I threw open the door, and a creature was in the room. All I could see was a set of glowing eyes. A noise escaped from deep inside me. A sound I didn’t even know I was capable of making—high-pitched and deafening. I began swinging. The pot hit the floor, over and over, knocking things in the dark.

Annabelle was awake, shrieking, standing on the bed.

I swung one final time, a hard squish, air escaping, the smell. All the noise stopped.

My parents were in the doorway. They flicked on the overhead light, their faces tired and concerned. “What’s going on?”

I looked at the toy pot. It was covered in blood and pink bits. Then I stared down at a flattened rat, its insides spread over the floor, its skinny, furless legs still twitching.

Chapter 22

Jack and I would often pack up and leave the city. Without any concrete plans, we’d hop in the car and head west. On the road, detached from the material world, we were most ourselves. The version of us I wanted to be.

With the windows rolled down, the wind whipping through, my hair flew in my face. I struggled to separate it into two even sections before braiding each side and fastening them with a band. “There’s a spot my grandparents used to take us when we were kids,” I said. “Want to go?”

“Sounds good.” Jack lit a cigarette with his Zippo. “Lead the way.”

The highway was filled with black circular patches, the destruction from last winter freshly repaved. A combination of fluffy evergreens and branchless stumps lined the road, trimmed back to give drivers adequate warning of moose, should they dart into oncoming traffic. There weren’t many other cars on the road, but each time Jack overtook one, swerving into the passing lane, he smirked to himself.

We turned off the highway, heading north. A rectangular green sign indicated there were fifty-six kilometres remaining until our destination. I remembered this drive, the way the view from my window morphed from barren highway to a series of small but lively communities with one sharp turn of the wheel. My grandfather in the driver’s seat, peeking at me through the rear-view mirror, only his bright blue eyes visible. When he caught my gaze, he’d smile and reach around the back seat to give my knee a playful squeeze.

I took out my phone and searched for the place. I dialled the number, pressing the phone to my ear as it rang. The man on the other end said they didn’t have anyone coming to stay, and it was ours for as long as we wanted. “One night will be fine, thank you,” I told him. “We’ll see you shortly.” I slipped my phone back into my purse. “Okay, we’re all set. Now we just need to stop and get supplies.”

“We need beer and steaks.” Jack flashed me a grin.

“Nothing but the essentials.” I reached over and ran my fingers along the back of his neck.