he was hiding out at a hunting shack in the woods, but where? Even if she did know the location, there was no way in hell she could force herself to go searching through the woods on her own, even in broad daylight. Her heart pounded erratically just thinking about it.
Luckily, Peter seemed to pop up out of nowhere, so maybe she didn’t need to go find him—maybe he’d just show up. Wendy turned off the faucet and gazed at the glass doors that led to the backyard, half expecting to see him standing there. She tried not to think about how creepy it was that he could find her so easily in the first place.
Although, he’d given no real reason to be afraid of him, had he? He certainly wasn’t intimidating. There was no way someone with that much happy energy was dangerous. Someone who smiled like that—with complete abandon and not an ounce of self-consciousness—couldn’t be insidious.
Frowning, Wendy dried her hands on a dish towel. What now? It was dark out but too early to try to go to sleep, even with Jordan’s orders. She couldn’t watch something on TV because she wanted to leave her father undisturbed. There was no way she could concentrate enough to read a book. Maybe more chores were the solution.
There was her swim bag that needed to be cleaned out, still shoved under the passenger seat of her truck. She wasn’t part of a summer team like Jordan, so it had been abandoned. The only use it’d gotten this summer was as a trash receptacle for the dozens of crumpled-up drawings Wendy had hidden. She really needed to practice and get some laps in at the aquatic center so she’d be ready to try out for the college swim team in the fall. Maybe having a fresh towel and clean suit would give her the motivation.
Careful not to wake up her father, Wendy snuck out the front door to where her truck was parked in the driveway. She opened the passenger-side door and leaned down to pick up her purple duffel bag when the streetlight in front of her house went out soundlessly. Wendy yanked her bag out of the truck and stood up. Everything plunged into darkness. Even the streetlight from across the road didn’t seem to reach very far.
Almost immediately, her heartbeat thudded in her veins. Wendy mentally chided herself—was she really that afraid of the dark?
But it was more than just that. Something was … off.
The air felt heavy and her chest felt tight. Something sharp dragged up her spine, like a nail ghosting over her skin. A violent shudder ran through her. The air shifted, as if someone was standing right behind her. Wendy sucked in a breath and turned to rush back inside.
“Hello.”
The sudden greeting caused all the nerves in her body to jump. Wendy swung around, clutching her duffel bag.
A boy who looked about her age stood just a couple of yards away. Wendy squinted at him. In the dark, she could make out his outline and vague features, but she couldn’t see the details of his face.
“Hi?” she said warily.
“You’re Wendy Darling, right?” he asked. As Wendy inched toward the front door, he took a step closer.
There was something strange about his voice. It was pleasant and almost lazy. The low, deep timbre of someone who had just woken up. Whatever clothes he was wearing must have been black. He had his hands tucked into his pockets. His stance and tone were so casual—too casual, for the way her heart hammered in her chest, thudding out a warning in her pulse.
Wendy hesitated. “I—yes.”
Peter?
“What are you doing out here at this time of night?” he asked. She could just make out the shape of his eyebrows as they arched with curiosity. Wendy had seen Peter do that same head tilt, but no, it definitely wasn’t Peter. This guy’s hair was jet black, far darker than the rest of his face, which was still bathed in shadows.
“I live here,” she said curtly.
He laughed, and, for the first time, she could make out a distinct feature: his white teeth and sharp smile. Too white, too sharp, like a caricature.
Wendy squinted again. “Do I know you?” she asked. The hair on the back of her neck prickled, like it knew something she didn’t.
He grinned, and it stretched unnaturally across his face. “No, you don’t know me,” he told her. “I’ve seen you around, though.” Something about his eyes was