Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Meanwhile, Arden filled his days by finding projects around the house and attempting to make progress on a novel he’d been writing for three years. We came together for meals, and in the evenings the three of us watched movies or played cards in the game room.
We always said good night around midnight, and then Andy and I would get cozy in our room. Arden had a raging case of insomnia, though. Every night, he went to the far side of the house so he wouldn’t disturb us, and he played the violin for hours.
The sound carried throughout the house, and whenever we heard that gorgeous, mournful music, it left us with a tinge of heartache. That made it seem like an appropriate soundtrack for this place.
On our fourth night at Pine Grove, as we held each other in the darkness and listened to a haunting melody drifting to us from the other end of the house, Andy whispered, “When do you think we’ll get to go home again?”
“I wish I knew.”
He tucked his head under my chin, and I pulled the blanket up to cover his shoulders. This was so much harder for him than it was for me. All I had back in San Francisco was an empty house. But he had his whole family, his Mom and Julie and Moira, and I knew he missed them.
I wanted to fix this for him and make it so he could go home again, but there was nothing I could do. That feeling of helplessness was truly awful.
The next afternoon, Arden and Andy were hard at work. They both seemed determined to get a handle on Andy’s powers, and they were making progress.
After the deer incident, they’d decided to practice indoors, where the only thing to call was the Abyss—Arden’s black cat, who was clearly getting sick of their shenanigans. When Andy called her for the fourth time in an hour, the cat darted into the kitchen with a hiss and tried to bite him. He scrambled onto the table to dodge the fangs and said, “Maybe we should switch gears.”
I accompanied them outside, and we spread out beach towels on the grass. Then the three of us tried to meditate and center ourselves. That was the idea, anyway. I had very little chill, so I kept raising a lid and sneaking peeks at Andy.
He was overdue for a haircut, so he was using a bandana like a headband to keep his hair out of his eyes. He’d cut off the collar and slightly cropped one of the touristy T-shirts I’d gotten him, and he’d paired it with the lavender sweatpants that had once belonged to my ex’s sister. He was messy and mismatched, and I thought he looked absolutely adorable.
What a huge difference from the buttoned-up guy I’d met at work, the one with a bowtie and sweater vest for every occasion. Not that he hadn’t been cute then, too. He was, for sure. But he was different now. It seemed like he’d stopped caring what people thought about him, and a lot of freedom had come with that.
He snuck a peek at me, and when he caught me looking at him, his face lit up in a gorgeous smile. It made me feel warm and happy, and it made my stomach do funny things.
“I can feel you two goofing off.” Arden said that without opening his eyes.
Andy and I chuckled, and I whispered, “Busted.”
Our friend blinked and stretched his arms over his head. “It’s fine. That was a lot for today. Let’s go inside and get something to drink.”
We got up and grabbed our towels. I draped my arm around Andy’s shoulders and kissed the side of his head as we started to head for the kitchen door. But after a moment, we realized Arden wasn’t with us, so we turned back to see what was keeping him.
He stood perfectly still, with a frown line etched between his brows. When I asked him what was wrong, he muttered, “I… I feel like we’re in danger.” Andy and I immediately turned toward the woods, but I didn’t see anything. “It’s not that.” Arden pivoted, then did it again before announcing, “Something’s coming.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know yet. It’s still a ways off. We shouldn’t be out here.”
We ran inside, and Arden locked the kitchen door behind us. Then he began pacing, while Andy and I exchanged worried looks.
After a minute, he turned to us with fear in his big, brown eyes and said one word, which sent chills down my spine. “Rosselin.”
“He’s on his way here?”
Arden nodded. “He’s close, and he’s not alone.”
Andy was the first to react. He ran to the open windows and started closing them as he said, “Sam, call April. Tell her we need help. I’ll make sure all the doors and windows are locked. Not that it’ll keep him out, but it’s all I can do.”