Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“My phone’s about to die,” Mira tells me.
“Go plug it in and stay by it. I’ll be there as soon as I can and I’ll call you when I’m on my way up.”
“I’ll have to buzz you in.”
“Pshhh. I can just tell everyone I’m an FBI agent,” I say.
“Ahh, how could I forget,” she says back and I can tell she’s smiling.
“No, I’ll text you so I don’t draw attention. Double check your doors are locked. Windows, too.”
“They are.” She inhales. “Thanks again, Mason.”
Hearing her say my name sends a jolt through me.
“I’ll be there soon.”
“I feel like I overreacted,” Mira tells me when I step into her apartment. Violet comes running, jumping up at me for attention. “She’s a great guard dog, as you can tell.” Shaking her head, Mira grabs her collar and pulls her back. “Sorry.”
“Nah, it’s all right. I like dogs. I’d have one if I was home more.”
“Okay good. She doesn’t know personal boundaries.”
I look around, taking everything in. The apartment smells good, like lemongrass, and is neat and tidy but looks lived in. She has a wall of books behind her couch—looking just like how it does on her Instagram photos—and the pink and gold theme of her decor just seems to suit her. This place is nice and isn’t cheap. The living room is open to the dining area and kitchen, which has a decent sized island counter and a large window facing north. We’re close enough you could probably see the lake in the daylight.
“I had an officer drive by,” I tell her and straighten up after petting Violet. She takes my shoe as soon as I take it off, wagging her tail so hard her whole body wiggles.
“She does that,” Mira explains and takes the shoe from her. “It’s a Golden Retriever thing. Did they see anything?”
“No, but that doesn’t discredit what you saw.”
“I know what I saw,” she presses. “There was someone standing along the fence. And as far as I know, there’s only a camera facing the doors so it wouldn’t have picked anything up.” She shakes her head and we go into the living room, where she sinks down onto the couch, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. She’s still shaken up. “It could have been a homeless man for all I know.”
“It very well could have been,” I agree.
“I feel kinda silly.” She bites her bottom lip, spacing off into the distance. I haven’t yet seen her without any makeup on, with her hair twisted up in a messy bun on the top of her head. She’s wearing comfy clothes that are loose on her tight body, hiding her figure. And for some reason I find that so fucking hot. “I just…never mind.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Wouldn’t be nothing if you were going to say something.”
She presses her lips together and brings her legs up underneath her. “I hate using this term, but I got a little triggered and it freaked me out.”
“Triggered by what?” I ask gently.
“A memory of Cory,” she says and closes her eyes. “I used to get sleep paralysis all the time. I’d wake up and see just the dark outline of a man standing over my bed. For years, I was completely convinced it was a demon.” She lets out a small laugh. “I even had a sleep study done, because my doctor said it was not a typical form of sleep paralysis.”
I sit next to her and Violet jumps up between us, leaning on me as she wags her tail. I run my hands over her fur and her tail thumps against the side of the couch even harder. “Sleep paralysis is usually explained to be your brain not fully waking in all parts. You still see your dreams.”
“I know. But it was always the same thing. I’m stuck in bed and this man comes closer and closer. I could never see his face but he had the most oppressive aura to him. He’d say I had to let him in, and he’d try all sorts of tricks, shifting to another person or even taking the form of a cat I had a few years ago.” She pulls her arms in. “It sounds crazy, I know.”
“It sounds terrifying.”
“It was.” She looks out at the room again, taking a few seconds before going on. “The final night before I left, Cory woke me up to ‘talk’. He stood there jabbing me with his fingers until I woke up. And then I realized it was him all along. The dark, shadow man who tormented me in my sleep. It was him.” Her head tips to the side. “My mind knew and was trying to tell me what I didn’t want to admit. It was my own Bent Neck Lady, if you’re a Hill House fan.”
“Have you seen the shadow man since?”