I nodded, trying to steady my breathing as my best friend pulled her car up behind my truck, still loaded with boxes. By now they were soggy, filled with crap that seemed so essential. Months in the house had made me realize just how unimportant everything I had packed for my new life was. My single box I had brought in still sat untouched in the dining room. Brynn got out of her car, examining my truck as if it held all the answers to why the hell I hadn’t texted her for three months. It didn’t take long for me to stop checking my phone, realizing how useless it really was, but it probably took Brynn a hell of a lot longer.

She looked up to the house, her red hair standing out against the fresh snow. When she began to climb the steps, I flew into action. Whatever the cost, Brynn could not enter this house. I slammed my hands against the glass, screaming her name. “Brynn! Brynn, over here!”

She froze, turning her head to look around in each window before she spotted me. Her expression of concern swapped to one of anger. “Savannah fucking Miles, what the fuck do you think you’re doing not texting me back? You think you can just ghost your best fucking friend? Do you know how long it took me to find your ass?”

Felix was right. Brynn’s words were a little muffled through the glass, but she could still hold a conversation with me. And as she was chewing me out–rightfully so–she began storming to the front door.

At the top of my lungs, I screamed, “Stop! Don’t open the door!” She paused, still glaring at me, no doubt wondering why I was freaking out. “Brynn, you’re allowed to hate me for the rest of your life, but do not open that door.”

“Why? Are you hiding a new best friend inside? Maybe you got married while I was gone and just didn’t give a shit enough to tell me.” She slammed her hands on her hips, tossing her hair over her shoulders. But she had taken her hand away from the doorknob, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“You can’t come in here.” I wasn’t sure how to even begin the conversation, because how did you explain to your best friend you were trapped in a cursed house, and if she came in she’d be stuck, too? I rested my head against the cool glass, wondering what the hell I was going to say. I was well aware the guys were remaining silent, letting me broach the topic as I saw fit. “This is going to sound insane.”