I grin, pressing the green phone icon. “Hello?”
“Hey there, beautiful,” Wade says, his voice like a melody from a song I forgot I loved.
“Hey, I’m so happy to hear your voice,” I say, clutching my phone to my ear.
“Same here. I know I coulda just texted, but I…dunno.” He takes a deep breath. “I missed you.”
My heart flutters. After everything that’s just happened, my emotions are whiplashing and I blink back the tears brimming in my eyes. “I miss you, too. Are you still planning on coming at the weekend?”
“Definitely. Wild horses and all that. Will your dad be there this time?”
“Yeah, I think so. I mean, I can ask him, for sure,” I say, swallowing hard and nodding to myself.
“Do you think he’ll let me stay there again? Or do I need to sleep in my car?” he asks, chuckling under his breath.
“You are not sleeping in your car. I’m sure it will be fine. Besides, I’ll sneak you into my bedroom if I have to,” I say, glancing over to the big king-size bed.
“Well, that sounds promising,” he says, a twinkle of mischievousness playing at his tone.
“Hey now, don’t make me regret that statement.”
“Oh, trust me, there would be no regret,” he laughs. “Well, of course, unless your room decides to throw more stuff.”
“Yeesh, right? I’ll make sure everything is strapped down if I have to.”
“That also sounds promising,” Wade says, his voice smoldering even through the phone.
“It does, does it?” I tease, letting the wave of desire wash over me unexpectedly. “Is that a promise?”
He pauses for a moment, his breath slightly ragged on the other end of the line. “Only if you want it to be.”
Goose bumps flash across the back of my arms; dancing their way up my neck and into my scalp. I bite my lower lip and shiver.
Wade clears his throat, “So, uh, anyway…”
Swallowing hard, I blink away the daydreams his words have conjured. They’ve almost all but erased the strangeness of the day.
“Yeah—uh, so anyway,” I repeat, sighing loudly, “first day of school was a bit weird, and being home hasn’t been any more normal.”
“Oooh, do tell. Anything has to be more exciting than changing a grown man’s diapers.”
“Where do I even start?” I say, pulling my legs up and crossing them on the bench. “I still feel kind of out of place. So that doesn’t help.”
“Still no hint on what kind of powers you have, huh?”
I shake my head, looking back out over the courtyard, “Not even the faintest.”
“Dang.”
“I know, right? Then there’s this weird chick. I mean, she’s great, actually, but…” I trail off, thinking about how Cat reacted to the back of Big Blue.
“But?” Wade urges.
“Well, she lives on the other side of our pond, I come to find out. That was actually kind of exciting, but she acted really strange when she saw the etching on my vehicle.”
“Strange how?”
I think back to her expression of rage. “Well, at first, she seemed pissed. Which makes no sense to me. But then she got really skittish and made an excuse to run off and get her brother.”
“How do you know it was an excuse?” he asks, his voice soft as he urges me through the conversation.
I let my gaze drift to the outer courtyard. “Just a feeling, I guess.”
“Well, give it some time. I’m sure if there’s anything to it, it will all come out. Any more news on the missing kids?”
“Not really. But they do think there’s a creature involved. So far, they don’t know what kind, but I did hear rumors that this has happened before. So, that’s creepy.”
“I’d say. Hey, speaking of creepy… Have you raced around the house yet, looking for a doorknob or key to that hidden door in your room?” he asks, laughing softly.
“No, not yet. I just got home and talked to Dad for a bit. He wanted to know how things went, too.” I sigh quietly, trying to decide whether or not to tell Wade about what I saw from the top of the stairs.
“You should be exploring the rest of the house to hunt for them. If it’s going to be a while before we know what powers you have, I gotta at least satiate my mystery seeking by knowing what’s behind that door.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I say, floating my gaze to the tattered wallpaper. After the weird vision in the entry, I can’t say opening a hidden and locked door is the first thing I want to do alone. I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that’s never a good idea.
“What are you waiting for? The mystery would be killing me,” he chuckles.
“What are you talking about? It’s already killing you, nutball. Besides, this incredibly sweet guy called me, so I figured I’d answer the phone,” I say, leaning back in the window seat and grinning.
“Very true,” Wade says. “I regret nothing.”
My lips curve upward. “Well, I probably should get going, though…”
“Already?” Wade says, a hint of shock in his tone.
I sit up straighter. “I’m sorry, did you have more you wanted…? Oh, I should have asked you about your day—”
“No, I’m totally teasing. Go, go… But if you do go exploring, call me if you find anything.”
Standing up, I nod. “You will be the first to know.”
“Excellent,” he says. “So, can I call you before bed tonight?”
“Of course.”
“Until then, beautiful. Talk to you soon.”
Before I can respond, the call ends and I pull my phone back, gaping absently at the picture of the Mistwood graveyard I have as my background. My teeth dig into my lower lip as my gaze drifts from my phone to my backpack. My eyes linger there for a moment, then they flit out to the courtyard and other areas of the house.
“Eh, a half-hour looking for the doorknob wouldn’t hurt,” I whisper to myself, flitting my eyes to the garden, where my dad should be. “It’s not like I need to open it,
