“That may have been how it started, but that’s not how it ended,” he says somberly. “I already talked to your mom, and she confirmed you were home by ten thirty and offered to show me the Ring camera footage as proof.”
“What’s going on? Why would you need proof?” I ask slowly.
“Corey Hunt was found dead this morning. Emma June is in critical condition, last I checked, and not expected to make a recovery.”
“What?”
“Mrs. Morte, Mrs. Morte!” a woman calls just as my mom bursts through the door and rushes me in the chair, throwing her arms around me.
“Lethe,” she whispers while wrapped around my head. I’m still staring at the officer with my one eye that isn’t obstructed by my mom. There’s no way I could have heard him right.
Corey is dead?
CHAPTER3
School is canceled for the rest of the week, and that leaves me with a lot of time on my hands and more questions than I can answer. Kate is sitting on my couch with her feet on the table and her phone propped up on her knees.
Anyone else might think she’s fine, but I can see she’s not. There are darkish circles under her eyes, marring her flawless skin, and her lips are dry and cracked. I haven’t seen her so much as have a drink of water since we found out about Corey, and that was two days ago. She hasn’t been here the entire time, but both of her parents work in the city while my mom works from home, so my house has become the unofficial hub for both of us, since neither of us want to be alone.
I hate going outside. There were reporters and news vans parked out front waiting to get a reaction out of us the first day. Thankfully they moved on to camp out at the police station when they realized we didn’t have anything to tell them. I just wish we could find out what the hell happened at Corey’s house after we left. Instead, they just keep playing the same info over and over without any new information.
I squeeze my temples. I keep seeing that shadow in her upstairs window when I close my eyes. Sometimes I can make out Kyle’s face, but I know my brain is just making it up, trying to piece together what happened. I never saw Kyle, and the one thing that the police have told me is that he has a solid alibi. He was at his little brother’s JV football game a few towns over. Tons of people saw him, even the coaches, because his brother rode home with Kyle from the game instead of on the bus. They didn’t even get home until after ten because they stopped for food, which there is also proof of.
I mute the television, even though the volume is already low, with the intention of trying to talk to Kate again about that night, but as soon as the house is quiet, I hear a creaking noise from upstairs—footsteps. Kate and I both look up, and my heart flutters in my chest.
“Where’s your mom?” she whispers.
“In her office,” I tell her, which I think is true.
“Could she have gone back upstairs for something?” Kate’s eyes are glued to the ceiling, just like mine.
“Maybe,” I offer, waiting to hear my mother’s soft footfalls on the stairs or to hear the toilet flush because she went up there to poop.
“Hey, girls,” my mom calls from her office, which is on this level.
Kate and I both jump.
“It’s so quiet in here.” She steps into the living room, finding us cowering on the couch. Her eyebrows dip, and her forehead creases with worry.
“I was just about to ask Kate if she was hungry.” I toss the remote to the side after realizing I was still clinging to it.
“I think I’m going to go home. My mom should be there soon.” Kate picks at the skin on her lip.
“Are you sure? I was going to order a pizza,” Mom sings.
“Yeah, but thank you.” Kate gets to her feet, glancing at the stairs as if she’s convinced someone is going to come running down any second.
“I’ll walk you,” I offer.
“We can order when you get done,” Mom says, heading back to her office.
Once we’re on the porch in the bright sunlight of the late October afternoon, I let it warm my skin. It feels like I’ve been cold for days. Mom promises it’s just shock and that it will go away, but I think it should have worn off by now if that’s all it is.
Kate looks back at the door after it’s closed, her tired eyes wary. “You heard that noise, right?”
“Upstairs? I heard the house settle,” I tell her, but the truth is I was a little freaked out by the sound too.
“What if it was the ghost or whatever?” Kate whispers, even though there’s no one around to hear us.
