Came Back Haunted (Experiment in Terror #10) - Karina Halle Page 0,86
hinges, Dex yelling from the other side.
I feel the dark malevolent presence behind me as I lie on the floor, trying desperately to get to my feet, tangled in the shower curtain. Cold hands grab my ankles and start pulling me backward into the water. I scramble, trying to kick her away, trying to dig my nails into the floor, the bloody water splashing over me.
But it’s no use.
I can’t stop her.
I can’t hold on.
She’s pulling my legs up, my bones nearly breaking, twisting me around so I’m on my back and watching my dead doppelganger drag me into the tub with her.
“Dex!” I scream again. “Hurry! Please!!”
The room starts to shake as he slams himself against the door, but it holds when it shouldn’t.
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
He’s not going to get in here, is he? He’s not going to be able to save me in time. And I can’t fucking save myself.
Not even from myself.
Then CRUNCH.
I hear the door slam open as Dex breaks in, my heart fluttering in relief.
“What the fuck?” he cries out.
The other me lets go of my legs, sinking quickly into the water, disappearing from sight.
There’s a lag, a silence, and I’m sure Dex is trying to process what he just saw.
Then the floor shakes as he runs to my side, drops to his knees beside me, pulling my legs out of the tub and onto the floor.
I crumple on myself as he pulls me up into his arms, holding me tight.
“I’ve got you,” he says to me, his arms shaking.
I’m shaking too.
I don’t think I’ll ever stop.
Something inside me has snapped, something that was keeping me whole, something that can’t be put back together.
Seventeen
“We don’t have to go to this party if you don’t want to,” Dex says, fiddling with his tie for the millionth time. “In fact, I’m more than ready to stay home. Just give me the signal.”
I roll my eyes, more at the fact that he can’t ever seem to do his tie correctly. I get off the bed and come over to him. “Let me.”
His hands drop to his sides, while I take the silky ends of the tie and bring them together at his collar, the hollow of his throat moving as he swallows, his skin still nicely tanned against the white shirt. I can feel his eyes burning on me, the muscles in his jaw tense.
I glance up at him through my lashes and give him a soft smile. “I’m okay. I want to go. I mean, I really want to go. I need to be around people. I need to feel…normal.”
He presses his lips together, nodding softly. “I worry about you,” he says, voice rough, and I know that’s an understatement. He’s got hollows under his eyes now too because of all I’ve been going through.
“I worry too,” I say quietly, looping the end through and making it tie. “But I also know that if I stay in this apartment any longer, I’m going to go insane. More so than I already am.”
It’s been two weeks since the incident with Samantha in the bathroom. We’re well into December now, the holiday season around us in full swing.
It’s been hard to enjoy it.
To enjoy anything, actually.
My life now is nothing but fear.
Since the incident, I’ve seen Samantha many more times.
I’ve seen her while on a walk with Dex and the dog, her figure hovering in the background, walking behind us, trailing us, like a hunter stalking its prey.
I’ve seen her in the mirror behind me in the bathroom, so much so that we had to cover it up with a towel. That was after I smashed the mirror with my fist. I could still see her reflection fragmented in the cracks.
I’ve seen her standing in the corner of the bedroom.
And I’ve seen her crawl out of the fucking kitchen sink.
She hasn’t hurt me yet.
I can’t tell if she wants to or not.
The beautiful Samantha I saw in the apartment is gone, and I don’t know if she’s ever coming back.
Part of me knows she’s trying to reach me, trying to convince me of something. She wants to promise me things and I’m starting to fear that I might not be strong enough to ignore her promises. The other part of me knows she’s manipulative at the very least, and that the demon, the curse, is what’s really in control.
Dex doesn’t always see her, but sometimes he does.