Page 32 of Hollow Forest

Me: Is it weird to say that I’ve missed you?

The response chimed a moment later.

Unknown: Not at all, beautiful.

I smirked, but the happy little flame was squashed quickly as the wind howled across the Cedra Cala.

Unknown: You’ll see me tonight.

Well…now I’d done it. Since last weekend’s insane chase through the forest and the even more messed up orgasm under the trees, the monstrous presence had been suspiciously absent. Every night, I’d expected him to come creeping through the dark, only to wake up knowing I’d been left alone.

He probably had a life.

But it still hurt, just a little, to be abandoned. The primal way he’d worked me through the much-needed release felt unfinished. I knew there was more he could offer.

And the fucked up side of me wanted it.

“Let’s go dancing!” Maria urged, and Ivry grabbed my hand with a girly squeal.

My protests fell on deaf ears. We only paused to grab a double round of caramel apple shots before the other baristas dragged me onto the dance floor. The syrupy alcohol made my stomach queasy, doing nothing to dispel the rising panic.

The floor glowed blue and green beneath our feet, and the music’s bass thudded straight through my chest. Everyone was smiling, gyrating, slick with happiness. I tried to mirror them and let the rhythm pull me into the current, but my limbs went stiff. My heart was a caged animal. It battered my ribs so hard I felt it in my teeth. There were people everywhere, too close, hands and hips brushing my sides, and I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even swallow. I pressed my palm to my sternum and tried to focus on Ivry’s face.

The crowd parted, and an iridescent girl with lush brown hair wearing a Miami Hurricane jersey stared at me.

You’re not real.

She wasn’t here! It was just my mind playing tricks on me.

One of the overhead lights stuttered and for a split second, the floor was a spotlight, and I was all alone in its glare. I blinked, and the image of my sister vanished.

My skin heated.

I stopped short. There was no way out of this nightmare. I was trapped.

Ivry brought me another drink. I took it, but my arms were dead weight. I couldn’t breathe. My throat was mechanical, and I nearly choked on the sugary liquid as it burned down my esophagus.

Dezzy was going to hate me. I was supposed to give her vengeance, not come back to life.

She was dead and alone. I had no right to abandon my only sister!

The night pressed around me. The bitter cold was like a thousand teeth, all biting me at once. My hands started to shake. I pressed them together, but my fingers were slick. I was sweating so hard I could feel it drip down my spine, soaking the waistband of my jeans. The music got louder. The beat quickened in time with my pulse. But at the same time it compressed, like it was collapsing in on itself to a single, shrieking violin. I tried to laugh at something Derek said but my jaw wouldn’t work, and I almost dropped my next drink—a dirty apple cider—because my grip was wrong.

“Ophelia!”

The name I’d abandoned for the sake of my quest shot through my head.

I spun around and came face to face with Antonio Ferretti. His bleary, boozy black gaze slithered over me before he guffawed and stumbled away with his buddies.

At the same time, someone put their hand on my back. The contact was too much. It was a spark, zapping my brain with a current of electricity. My vision tunneled. The air gave out, and I felt like I was underwater. Drowning. Dying for a second. I thought I might pass out.

The next moment, the world fractured.

People’s faces melted into streaks of delirium. My knees were loose and unreliable. The noise turned into a slosh of music and shouts, staccato notes and fiendish cackles.

I dropped the cup. It smashed wetly on the ground, splattering my jeans with whipped cream and cinnamon. Someone yelled, but my ears were full of wool.

Run.