My gaze skimmed back to the window.
“Why would there be blood if she fell out of the window?” I asked slowly.
“There wasn’t. We checked for it, just in case.” Daphne grabbed an eye mask and stretched it over her head. “I’ll let you get settled. We can chat about it tomorrow. Nice to meet you, Blair.” She blew me a kiss, lowered the mask over her face, and pulled her curtain shut.
All righty, I mouthed.
My heart didn’t relax as I started unpacking my suitcase. Dread accompanied it like a new friend as I folded my clothes into the drawers and hung the rest in my closet. It worsened as I dressed in my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and finally climbed into bed.
Into the dead girl’s bed.
I pulled the curtain closed and scooted toward the window to check the lock. The window opened and closed with a crank and was too narrow for something to simplyfall out.
You’d have to squeeze through. Jump. Or someone would have to push you.
I carefully peeked outside and stifled a scream when my eyes landed on someone wearing a mask, standing below the window, staring straight up at me. My breath caught as I jerked it back closed, then pressed my hand against my chest.
I forced myself to look again.
My pulse raced as I slowly peeled the curtain aside, scanning the darkness outside. The person was gone, but that didn’t make me feel any more relaxed.
“You’re seeing shit, Blair,” I tried to tell myself, yanking the curtain shut.
I repeated the same mantra as I collapsed onto my back and pulled the quilt up to my chin. It felt like a lifetime had passed as I struggled to get comfortable.
Something wicked hung in the air. No matter how many times I shut my eyes, sleep wouldn’t come to me. Even in thesafety of this room, I still felt watched, just like I had outside on those steps.
When I finally drifted off, another nightmare found me.
In the same bellowed voice, he said the words he always did.“Admit it, Blair. Admit it’s your fault!”
I shot upright in bed as I gasped for air.
I hadn’t dreamed of that in years.
But the nightmare was back now that I was here.
Something dark and evil crept through the halls of Saint Vale.
I’d only been here an hour, and I could already feel it.
I’d willingly walked straight into hell.
How far would I allow the devil to drag me in?
The bright morning sun filtered through the window when I woke, warming my comfortable alcove. For a moment, I just lay there, staring up at the crystal chandelier above my bed, counting the crystals.
The memories of last night didn’t take long to rush through me.
The rain. Arisono. Sleeping in a dead girl’s bed. The masked figure outside my window.
I groaned as I rolled toward the window and peeked outside.
My mind could’ve been playing tricks on me last night. I had been stressed and tired. It could’ve been a shadow of something moving in the storm.
I frowned when all I found was a stone wall below. Thick ivy climbed its surface. No trees or anything else for me to mistake for a person’s shadow.
Yawning, I pushed back my curtain. Soft music drifted through the room, and I had to hold myself back from covering my ears.
