Eldon was going to love my eyeliner.
“I think my mom’s going to be here soon,” Mia said, checking her cellphone. It was almost nine. “This was fun! Let’s do it again soon.”
“Definitely,” I agreed. “I’ll walk you down. I just have to make sure Stache doesn’t see me. He might pass out.”
“You have to show your mom,” Shal said. “She’ll love it—”
And then I heard it. The rattling.
Shal stopped. “What’s that?”
“Nothing,” I said.
Mia frowned. “I hear it too. Is your window loose?”
“It sounds like it’s coming from the closet…” Shal said, starting for the closet.
“No, it’s the door in my brother’s room,” I said quickly. “The draft comes in and knocks it back and forth. Super annoying.” I stood up and ushered them out of the room.
“Can I get my purse?” Shal asked.
I hurried back into the room and got it for her. “Shall we?”
She gave me a little frown but didn’t ask any more questions. When they were safely driving away in Mia’s mom’s car, I shut the front door and rubbed my forehead. That was close. I marched back up the stairs, walked into my room, and stopped.
Tom was standing in front of my closet door.
He turned to me. “I think there’s something in your closet.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Why do you say that?” I asked cautiously, walking into the room. I instinctively looked at the window, wondering if the Swords were outside. The panel was still rattling.
He looked at me. “Because I can hear it.”
“Right.” I paused. “It’s just a draft. I told Mom and Dad about it.”
“I don’t feel a draft,” he said, frowning. “And your closet door is closed.”
“Yeah, but it rattles. And since when do you just walk into my room?”
He shrugged. “Whenever I think there’s a monster in your closet.”
He really was a perceptive kid.
I walked over and took Tom’s arm, pulling him toward the bedroom door. “Well, I’m gonna get some sleep—”
“I see the light again.”
I stopped and looked at him. “What?”
“The light. It’s in your closet. I was just seeing it through the bathroom wall.”
I glanced at my closet. I suddenly thought back to the “door of light” he’d seen in the woods. Were they related somehow? Could Tom see the openings to the Under Earth? It sounded ridiculous, but here he was, staring at my closet. I felt goosebumps snaking their way down my arms. I considered asking Eldon about it, but I decided to keep it to myself. If it was true, he might want to get Tom involved with the war, and that was not going to happen. I wasn’t bringing my little brother anywhere near those monsters.
“There’s nothing in the closet. Just T-shirts and boxes.”
“You’re hiding something,” he said.
“No, I’m not.”
“Your voice just changed.”
“No, it didn’t.”
He looked at me suspiciously. “You sure, Giant Girl?”
“Absolutely, Bat Boy. Now go get some sleep. One of us has school tomorrow.”
He sighed. “I wish I was a delinquent.”
“Don’t we all?” I agreed, leading him into the hallway. “Good night.”
“Night,” he said, still sounding unconvinced. “Enjoy your sleep-in.”
I smiled. “Will do.”
I closed the door and listened to him slowly walk back to his room. I didn’t like lying to my brother, but there was no way I was telling him about the door either. He would definitely want to go through, and it was going to be hard enough keeping myself alive in there.
I decided I probably didn’t have time to go clean all the makeup off. Obviously Eldon wanted to get started earlier today, but I was definitely going to tell him to find some other way to get my attention. That was way too close.
I threw on my usual track pants and hoodie and was just heading for the panel when I decided to quickly check my profile. I doubted that Liam would have messaged me back so quickly, but it was worth a shot. I opened up my inbox and almost fell off my chair in delight when I saw a new message. I clicked on it immediately.
Dear Laura,
(HE SAID “DEAR”!)
Welcome to the suspended club. It’s my first time. Of course, I don’t go out or do anything fun, so it was hard to ground me. I think my mom was going to take my computer away, but she took pity. At least you got suspended for punching Allison. I got suspended for missing a punch at Tim. That’s way worse. Anyway, enjoy your day off tomorrow. Hopefully you didn’t get grounded either. See you Thursday. Maybe you can teach me how to punch for future reference.
Liam
I read that message, like, ten times. I know, I’m a weirdo. But I just smiled from ear to ear, read it, sat back and smiled, and then read it again.
When I was finally satisfied, I signed off and headed for the closet, wondering if I would ever have the courage to ask Liam out. Or at least ask Shal to ask Liam if he would ever ask me out. Why couldn’t I just be hot? Life seemed much easier for hot girls.
Instead I get to go crush monsters with a hammer.
I pulled the panel open, sparing one last satisfied look at my computer—I couldn’t wait to see Liam on Thursday. Pulling the lever, I descended into the depths of the earth once again, and I barely noticed the fact that I was floating off the floor.
—
The next morning, I dragged myself out of bed at the usual time. It had been a particularly difficult night at training, as Eldon wanted me to work a little more on my agility—not my strong suit. Needless to say I was really tired. When I walked into the kitchen, Tom was sitting there
