Either I’m losing my goddamn mind, or…
Maybe this place is rigged to scare the guests. Tessa did say the brochure promised it was the number one Halloween destination.
My shoulders relax. God, I feel like a fool. Of course. That must be it.
Relief floods through me, zinging with a bit of excitement. I’m curious to see what else they have in store, to hear what the others have experienced. I kind of hope Marissa gets the crap scared out of her. I’d pay good money for a hidden camera to catch her in a full-on scream shot, mid-shriek, mascara running, maybe even a little snot bubbling out of her nose. Something I can frame and cherish forever.
I slip quietly out of Hayes’s room, closing the door gently behind me. As soon as the latch clicks into place, a putrid smell assaults my senses, making my stomach turn. It’s not as strong as it was in my nightmare, just a ghost of that stench now, and just as quick as it came, it dissipates.
I turn around, and my heart nearly stops. Jonathan is standing in front of his door across the hall, a cup of coffee in his hand. His eyes lock onto mine with a look that says he knows exactly whose room I’m sneaking out of and what I was doing all night. The mix of hurt and accusation in his gaze is almost as nauseating as the smell was, and I feel my cheeks flush with shame.
I try to muster up a nonchalant smile and a casual wave, but my hand feels heavy and awkward in the air. Jonathan’s stare cuts right through me, making me feel exposed and vulnerable. I quickly look away, focusing on a loose thread on the carpet beneath my feet.
"Morning," I manage to mumble, attempting to sidestep past him without any further interaction. But Jonathan doesn't move an inch, his presence blocking the hallway like an immovable boulder.
"Up all night, huh?" His voice is low, laced with bitterness.
“Congratulations on your engagement,” I snap back.
“Congratulations for being yet another notch on Hayes’s belt,” he retorts, his words sharp and cutting.
Before I can gather my thoughts enough to form a coherent response, Jonathan steps aside, his gaze dark and unreadable. My heart sinks with the realization that any friendship we once shared is one hundred percent irreparably damaged. I want to scream at him:You made this happen. You chose someone else over me. Don’t be pissed at me when I move on with my life.
As I hurry past him, the tension between us hangs heavy in the air like a storm cloud waiting to burst. Oh my God,I amwalking funny. My legs feel like rubber, the ache between thempleasantly sore. But I can't shake the feeling of Jonathan’s eyes burning into my back as I make my way down the hallway, each step echoing loudly in the oppressive silence that has settled over us.
I reach my door and pause, hesitating for a moment before glancing back over my shoulder.
But he’s no longer there, and I’m all alone in the hallway.
Chapter
Seven
I’m sitting across from Marissa at breakfast, my eyes fixated on the way she unconsciously plays with her diamond ring. I can’t help but notice her slender, meticulously manicured fingers with their pointed nails and delicate moons, lacquered with a colorless glossy polish, twisting and turning the platinum band. The center diamond dazzling each time the light hits it the right way.
I sip my coffee, nibbling on a tasteless croissant, trying to shake the unease that's settled over me since last night’s nightmares. When I finally muster the courage to speak, my voice comes out raw, cracked from lack of sleep, amongstother things. “Has anyone noticed anything strange around here?" I ask.
“Like how weak this coffee is?” Griffin quips. “Or that the Wi-Fi is almost non-existent, and I actually had to buy porn on the hotel TV last night?”
“No, like a really creepy feeling,” I say, half-expecting them to laugh. I shift uncomfortably in my chair. “I had the most awful nightmares.”
An awkward silence falls over the table. Jonathan leans back in his chair, a smirk playing on his lips. “A nightmare, huh?”he drawls, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Maybe you were too busy sneaking in and out of someone else’s room to get any sleep, Tori. Must be hard to rest when you’re preoccupied with other… activities that are far from decent.”
My cheeks burn with embarrassment. Anger. I look down, my appetite vanishing along with any hope for a pleasant breakfast.
Tessa drops her fork, fumbling to catch it, but it clatters loudly against her plate. “They decorated this place to be creepy, remember? I showed you in the brochure.” She hesitates, glancing around. “But, uh, I did have a nightmare too.” I can tell she’s lying, trying to divert the attention from Jonathan’s jab. I’m grateful. I don’t know if Hayes wants anyone to know about us—if he’s even interested in more than what happened last night. “Tori, what was yours about?” Tessa asks a little too eagerly.
“Someone was in the room with me?—”
Jonathan scoffs.
“Don’t be childish,” I whisper through gritted teeth. I turn my attention back to Tessa. “There was a woman. She was covered in blood.”
Marissa shoots me a glare over her plate of eggs benedict. “Oh, come on, Tori,” she snaps. “Who’s acting like a child now? Stop being so theatrical. We’re too old for these Halloween pranks.”
“But it’s perfectly acceptable for you guys to bang on my door and walls all night and running up and down the hallway like a fucking marching band?” The tension at the table spikes, my words hanging heavily in the air. I usually never talk back to any of my friends. Never stand up for myself.
Jonathan’s eyes narrow. “You know, Tori, it’s almost impressive how you manage to make everything about you,” he says coldly. “First of all, nobody did that to you last night. Maybeif you stayed in your own bed instead of jumping onto Hayes’s dick—or that greasy security guard’s—you’d have fewer things to have nightmares about.”
