Page 1
Prologue
“Wynnie! Wynnie, wake up!” Caleb’s voice cuts through the fog of sleep that had finally begun to take me under. The hiss of his voice is urgent and strained.
I gasp when his hands grip my shoulders, fingers digging in harder than necessary. My blurred vision starts to sharpen as I focus on the digital clock sitting on my nightstand.
2:47 am.
The familiar feeling of anxiety sends waves through my chest like an angry ocean.
“What is it?” I whisper, even though I already know.
It’s the same thing every single night.
“There’s someone out there. Listen.”
I lay there, straining to catch whatever phantom sound it is he thinks he’s hearing. It’s never anything outside of the ordinary, only the house settling and the wind brushing against the windows with an occasional whistle.
“I don’t hear—”
“Shh!” His grip tightens, and I have to force myself to hold in a whimper. “Did you hear that?”
Again, it’s just the quiet that stretches between us. The rise and fall of Caleb’s chest shifts, quick and shallow.
“Just look out the fucking window and tell me what you see—it’s not that hard, Wynnie.”
He’s already yanking me up before he finishes his sentence. My bare feet hit the chilly hardwood, stumbling in the path I’m being pulled. His hands on my arms are the only things keeping me steady and upright.
The bedroom window overlooks our large backyard, and I all but press my face against the cool glass to appease him. I scan the shade between fence posts and try to see beyond the treeline, just as I do nearly every night.
“There’s nothing out there, honey. You probably just saw a deer or something. It’s hunting season; you know that’s when they’re out the most.”
“Look harder! It’s not fucking deer!”
I assess the darkness again, begging the universe to show me what he sees so we can get some rest. There’s nothing more than the usual shapes of our property, unfortunately, for both of us.
“Maybe you had a nightmare?” I question, gently turning to brush a piece of his dark hair from his forehead, an attempt to show my words have no malice. “You have been so stressed lately, and I don’t know, maybe you need—”
Before I can process what’s happening, my hands are shoved from his face, and the sound of his palm connecting with my skin registers before the pain. Tears spring to my eyes, more so from the shock than the pain. I’m used to the pain. The burn of my cheek only begins to ease when I press my hand against it.
“Don’t.” His voice is deadly. He flips from someone scared to someone I need to be scared of. “Don’t you fucking dare tell me that I’m imagining things. I’m not crazy! I know what I’ve seen!”
The man standing in front of me now bears little resemblance to the Caleb I’d fallen in love with two years ago. At one time, he was so gentle and protective; he made me feel safe in a world that often didn’t. This version of him has expressionless eyes and clenched fists. He speaks to me in ways that make my skin crawl. I hate that I’m too scared to leave—I’m almost certain he’ll kill me if I even try.
“Now look again. And this time, really look,” he orders, grabbing my hair close to the scalp, shoving me back toward the window. I look because I have no other choice.
My face presses against the freezing window until it fogs with my breath. I pretend to give another look-over because doing this is easier than arguing with him, and it’s definitely easier than being hit again. It’s easier than acknowledging that something fundamental has changed in our relationship, and I don’t know how to shift it back.
Despite my prayers to whatever God may be out there, the yard remains empty, and Caleb is still convinced invisible men are lurking.
I’m stuck there, caught between the cold window and the burn of paranoia. The real danger isn’t outside at all; it has a grip on the back of my head, breathing warmth down my neck.
The window turns white with condensation until I can’t see a thing out there, but I don’t need to see to know.
One day, this house will be empty too… and I’ll be the one who leaves it behind.
1
Darling
