I owed him a huge apology.
A soft creak in the corner of the room, like a single floorboard under a cautious step, brought my head around. Seeing nothing, I glanced down at my phone on the coffee table.
3 a.m.
The Devil’s hour,Vivian had always called it. No one would be up at this time unless they were up to no good, she would say.
“Welp, guess you were right about me, Vivian,” I mumbled.
I stood up, intending to go to my bedroom, when I thought I heard a quiet clatter—like when Henry rustled through his Lego bricks, looking for a specific piece. I held my breath for a few seconds, listening for the sound again, cold creeping along my skin, raising goosebumps on my arms.
When only silence followed, I heaved a sigh of relief and continued toward my room, but something drew me to Henry’s bedroom instead. I cautiously entered, searching for the source of the noise, but nothing looked out of place. If anything, the room seemed oddly still. Like it was holding its breath.
A few minutes later, I’d thrown on my favorite pajama pants and shirt, making a mental note to check the thermostat’s settings. The apartment was freezing, but the AC hadn’t kicked on since I’d woken up.
And then I heard the clatter again.
My breath caught in my chest. IknewI’d heard it that time.
A soft scrape followed, like something being dragged across the hardwood.
Part of me wanted to just shut and lock my bedroom door and ignore what might be in Henry’s room. Another part of me wanted to storm in there and confront whoever—whatever—it was, banish it from the apartment. And then there was the tired, frightened part of me that just wanted to run from the apartment, grab Henry from June and get the hell out of there even though I had nowhere to go.
I paced my bedroom rug in agitated designs and chewed my bottom lip, weighing my options. Finally, I made my choice.
I crept toward Henry’s room. This time, my blood ran cold.
In the center of the floor, a robotic toy dinosaur advanced straight toward me, the mechanical clicking and whirring producing an eerie cadence. I was so locked on the dinosaur I nearly missed the flash of movement at the foot of the bed. With a gasp, my gaze snapped in that direction.
The pale face of a young boy peeked out, his eyes wide, startled, his body low to the ground like he was on his hands and knees. But as soon as our eyes met, he ducked back, frightened, like I was the one hauntinghim.
I flipped on Henry’s light and rushed to the other side of his bed, but the boy had vanished.
“David?” I called. “Was that you? You can talk to me. It’s okay.”
But the room was still. The dinosaur had abruptly halted mid-stride as if its animus had been snatched away.
I took a deep breath and got down on my knees, my maternal instinct to help David warring with my fear. I grasped Henry’s comforter, my hand shaking as I hesitated, not sure I wanted to see what was under the bed. I closed my eyes and took a slow, steady breath. Before I could imagine what might be lurking there, I snatched up the comforter and dropped my upper body to peer beneath.
I laughed in a nervous burst of sound.
Empty.
“Thank God,” I murmured.
I rested my forehead on the floor, waiting for my muscles to recover from the rapid release of adrenaline. When I thought my legs could once more support me, I pushed back up to my knees. Just as a hand came down on my shoulder, the fingers digging into my skin.
I screamed and launched to my feet, whipping around to face the intruder, but no one was there.
“Fuck this,” I spat.
Pausing only long enough to grab my phone, I hurried out of my apartment, not sure where I was going until I was in the hallway, running toward Whit’s door. The hall lights dimmed and brightened as I passed them, creating a strobe effect that made my shadow’s movements jerky, oddly out of sync with my own.
It took only seconds to reach Whit’s door but felt much longer. I knocked softly but urgently, glancing over my shoulder, praying nothing had followed me down the hall.
Oh, God…what if he doesn’t answer?
I knocked again, harder, sending another look over my shoulder, my panic building.
