“Can I help you, sir?” she calls out for a second time.
He lifts his hand dismissively, inciting her nostrils to flare.
Adrial stands there, watching me, beaming with his wide grin. I try not to look at him, try to duck out of his line of sight, but wherever I am, all I can see is his smile. It grows wider, stretching horribly, making my brow bead with sweat and my palms dampen.
Even though my arms are full, I add a bat house to my load. Asking Dad will take time, even if this purchase will invite even more questions.
Finally, I make my way back to Carol—to safety—and drop my supplies. “Hopkins’ Museum would like to adopt Ginny, I mean, Genevive,” I say, feeling Adrial’s bestial grin burning into my back.
Hopkins used to keep a black cat at the shop named Misty—short for Mysterious—he won’t mind having another cat around. He never did throw out all of Misty’s supplies.
Carol questions me with her gaze, but in the end, she says nothing and presents me with the adoption paperwork, highlighting where she needs me to sign. “Genevieve is a bit ferocious, isn’t she?” She observes, peering over my shoulder, her nose wrinkling, her pallor whitening.
I don’t know what she’s seeing. I don’t want to know.
“Exactly,” I whisper.
“Weird stuff happening in town. A girl has gotta be careful,” she whispers back. “And Ginny’s a good girl, I know it. She might need some patience and loving before you break through to her.” Her voice dips lower still. “Summer, do you need help? The cats don’t like him.”
“I’ll take good care of Ginny,” I assure Carol.
Her gaze narrows, and she slowly nods.
I don’t want to involve my dad, let alone her. I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that involving others gets them hurt, or worse. I feel awful enough for adopting Ginny, wishing I didn’t need her help, knowing that through instinct she sees something I still struggle to accept.
Carol rings me up, and I listen to the beeps of her scanner, dinging one by one.
Whatever Adrial is doing, I refuse to turn around and look.
The silence is enough.
I pay, retrieve Ginny, and dash out of the store. Laden with cat supplies and Ginny’s backpack cat carrier, I hear the door to the pet shop chime a second time. I pick up the pace. Ginny fusses, putting me further on edge. The bat house bumps the side of my leg.
Get to the museum.
Just reach the museum.
“Do you want help with that?” Adrial asks.
I jump, and Ginny jostles the carrier, going wild.
“Nope, I can manage.”
He falls into stride beside me. “What are you doing, Summer? You seem unsettled.”
“I think Ginny will be a wonderful companion while I work.”
He won’t hurt me in broad daylight, right?
“Are you certain? If you crave companionship, I could help you out with that.” He says it like poetry, the words twisting upon his tongue and worming their way into my head, while beneath my boots I’m crushing the worms that trail him on the pavement.
My brows furrow. My brands sear with pain.
“That’s all right.”
I focus my gaze on the museum’s door just ahead.
“Summer,” Adrial drawls tauntingly.
