Page 25 of Hush Darling

Wendy drew back at the nickname. “Excuse me?”

Peter laughed. “You know, because you hate to fly, and you’ve never really left the nest.” He waved a hand at the other woman. “Wendy Bird, meet Talia Bellfrey, but we just call her Belle.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Belle.” She held out her hand. “And you can just call me Wendy.”

Ignoring her outstretched hand, Belle looked up at Peter. “Why is she here?”

“Because I wanted her.”

“Oh, really?” Belle’s pixie features caught the moonlight as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Wanted her for what?”

“Whatever I feel like.”

Wendy tried to clarify. “Well, actually?—”

“No one asked you.” Belle marched angrily through the hedges, disappearing in the direction of the music.

Wendy turned to Peter, completely baffled by his friend’s reaction to her. “Are you two a thing?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, she was all over you, and that wasn’t what anyone would call a warm welcome.”

“That’s her problem. Sometimes, people get possessive for no reason. It’s annoying.”

That might be true, but Wendy needed to understand what she was walking into. “Are you sleeping with her?”

“How could I be sleeping with her when I’m standing right here with you?”

He was purposely being obtuse. “You know what I mean, Peter! Have you had sex with her?”

“Oh. Yeah. We all have.”

“I beg your pardon.”

He waved away her scandalized expression. “Stop being such a prude. I told you, we don’t like rules in the Never Lands.”

Wendy’s stomach soured. It was a mistake coming here. She no longer found his duplicity cute and worried she might be at the mercy of a madman.

Her parents were likely home by now or about to return home. Would they visit her room? How long would it take for them to realize she was gone? Perhaps she could get home before they noticed she was missing.

“Come on, slowpoke.” Peter led her through a copse of trees where gnarled roots rose from the earth and coiled about.

Wendy kept her gaze on the ground so as not to trip. Splashing and uproarious laughter erupted when Peter lifted a curtain of vines and waved her forward. A mansion made almost entirely of glass walls presented a storefront display of a luxurious home. Music blared, and men launched from balconies into an in-ground swimming pool below.

The moment Wendy stepped off the muddy forest floor onto the smooth stone, all movement ceased.

“Peter’s back!” They yodeled like maniacs and charged, but they didn’t run to Peter, they ran to her.

She screamed as they lifted her off her feet and hoisted her overhead, spiriting her away like a tribal sacrifice. “Peter, help!”

Her voice was lost amongst the shouting as they jostled her like a sack of potatoes. Stars bounced overhead, then the support gave way, and she went soaring through the air. All sound silenced as she broke the surface of the water and sank like a stone.

Cold water engulfed her screams as bubbles erupted from her mouth. Survival instincts kicked in as her toes slid along the floor of the pool. She propelled herself upward, her arms flapping wildly as her lungs burned. Her eyes bulged.

She was going to die.

Panicked, she whirled her arms but couldn’t reach the surface. Blurred faces stared down at her, not one wobbly figure coming to her aid. Her lungs convulsed, the pain forcing her to shut her eyes. Then, she was being yanked upward.