She looks up at me, her expression concerned. “It’s getting dark so much earlier now, and I don’t like Lennox going home in the dark.”
Lennox lives in the middle of a forest, and the only way in or out is to hike. “I thought she was staying with you on poker nights this fall?”
Ellery shrugs. “She says she will next time, but she got a text about something for work and needs to be at home to get it done. She said she’ll call when she gets there.”
“I don’t know how she lives up there all alone.”
Ellery shrugs. “Especially when the house is cursed.”
“It’s not cursed,” I say as I plop onto the couch next to her. “That’s just an urban legend, right?”
Ellery shifts to face me. “Have you not heard her story? How is that possible?”
I pull my hair free from its ponytail and run a hand through it. “I have a four-year-old, so I miss a lot of stuff. Didn’t the company Lennox works for put her up in that house or something?” Lennox has always been cagey on the details. “Is there more to it? Has she told you what she does for a living?”
Ellery purses her lips. “I have some ideas. But it’s not pertinent. Multiple women have died in that house.”
I stare at her. “No. I’ve lived in this town all my life. I would have heard a story like that.”
“The women who lived and died in that house didn’t come into town often. Most people around here never even noticed them.”
I shake my head, smiling. “This totally sounds like an urban legend.”
Ellery snorts. “It really does, doesn’t it? But Lennox has let a few things slip and, whether or not it’s true, she totally believes it.”
“It hardly seems like she’s terrified of her home. I mean, she had the opportunity to avoid going home in the dark, and she left anyway. Couldn’t she at least have found someone to go with her?”
“She has a headlamp, and she carries bear spray. She didn’t seem worried at all.”
I point at my friend, laughing. “Which proves she’s totally pulling your leg about the curse. You are so gullible, Ell.”
Ellery smiles, unbothered. “I like a good story. Speaking of which, tell me everything about your date.”
I drop my head back onto the couch with a groan. “Is it silly that I feel like I’m cheating on Handsyguy?”
“I would never call you silly. I’d say that maybe you have some bigger feelings for Handsyguy than you expected.”
“I hate you. You’re supposed to only tell me what I want to hear.”
She squeezes my arm. “Then I wouldn’t be a very good friend.”
“I know. I don’t want to have feelings for anyone. Especially not a man I’ve never met.”
“Have you even seen a picture of him? What’s his profile picture like?”
I roll my head to look at her. “What does that have to do with anything?”
She shrugs. “Curiosity? I like to know all the details before I give any advice.”
“Profile pictures are fake, like ninety percent of the time.” But I pull my phone from my back pocket and scroll to the app. There’s a message from Handsyguy, but I don’t check it. I just hand the phone over so Ellery can see the profile pic.
She stares at for a long, long moment. “Amelia, that’s—”
“Nope.” I grab the phone back from her. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know who he is.” I shove my phone back in my pocket, my heart racing. “Okay, fine. Is he a nice guy?”
I finally look at her face, but her expression is weird. She looks almost disappointed and sad. Ellery’s never sad. Her smile seems pasted on.
“Oh, no,” I say. “He’s a serial killer. Right? I’ve been falling for a serial killer.”
