Stay(68)

I skidded to a stop by the front door. My hand shook as I reached for the keypad. The floor above shook as Keith plundered out of the room. Shit. He was coming. He would say something. And Zane would— No. I didn’t have time to think of the horrible things he would do to me. That he wouldn’t do to me. I was escaping.

My fingers hovered above the keypad. I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes. Here goes nothing. Four beeps echoed throughout the house as I randomly punched in numbers. For a split second, nothing happened. Then an ear-piercing high-pitched alarm blared.

Dread flowed through me, weighting my feet. I was too scared to run. Frantic, I pushed in another combination with no avail.

Fuck. It was over.

A door slammed from inside the house. “What the hell is going on?” Nate yelled over the horrible screaming alarm.

I whirled around. The coat closet was right in front of me. The floorboards vibrated from Nate’s footsteps. I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob and twisted. I opened the door and stepped inside. Keeping the knob turned, I silently closed the door and sank into the full rack of jackets.

I clasped my hands together and held my breath. A line of white light filtered in through the space between the door and the floor. More people ran around the house. The floor shuddered under their frantic footsteps. Someone shouted, but the alarm made their words indiscernible.

I crouched down, using my feet to shove the shoes that were underneath me to the side. I wanted to crack open the door and see what was going on, see if I had a chance to run, but there was no way I’d risk that. I squeezed my eyes shut. This was stupid. What was I thinking? That I could stay hidden in the coat closet forever? It wasn’t like I could sneak out once Nate and Zane went to bed or anything. I knew for sure they wouldn’t rest until they found me.

The alarm cut off. My ears rang from the sudden silence. I put my hands over my mouth and turned my head so my ear was closer to the door.

“She’s still in the house,” Zane said. “There’s no way she could have gotten out.”

Dark shadows moved in front of the door. My heart skipped a beat and cold fear flowed through me.

“This is all your fault.” Nate’s voice was full of venom. “You brought her here. You will take the fall for this if she gets out.”

Holy shit. Nate was going to let Zane take all the heat without batting an eye. And I thought he liked Zane.

“She’s still in the house,” Zane repeated, his voice cracking. “She has to be. She doesn’t know the codes.”

“Then fucking find her!” Nate screamed.

I hoped he would get mad enough to shoot Zane too. I pulled my arms close to my body to keep my trembling limbs from giving away my location.

Just move, please.

Someone, presumably Nate, stomped away. I wished my silent pleading had actually worked. I’d beg Nate to stick a gun in his mouth and pull the trigger. Zane turned. The floor creaked under him.

No, please no. I closed my eyes again. Don’t open the door.

“Mother fucker!” Zane hit the closet door. I jumped, sending a leather dress shoe tumbling. Zane had to have heard it. This is it. It's over. For real, this time.

But he didn’t open the door. He stormed away. I stayed frozen in the same position, not daring to move. My chest began to hurt, and I realized that I was holding my breath. I slowly let it out. Now what? I couldn’t leave the closet, not yet at least.

With painstakingly slow movements, I repositioned my tingling feet. I didn’t want them to fall asleep and be useless if I got the chance to run. I flicked my eyes up to the ceiling. Someone was making their way through the house, slamming the door to each room they inspected.#p#分页标题#e#

“Adeline,” Nate’s voice cut into me. Terror rippled down my spine. My legs shook. “Come on out, deary.” His shoes echoed through the house as he walked down the stairs. “Come out now, and we can pretend this never happened.”

Yeah fucking right. I wasn’t stupid. There was no way Nate would pretend this never happened. My fingers closed around a shoe. The leather was stiff and smooth. It wasn’t the best weapon by any means, but it was all I had.

“This is your last chance, Adeline.” Nate walked into the living room. “Come out.” I didn’t move. “Very well, then. Bring her up.”

Bring who up? What was he doing? I sucked in a silent breath and listened. I guessed the footfalls to belong to Zane. They grew fainter as he exited the living room. Then, there was nothing. The house was quiet, and that scared me even more.

The familiar sound of the basement door slamming shut reverberated through the farmhouse. Two people joined Nate in the living room.