Page 9

A thin ray of sunlight crept up the walls, across the bed, and beamed into Eve’s left eye. Turning away, she reached for Charlie, only for her arms to wrap around empty space. Charlie was gone, her side of the bed cold. Shylo, however, was still curled up at the foot of the mattress. Asleep. The dog whimpered, her legs twitching. A nightmare? Eve leaned forward and scratched her behind the ears. Her whining stopped, but she did not wake.

Reclining back against the headboard, Eve crossed her arms. The storm had now subsided to a whispering breeze. Ebbing swells. Aside from that, it was quiet. Had the family left already? She could only hope.

With a languid stretch, she yawned and climbed out of bed. A sense of tenuous calm fell over her. Once more, all the strange events of the day before seemed distant, like foggy remnants of a nightmare. The figure on the stairs? Perhaps it was nothing more than a play of shadows or even a sleep-deprived fever dream…

It was the devil, Mo whispered.

Whatever it was, Eve shoved it down into a container of repressed anxieties. A mental cabinet that stowed away all her worst paranoias. Though it was more like an overstuffed bunker these days—an underground safe with a steel-bolted hatch, bulging at the seams with cartoonish exaggeration. Sometimes the rivets would burst and every single one of her deepest, darkest fears would spew out and rain down all over her psyche. Then Eve would have to go around and clean up the shrapnel bit by bit, stuff it all back inside, screw down the hatch and pray to God she didn’t leave anything behind. Inhale. Exhale.

Still dressed in sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt, Eve meandered into the hallway. The smell of eggs, bacon, and coffee wafted up from below—Charlie’s favorite breakfast. Eve smiled.

Downstairs, she shuffled into the kitchen and, in an instant, her smile vanished. Paige and Jenny were at the table. Paige was reading aloud from the red leather Bible while her daughter listened, or pretended to. The two boys, Kai and Newton, were nowhere to be seen. Thomas and, more importantly, Charlie were also absent.

“Morning, Eve.”

She leaned to see Thomas standing at the stove, cracking eggs into a cast-iron pan. “How do you like your eggs?” he asked.

“Where’s Charlie?”

“She, uh…” He adjusted the burner heat, jostled the pan. “She just left for town, said something about—”

“Mom.” Newton poked his head around the corner, his round glasses making his big eyes look even bigger. “Kai’s opening a box.”

Paige blinked at him. “A box?”

“I dunno.” His eyes flicked to Eve, then back to his mom. “Like a moving box? I told him we don’t touch things that we don’t, uh, that don’t belong to us, and he told me to… f-word off.”

Paige, partly annoyed, partly embarrassed, looked at Eve. “I’ll take care of it.” She said this with a conviction that left no doubt she would. Careful, she set down the Bible and strode out of the room, telling Newton to keep an eye on his sister.

Eve, stress levels rising, turned back to Thomas. He was humming an off-tune rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” riff, oblivious to Eve’s growing irritation. She cleared her throat. “Who said you could use our kitchen?”

“Oh.” He suddenly looked embarrassed. “Sorry, I should’ve told you: Charlie was kind enough to offer it. I hope it’s not a problem; it’s just a bit of a trek to the nearest diner and—”

“Why did she leave?”

“Charlie?” He flipped an egg. “She said she had an urgent meeting? Thought she would’ve let you know…”

Eve furrowed her brow. It wasn’t like Charlie to leave without checking in first. Especially considering the odd family being here.

“Oh, right.” Thomas pointed at her with the spatula. “And she told me to tell you the basement is all clear. Not sure what she meant…”

Eve figured it was a reference to the lurker on the stairs, but again, why hadn’t Charlie just told her that in person?

Thomas, finally sensing Eve’s concern, said, “Are you all right?”

Eve didn’t reply. She was too distracted by the fact that Charlie had just up and left. The fact this family had made themselves right at home. On top of that, all the strange occurrences from the day before were bubbling back up like a bad lunch. A knot formed in her chest. Her breath shortened. She checked the time: a quarter past nine. Jenny had been found, the storm had settled, the bridge was open, this family should be long gone.

“Eve?” Thomas prodded. “Is everything—”

“Why are you still here?”

Thomas opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was caught off guard by the question, offended even. As if he’d assumed they were besties by now. He scratched his nose. “We— We’re leaving right after breakfast. Is something wrong?”

Grumbling to herself, Eve retreated into the foyer. Despite having no evidence of outright malice, she didn’t trust this family, not one bit. And again, why had Charlie left without saying a word? Eve had to call her, make sure everything was all right. When she reached into her pocket, her fingers grasped air, lint. No phone. She racked her brain, trying to remember the last time she’d used it. The night before. Broken screen. Foyer staircase… She looked around. It wasn’t there. Must’ve left it in the bedroom.

Back upstairs, she checked every nook and cranny, the dressers, beneath the bed, even under the mattress. Nada. She stomped downstairs. In the living room, she searched around the coffee table, under the couch, between the cushions, but still, nothing.

“Lose something?” Thomas called out from the kitchen. The whole family was sitting around the table now, eating.

Eve stood up. “I need to borrow a phone.”

Thomas shook his head. “We, uh, we don’t have phones.”

She blinked at him, unbelieving.

He went on. “Modern-day family, no phones, in the middle of a cross-country move.” He shook his head, as if surprised by it himself. “I know how absurd it sounds. Believe me.”

“Uh-huh…” Eve said, more than a little skeptical.

He elaborated. “We just started a digital fast, through our church. The whole congregation handed in their phones to the pastor. At the end of the month, he FedExes them back. No cell phones, no screens, not until then.” His eyes flicked to Paige: It was her idea.

“Right,” said Eve, still not buying it. “What if there’s an emergency?”

“That is an excellent question.” Again, Thomas glanced at his wife, deflecting the blame to her. “In that case,” he said, “we’re allowed to borrow a phone, but—”

Paige interrupted. “If there’s an emergency, then it’s part of God’s plan.”

“Of course,” said Eve. “The power of prayer.” She was feeling a little more snarky than usual. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Maybe it was the fact this family had used up the last of her favorite coffee beans. Probably both.

Paige started to say something more, but Eve marched off, ready to continue the search. Perhaps her phone was in the cellar? What if it slipped out of her pocket? With newfound resolve, she swung open the basement door, and…

The dark stairwell greeted her, marred by uninviting shadows. An instant flashback of the figure on the stairs played in her mind. She slammed the door shut. Fuck that. Back in the foyer, she slid open the coat closet. Charlie’s winter jacket was gone, as were her boots. Eve peered out the window. Charlie’s parking spot, the alcove at the edge of the woods, was empty. No truck in sight. So far, everything matched Thomas’s version of events, but—

She’s probably locked up in the basement.Mo stirred awake. Eve could almost see his crazy eyes, snapping open, like a vampire in a coffin, bloodthirsty at the chance to raise paranoia. You’ll be next.

Imaginary Charlie, the voice of reason, countered, Or maybe—just maybe—I actually had to go into town for something urgent and didn’t want to wake you?

Eve supposed Charlie’s counter was more likely, but…

She wandered back into the living room. The family, unaware of her presence, was still eating, laughing about something Jenny had just said. The scene was oddly normal—wholesome, even. Had she let anxiety get the better of her again? She took a deep breath, let it out, and told herself everything was fine. Everything is okay. She grounded herself. White door. Brown floorboards. Leather couch. Her heart rate slowed. Breathing tapered. She calmed. But then, something caught the outskirts of her vision. She turned. Across the living room, above the fireplace, hanging from a crooked nail: Charlie’s locket.

For a second, Eve didn’t trust her own perception. She narrowed her eyes and drifted closer, as if drawn by some unseen force. Sure enough, it was Charlie’s locket, hanging limply from one of the nails Eve had removed last night. Somehow, there was a sinister mockery in the sight. A marker that something terrible might have happened to Charlie, and this was the only thing left of her…

Wary, she reached up for its brass chain, only to pull back at the last second, as if it might transmit a deadly shock. Shaking off the incoherent thought, she lifted the necklace and stepped back. She turned it over in her palm, studying it. She flicked it open. Inside, as expected, was the blurry portrait of her shooing away the camera, hiding her face. The only known photo of Eve Palmer. She clicked it shut and tucked it into her pocket.

She looked back to the kitchen. Had someone from the family done this? Stolen Charlie’s locket and mounted it up on the wall? Not only that, but put back one of the nails she’d removed? She supposed it was possible, but… why? Was Charlie responsible? Some kind of weird joke? A reference to their conversation the night before—no, that didn’t make sense either. Or…

Her gaze flickered to the basement door—a small shiver ran down her neck. “I’m going for a walk,” she said aloud. The words escaped without her brain’s approval, like some part of her, deep and primordial, was forcing her to get the fuck out of there. Get away from this family, that basement.

Thomas, chewing on a mouthful of eggs, looked at her. “What’s that?”

She started toward the foyer. “I’m going for a walk. Borrowing a neighbor’s phone.”

“Oh?” Thomas wiped his mouth with a napkin. “We’ll, uh, we’ll show ourselves out when we’re done here. Thanks again for—”

“Sure.” Eve slipped out of view.

Get to a neighbor’s house. Call Charlie.