Teen Hyde (High School Horror Story #2)(60)

She was right, of course. I felt beautifully crazy. Like I was balancing on a ledge and any second I might tip over into complete and utter insanity. “Your turn.” I went for the door.

“We’re going out there?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Scared?”

She rolled her eyes and snatched the spray can from my hand. “Give me that.”

I held out my palm and motioned for her to wait. I cracked the door and listened. A great guffaw of laughter sprang out from the other end of the house. Lena jerked to attention beside me. I waited another beat. Then two before gesturing for her to follow. Together, we crept through the narrow hallway, past the bathroom, and all the way to the next bedroom door. Again, I listened from the other side, and again, when I heard nothing, I entered and turned the lock, shutting both Lena and me inside.

I wondered how they’d feel tonight when they came in and found that someone had been inside their home. Would they feel violated? Would they think they had a right to feel that way?

Probably.

This room was tidy. A clean plaid comforter covered a double bed at the center. A series of Tarantino posters were pinned neatly to one wall—Pulp Fiction, Django, Kill Bill.

I picked up a framed picture and studied the faces in the photograph of a family on a girl’s graduation day. A sister perhaps? I set it down, unable to tell whether one of the boys in the picture was Circus Master. The meanest of them all. I opened a file cabinet and rifled through papers until I found a term paper. “The Effect of the Kemp-Kasten Amendment in Modern-Day Mongolia” by Tate Guffrey. My insides gurgled like molten lava.

I showed the name on the paper to Lena. “You’re up.”

She stared at the can of paint, took a step forward, and then looked back at me. I waited, not sure what she’d do. But she turned back and she aimed and fired. Instead of at the wall, Lena pointed the can at the made bed and scrawled a message identical to the one I’d left for Alex. She spun, one hand clapped over her mouth, her eyes all lit up. “I did it,” she half squealed before catching herself and dropping the volume of her voice. “Oh my god, I can’t believe I did that.”

“Welcome to the dark side,” I said.

But we had no time to celebrate because from somewhere on the other side of the door came a voice.

“Jesus Christ.” Lena’s sparkling eyes went cartoon-round.

I pressed a finger to my lips and listened. The voice was talking. I couldn’t make out words. I couldn’t tell if it was getting closer or farther or neither. Then a toilet flushed. My posture softened. A few short moments passed with the sound of running water.

“Marcy!” Lena’s voice was strained.

Footsteps. A laugh. Words. I glanced around the room. Trapped. The doorknob jiggled.

“Hey, the door’s stuck,” said the voice. Tate. The poker game must be over. It jiggled again. I watched it like a grenade without the pin. “I think it’s locked.” He pushed against it and I watched as the thin wood bowed. “What the hell? Who locked this?”

“We’ve got to go.” I dropped the envelope with the flash drive onto his pillow. Lena stood paralyzed, staring at the door. “Now,” I said.

I struggled with the latches on the window. I got the first one unhooked. I thrust my weight behind the second, which seemed as if it must not have been opened for ages. Finally, it budged. My hand hit the glass with a loud clap.

“Is someone in there?” A fist pounded. “Screw you, guys. Who’s in there? Is this some kind of prank?”

Lena’s joints had come unlocked as soon as the window did and she helped me pry it open.

“I’m coming around,” Tate yelled. “Don’t be bastards.”

“Go, go, go.” I practically pushed Lena out the window. She landed softly on the grass below. I jumped down next to her. I took a final glance back. Together, we sprinted around the side of the house, disappearing into the next-door neighbor’s lawn just as I heard the front door open and shouting spill out into the night.

I followed Lena, my arms flailing and hoodie fanning out from behind me like a cape. She twisted the key and jumped into the driver’s side. I bobbed on my toes while I waited for her to pop the door on the passenger’s side. I climbed in and let out a whoop of triumph.

Lena fumbled with the ignition and it sprang to life with a roar. Her forehead dropped to the steering wheel. Her breathing heavy. Her back rose and fell. I watched the ridges of her back arch, my own chest heaving.

“Two … down…,” Lena wheezed. She turned her head and looked at me across the dark cabin.

I let my own head loll to the side. Lena’s bangs swept sideways and I wondered if I was about to kiss her again.

“One to go,” I said.





TWENTY-ONE

Cassidy

There was a soft knock on my bedroom door. “Cassidy?” came Honor’s voice. This morning’s sun was already blasting through my window. I closed my eyes and buried my head into the pillow. It was a school holiday, although even as I thought it, I realized that I probably wouldn’t go to school, holiday or not.

A few seconds later, I listened to muffled footsteps on the carpet and then the covers were pulled back just enough for Honor to slide in. I felt the warmth of her body next to mine. She shuffled closer like she used to do when she was a kid.