My impatience grew. I searched through the spare room, and Ash’s, too, but still found nothing. Maya was cunning, had a mind with more twists than a corkscrew...or perhaps I’d become crazier than her.

I stood in the house, trying to think of my next move, and as I looked out of the window, it dawned on me I was in the wrong place. If Maya was hiding something, it had to be in the garage. Excitement fluttered in my belly as I headed out of the house and crossed the driveway. The side door to the garage was unlocked, but I didn’t ponder why for long, because the enormity—the impossibility—of the challenge ahead settled on my shoulders, weighing me down. There were so many places Maya could’ve hidden something. Nooks and crannies, boxes and crates. It would take me days to do a thorough search. Even with them out of town I’d never get it done. I was debating whether to give up and leave when I noticed the old orange rug. It had been shoved to one side, exposing the trapdoor to the old room below. An ideal place to hide if you were a kid, but also to stash something you didn’t want anyone to find.

I pulled the door open, flicked on the light, and with the blood thundering in my ears, put my left foot on the ladder. I counted the steps as I descended, one, two, three, four—ten in total before I reached solid ground, my heart sinking when I saw the shelving units had been taken out, the empty bottles removed. The room was completely empty. Not only that, but I still didn’t know what I was searching for. I was about to climb back up when I heard sounds above me. Footsteps coming closer. There was no time to reach the light switch and pull the trapdoor closed, so I hugged the wall, made myself as small as possible.

“Well, well, well,” Maya said as she approached. “What are you doing, Lily?”

How did she know it was me? I was standing too far back for her to see me.

In a sickly singsong voice she said, “I know you’re down there...” Still, I didn’t move. “My mistake.” She sighed before flicking off the light, plunging me into darkness as she pulled the ladder up two feet.

“Wait,” I shouted, taking a few steps and looking up at her.

She smiled with a coldness I’d never seen before, not in anyone. “There you are... Why don’t you come up so we can have a proper conversation?”

I hesitated, but what choice did I have? “I can explain.” I put my foot on the first rung of the ladder, knowing she’d relish the tremble in my voice I hadn’t been able to hide.