Chapter Twelve
The scent of hay and horses wrapped around Danny like a warm, dusty blanket as he crouched behind a stacked bale. His knees were starting to ache, and a bit of straw had worked its way under his waistband—at least hehopedit was straw and not some creepy crawler—but he didn’t dare move.
Beside him, Blake was practically vibrating with held-in giggles.
On the other side of the stall, Sadie was whispering something to Georgie and Lori. They were too far for Danny to catch the words, but it earned a snort and a barely-muffled snicker from the usually stoic Little and snorts from Blake’s little sister. The sound bounced off the wooden walls, louder than it had any right to be.
Danny sucked in a breath and listened for footsteps.
Nothing yet.
They were still safe.
Probably.
Maybe.
His stomach gave a queasy twist. Not the fun kind of nervous, not the butterflies-before-a-surprise sort. This one felt low and heavy and too close to dread.
They’d gone too far. He knew it now.
“Do you think… we’re in real trouble?” he whispered to Blake. His voice reached barely above the rustle of hay.
Blake hesitated. “Not… real trouble. Just… you know. Trouble.”
Sadie popped her head up from behind the feed barrels. “Maybe we shouldn’t have put the sticker on my Daddy’s door.”
“Ya think?” Georgie grumbled.
Danny curled in a little tighter. The tension had crept in slowly. At first, they’d been proud and giddy with the thrill of getting away with it. But the longer the silence stretched, the more their excitement curdled into guilt.
“Maybe we should’ve stopped after the vending machine,” he offered.
“Or the handrail,” Blake added with a wince.
Sadie flopped down next to Danny, arms folded tight over her chest. “We were just having fun.”
“I know.” Danny pushed his shoulder against her. “But… what if it’s the kind of fun that makes the grown-ups think we can’t be trusted?”
No one answered.
A horse snorted in a nearby stall, and a bird chirped from the rafters.
Danny’s throat felt dry. His mind was already racing. He could picture Master Derek’s stern face, Dr. Sam’s disappointed sigh, and Easton’s voice going quiet and cold.
What if they’re mad?
What if they think I’m a bad influence?
What if this ruins everything?
Keeping his shoulder against Sadie’s, he hugged his knees to his chest and tried not to look as panicked as he felt. If anyone had asked, he would’ve called it a harmless prank. Silly stickersand some giggles. But now, with nothing but shadows and second thoughts for company, it didn’t feel harmless anymore.
It felt like waiting for the axe to fall.
Danny froze as he heard footsteps approach. Sadie stiffened beside him, the last giggle dying in her throat like a balloon popped mid-air.
They didn’t even need to look. The click of boots on the stable floor, the way the horses stilled, the change in air pressure. It all shouted one thing: They’d been found.
