Chapter
Twenty-Five
Courtney and Brogan finally left her bedroom a few minutes ago, after hurriedly getting dressed, Courtney hissing at Brogan the entire time that he needed to hurry up.
“You’re so uptight after we have sex,” he told her, sounding like a petulant child. “You talk a good game before it, but you always make me feel guilty afterwards. Sucks, man.”
“Oh, grow up,” Courtney snapped. “What do you want me to do? Tell you how great you are like Dani does?”
“At least she seems into me most of the time,” he muttered. “Not like you.”
“You’re such a dick.” Courtney’s voice dripped with contempt.
And with that, they left.
“Well, that was pleasant,” I say once they’re gone.
“How long do you think we should wait until we leave?” asks Cass.
“I don’t know.” I move away from him, giving myself much needed distance. I’m still blown away by Cass’s expert kissing skills. Fine, I’m completely rattled by it, rattled by him. My hands are shaky. My head is spinning. He has great lips—and I can’t help but stare at them. They’re full and swollen and still damp from when we kissed. His hair is mussed and his eyes are glazed and he’s staring off into space, like his mind was just epically blown.
I sort of love that look on him. Makes me proud that I’m the one who did that.
“We should wait at least a few minutes, just in case they’re fighting in the hall or on the staircase or whatever,” I tell him.
“Yeah. You’re right.” He nods, still appearing a little dazed. “Gotta make sure the coast is clear.”
“Please tell me you’re finished searching through her room.” I stand and stretch my arms above my head. My legs are achy and my feet tingle, like they’ve fallen asleep. We’ve been cramped up in the closet for a while and I’m dying to get out. See other people, get some fresh air.
Hopefully we won’t run into Courtney.
“Yeah, you’re right. I’m done.” He shrugs and glances around. “If she has any other secrets, I don’t know where to look for them.”
Probably the closet, but I’m not going to make that suggestion. I am so done going through her things. What we did…it wasn’t right. We’re just lucky we didn’t get caught.
After a few more minutes, we exit the closet and leave Courtney’s bedroom, sneaking down the back staircase and along the short hall until we’re in the kitchen again. The party is still just as wild and loud as it was before we went upstairs, and I head out to the backyard, in search of Dani.
But she’s not on any of the loungers where Brogan said he left her. There are a few couples on the lounge chairs snuggled up together and/or kissing and groping each other. There are two girls cuddled on one, both of them looking pretty wasted and trying to sleep.
There’s no Dani anywhere.
“Where do you think she went?” I turn to look at Cass, and he frowns at me.
“Who are you talking about?”
“Dani! Brogan said he left her out here.” I wave a hand at the row of lounge chairs. “But now she’s gone.”
He scans the backyard before his gaze returns to me. “I don’t see her. Brogan’s over there with his friends.” He points. “Maybe you should ask him.”
I shout his name and he looks up, grimacing when he sees it’s me. I wave him over, thankful Courtney is nowhere to be found. “Where’s Dani?” I ask when he reluctantly approaches.
Brogan shrugs. “I dunno. I left her out here a few minutes ago, but I guess now she’s gone.”
I cross my arms in front of my chest. “You shouldn’t have left her alone, Brogan. She was really drunk. Where’d you go anyway?”
His cheeks turn ruddy and he looks away from me. “I did a few shots with some friends, then I had to take a piss. Why, what’s it to you anyway? If you’re so concerned about Dani, then you should’ve stayed with her.”
I’d give anything to punch him right now. Just sock him right in his stupid face. Courtney was right. He’s a total dick. “I thought you were staying with her. She was pretty trashed, Bro. You shouldn’t have left her alone.” I give him a pointed look and he flicks his gaze away from mine, guilt written all over his face. “I just want to make sure she’s all right.”
“When I left her here on one of the chairs, she was perfectly okay. She was just a little sleepy, you know? I asked if she wanted to come with me, and she said no. She was perfectly fine when I last saw her, I swear,” Brogan whines.
“If you see Dani, tell her I’m looking for her,” I say, my voice dismissive. Brogan hangs his head and walks away from me to rejoin his friends. The moment he’s back standing with them, though, they all laugh and I glance up to find them watching me.
Jackasses.
I check my phone for text messages or Snapchats from Dani, but there’s nothing. And it’s so cold outside, the fog slowly billowing in, making me shiver. Cass puts a hand on my shoulder, startling me, and I turn to face him.
“Let’s go inside. You’re cold. I bet she’s in the house.”
“I don’t know. Last time I saw her, she was still outside.”
“Yeah, and she probably got cold and wanted to get warm inside.” He’s talking slowly to me, like I might not understand him, and all I can do is nod as he takes my arm and guides me over to the door. “We’ll find her, Pen. Don’t worry,” he murmurs as he walks me back into the house.
I can’t help but worry. What if Dani’s in danger? There have been too many scary things happening lately. I leave her alone for a few minutes and now she’s gone. Where did she go? Who is she with? What if the killer found her…
If something happened to her, I could never forgive myself.
“Will you help me look for her?” I turn to Cass, grabbing hold of the front of his hoodie and giving him a little shake. “Please? I’m worried. What if—”
“Don’t worry,” he says, his voice soft. “Yeah, let’s go. I’ll help you. Dani’s gotta be here somewhere.” He takes my arm and guides me through the crowded kitchen, down the equally crowded hall, the both of us entering the living room, which is absolutely huge. It’s almost obscene, how grand their house is. I look around, seeing all kinds of familiar faces, but not the face I want to see the most.
“Is Dani familiar with the house?” Cass asks me as we wander around the living room.
“Yeah, she’s spent the night here a lot.” I’m not really listening to what Cass is saying. I’m too busy checking everyone, searching for Dani, and getting more and more frustrated—and scared—when I can’t find her.
“Maybe she’s on the other side of the house?” Cass suggests when we stop in the mostly empty foyer. “Looks like Courtney is keeping the party on this side, so maybe Dani went to find a quiet spot.”
“I don’t kn—”
A blood-curling scream rips through the air, rendering both Cass and me completely still. We stare at each other, our mouths hanging open as we wait to hear what comes next and oh, boy, does it ever come next.
“OH MY GOD!!!”
Cass takes off in the direction where the screams are coming from, heading up a staircase that leads to the east wing of the house. I follow after him, the sounds of the continuous screaming getting louder and louder…
We stop at the top of the stairs, Cass holding out his arms like he doesn’t want me to get past him. “Hold on, Pen.” His voice is weak. I’ve never heard him sound like that before. “Stay here.”
“What? Why? No, let me go.” His arm curls around me, his hand braced on my hip and keeping me behind his back. I struggle against his hold.
“Cass! Thank God you’re here! Help me! Help meeee! Oh my God! You’re too late! You’re too late!”
The hysterical voice is familiar. Female. I know it. I know who it is, I know, I know.
“Shit,” Cass mutters, shaking his head, a whimper leaving him. It’s gotta be bad. Whatever he’s not letting me see, it has to be awful. I push hard against his arm, breaking away from his grip, and the moment I see it, I wish I would’ve stayed behind his back.
Courtney is crouched on her knees in the middle of the hall, completely covered in blood. It’s in her hair, on her face, all over her clothes and her arms and her legs. Her hair and her eyes and her teeth are stark white against the glistening, deep-red blood, and I stare at her, horrified. She looks like she’s walked straight off the set of a horror movie. It doesn’t look real.
But it is real. And that’s what makes it even more terrifying.
My gaze hops everywhere, too afraid to look at one particular thing for too long. Courtney is crying as she bends over and picks up a body that’s cradled in her lap. A body I didn’t even notice at first.
“No, no, no,” Courtney cries, rocking back and forth with the body in her arms. She lifts her head and looks right at me. Her eyes bug out of her head. “I didn’t do it! I didn’t do it! I swear to God, Penelope! It wasn’t me!”
She’s holding a girl. Her head is thrown back, her throat cut wide open. I only recognize who it is because she’s wearing a floral print dress with a short skirt.
It’s Dani.
And she’s dead.