They rolled and Alexander took his best shot to get a hit in, missing and hitting the ground. Brent rolled off of him, effortlessly getting back to his feet and throwing his jacket in my direction. “Cover yourself up, Blondie. The exit is just behind you to the right.”

He motioned for Alexander to approach with his hands, taunting him. Playing with him.

Unleashing the predator that lay just beneath the surface.

I covered myself up in his jacket and rushed down to the end of the maze.

“Fal!”

“Let’s get out of here,” I hurried toward her.

She caught me mid sprint, wrapping an arm around me as we rushed to her car, the sounds of the fight, the festival, and the horrors fading behind me. The sooner I was home, the better.

At home, I was wrapped in a blanket and served bottomless hot chocolate while we watched fictional scary movies.

“Another movie?” Kelly flipped around with the remote looking for another horror movie to watch.

“No way, I need to go to bed. I’ve got another briefing tomorrow to prepare for Brent’s grandfather. I don’t know how my mom did it,” I said, sinking into the couch.

Turning off the television, she looked at me with curiosity. “So, you’re getting into two relationships with Brent. A very personal one and a professional one. Can’t wait to see how that turns out.”

Could the couch have been a cliff to roll off of? That sounded nice.

“I’m not dealing with this. Goodnight.” I stomped off into my room.

Flicking on the lights, I expected a boogeyman to be in my room. Nothing. Unless you counted the weird sounds from outside the window. I pulled the curtains back an inch to peer out into the night.

Tap. Tap.

Were those... pebbles?

I slowly opened the window.

“Fallon, I need to talk to you,” the voice said from below my window.

“Jesus Christ, Garrett,” I breathed, gripping my chest. My anxiety would be the death of me.

“Meet me in your backyard?” His voice sounded desperate.

I shifted slightly. Kelly was still awake and there was no way to get out there covertly. Not that I wanted to; I felt like I didn’t know this guy to the full extent. He could have been trying to lure me out for who knows what.

“Can’t. Kelly is still awake. You can talk here if it’s that important,” I whispered.

He let out a huff. “Okay, well. For one, you didn’t have to sick Brent on me. What is up with you two? He’s with Sloane and she’s not a very...amicable person.”

I rolled my eyes. Was he being serious right now? “Next question,” I said flatly.