I’ve just turned all the lights out downstairs and am feeling my way to the stairs when another roll of thunder booms through the sky, causing each pane of glass in the old windows to quiver. A bolt of lightning follows right after, illuminating the whole living room. In that split second of light, I’m sure I see the outline of another person standing by the couch. I rush to a light switch, throw it on, but nobody’s there.

That doesn’t mean my heart isn’t racing. It was obviously just a shadow, the storm igniting my imagination. I take a few deep breaths, scan the room once more, and then head upstairs, leaving a light on just in case. Counting the seconds between the thunder and lightning, just like West taught me to do.

Something woke me. A sound from somewhere else in the cottage, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t part of my dream. A heavy stillness sits over everything, as though the whole cottage is holding its breath, and it’s dark—abnormally dark, no light coming in from the hall or the moon. I hear another sound, closer this time, and I’m fully awake now, so I know it wasn’t part of a dream. Sitting up, I reach out to turn the bedside light on, but when I pull the chord, nothing happens. The power must have gone out because of the storm. I grab my phone and curse under my breath when I see that it’s dead.

I’m almost positive I hear the sound of footsteps on the stairs, but I can’t tell if I’m imagining it or not. Is it just the place settling after the storm? Then there’s a creak in the hallway just outside my door. There’s no way I imagined that. I lower both legs onto the floor and reach for the base of the bedside lamp, the only thing in this room that could be used as a weapon. My door slowly swings open to reveal a dark figure. I try to raise the lamp up over my head, but it’s still plugged in and is yanked out of my hand and comes crashing down on the floor.

“June?”

“Ezra!” I yell.

“June,” he says again.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“The power’s out,” he says, as though that’s an adequate explanation.

“And I would have slept right through it if you hadn’t been creeping around.”

He moves toward the bed. “I’m sorry. I just thought I should check on you, since you’re out here all alone and it’s your first power outage.”

“For fuck’s sake, Ezra, I’m a full-grown woman. I can take care of myself.” As soon as it’s out of my mouth, I regret it. “Sorry. I appreciate your concern. You just scared me, that’s all.”