I snatch up my car keys and throw the front door open as I scream into the phone. “Sarah! Get out of the house! Run! Don’t go into that attic!”
I hang up and immediately call back. Pick up! Pick up! I jump in the car, throw the phone on the passenger seat as it goes straight to voicemail again. I shove the key in the engine and scream another warning. “Sarah, get out of the house!Don’t go into the attic!”
The tires shriek; I gun the engine. I pray I make it to her in time.
Chapter 35
Sarah
June 26
Dear Diary,
Emily left a few hours ago. She wanted me to go home with her, but I felt like Amanda wanted me to stay at Black Wood. She left me that note. She must have been sleeping in the attic the whole time I’ve been here.
The note really freaked Emily out. She ran down the attic stairs, almost tripping over her skirt. “Call the police,” she’d insisted. “What police?” I’d asked. “They’re on the town’s side. They don’t care about Amanda. They never did.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow morning,” I’d promised. She hugged me in a cloud of lavender perfume and said, “Go to bed. Call me as soon as you wake up.”
I watched her car disappear down the long driveway, and the second it was gone, I went straight back to the attic.
And waited.
I bolt awake. The hairs on my forearms shoot up. Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong. The attic is pitch black and so very cold. The stairs are raised and I don’t remember raising them. I squint in the darkness, my pulse skyrocketing. My vision swims, and my skull feels likesomeone’s crushing it. The diary’s still open in my lap. Slowly, I reach for it and hold it close to my face to make out the words.
Dear Diary,
Emily left a few hours ago. She wanted me to go home with her…
I remember writing this. I must’ve fallen asleep soon after. I scan the rest of the passage, and there at the very bottom are three words that Idid not write.
I go very still as I re-read the last line.
Lizzy, I’m here.
Behind me, someone coughs.
Chapter 36
Emily
I throw the car door open, bolt to her front door. It’s so dark. So dark. The sky is starless, murky with rain clouds. I don’t even know what time it is. I grab the door handle and rattle it. Locked. Shit!
“Sarah!” I scream, kicking the door, pounding it with my fists. I’m shaking with cold and terror, and I just have to reach her before it’s too late. “Sarah!”
Nothing.
No, no, no. With a cry, I rush to the lounge window. I tear at it, looking for an opening. “Sarah!” I keep screaming over and over until the back of my throat aches. I drop to my knees and claw at the ground until my right hand brushes something solid. I grasp it, bring it close to my face, and my heart lurches in relief. It’s half a brick, heavy as hell. I get to my feet, hurl it with all my might at the window, and it smashes through in a hail of shattered glass. I don’t hesitate. I plunge through the smashed window, ducking my head. Strands of my hair catch on the glass, and when I wrench my head away, my phone falls out of my coat pocket and skitters across the floor into the dark. I yell in pain as hair is ripped from my skull, but I’m finally inside Black Wood House.
My sandals crunch over the shards as I step forward in total darkness. “Sarah!” I crouch and fumble in the dark for my phone, tryingnot to cut myself. Where the heck is my phone? Where the hell is a light switch?
“Sarah!”
No answer. God, what if she’s unconscious? I debate for half a second and quickly get to my feet. There’s no time left. I’ll get Sarah, and then I’ll come back for my phone. I can do this. I pick up the hem of my skirt and inch forward, feeling my way, praying it’s not too late to save her.
Chapter 37
Sarah
