant asks.
Red neon glows behind her from the park, bleeding through the gaping mouth of the ominous clown mouth, with the sign reading “Gravewoods Fair” in dripping letters.
We all give her our tickets, which she tears apart, before showing our identifications. This is, after all, an adult-only fair.
“Once you enter the fair, there are no rules, no guides, and certainly no mercy. There will be scare-actors in there, and theywillbe unpredictable, unrelenting, and far too close for your comfort. This is a park of terror.”
She twirls a lock of her blonde hair around her blood-red painted nails, doing the speech with as much ease as if she’s said this a hundred times.
“Everything here is strictly pretend. The actors may nottouch you, and you, in turn, may not touch them.” She makes a dramatic pause to emphasize her words.
The attendant offers us each a map of the fair, circling four different levels. The one in red is numbered ‘1,’ indicating it’s the one we’ll begin with.
“Are you all ready?”
The others shout their yeses, but my stomach is bottoming out. My heart might just give out any moment now, leaving me collapsing onto the street.
The attendant unhooks the rope barrier separating the outside from the inside. Smoke filters through the clown’s mouth as she beckons us to enter the park.
Here goes nothing.
“Welcome to your worst nightmare.”
Chapter 2
Nadia
Two years ago. Devil’s night
