Haunting-Adeline

force the muscle to open back up, and let in the oxygen I so desperately
need.
It’s all in your head. Breathe, Addie, breathe. He’s not going to find you in
here. Nana never could.
His footsteps have disappeared from above me, meaning that he’s made
his way downstairs most likely. I bite my lip hard, tangy copper filling my
mouth. And s ll, I keep bi ng down.
Shuffling and dis nct noises filter through. And as the minutes pass, my
breathing begins to slow.
But then I hear the door slowly creak open, and my breathing stu ers. I
clamp my hand over my mouth, refusing to make a sound, even if it literally
kills me.
The closet door slides open, and his scent fills the ny area. Leather. A
hint of smoke. And something else. Something that would ordinarily make
my eyes roll if it wasn’t so goddamn suffoca ng.
“You can come out now, baby,” he breathes, the sound of his voice
gravelly and deep.
Oh, no. No, no, no.
I don’t move, hoping that he’s just guessing.
“I can smell you,” he says. And if that’s not the creepiest thing I’ve ever
fucking heard, I don’t know what is.
Risking a peek around the corner, I see him standing at the entrance of
the closet. He’s not looking in my direc on. His head is down, staring off at
a random spot on the ground.
“You have ten seconds before I come drag you out.” He takes a step
back, and I decide to just go for it.
I dart out, slipping past him and heading towards the door. He lets loose
a deep, cruel laugh. It’s a sound I’ll hear in my nightmares for the rest of
my existence.
But I don’t stop. I run down the hallway and head for the front door,
gasping when I find it locked.
“You unlock that door and there will be consequences,” he warns. I
startle at his proximity. There’s not enough me to unlock the deadbolt,
knob, and chain. He’s too close.
Sunroom. It has a back door that leads outside. I turn, and out of the
corner of my eye, I see my shadow round the corner of the entranceway to