Prologue #2
She tried shifting to the left, hoping to dislodge her hips only to sigh heavily, wiggle, and then finally, placed her elbows on the hardwood floor and propped her chin on her tiny fists.
This was going to be a problem, Dylan absently thought as she took in the large kitchen that her father said needed to be completely gutted and couldn’t help but wonder how she was going to explain this one.
She should probably avoid mentioning that she knew the house was haunted, mostly because she didn’t think that it was a good idea to admit that she willingly went into a house that she knew was filled with ghosts determined to get their hands on her. She-
What was that? Dylan couldn’t help but wonder when the sound of a board creaking behind her caught her attention.
That was followed by the sounds of rusty metal grinding from somewhere above her head.
Swallowing hard, she slowly, ever so slowly, turned her head and watched as the cast iron doorknob began to slowly turn seconds before she felt the door start to move, taking her with it.
She-
“Uh-oh.”
-found herself suddenly staring up at the large boy who’d taken it upon himself to watch over her since she was born.
When she tried to join the neighbor’s dog in a mud puddle when she was one, he was there, stopping her before she could sample the mud to make sure that it was up to her standards.
When she was three, he stopped her from petting the black and white kitty with the long, fluffy tail that she found in the woods and fondly named “Stinky.”
When she was five, he stopped her when she tried climbing onto the roof to find out once and for all if she could fly. Then, last year she-
It was probably for the best if she didn’t think about what happened last year when she took it upon herself to build a pool in their backyard, Dylan decided with a heartfelt sigh.
He definitely had trust issues. When he didn’t say anything, not that she really expected him to, she glanced up to find Quinn Bradford, her neighbor and the boy who loved to glare, glaring down at her while that muscle in his jaw that only seemed to twitch when she was around, clenched.
When he still didn’t say anything, mostly because of that whole glaring thing that he was doing, Dylan pointed out, “This isn’t what it looks like.”
“It looks like you’re being a pain in my ass,” Quinn drawled.
“I can see why you’d say that,” Dylan murmured, nodding as she discreetly tried to wiggle her way to freedom.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” Quinn said, his glare lingering on her for a few more seconds before he focused on the door.
“I didn’t have a choice. Not once I found out that it was haunted,” Dylan mumbled sadly, following that up with a heartfelt sigh that had that clenched muscle in his jaw twitching.
Never a good sign.
At least, not for her, Dylan thought as she took in the boy determined to stop her from living her best life, from his short, black hair that he kept neatly combed to the dark green eyes taking in the doggie door and-
“Next time, listen to Jenn,” Quinn bit out, leaving her with no choice but to frown.
“Why would I do that?” Dylan asked, only to add, “She’s evil,” to refresh his memory even as she couldn’t help but wonder what Jenn told him this time.
“You really need to stop saying that,” he said, sighing heavily as he knelt down next to her to get a better look.
“Why?” she asked, watching as he shifted his attention to the other side of the door.
“It doesn’t matter,” Quinn said as he moved the door, dragging her with it so that he could get a better look.
“Is this about the curse?” Dylan asked, watching as he went still.
“What curse?” he asked as his gaze flickered to her.
“The one that your father told you about last month when you were building the shed,” she said, watching as he slowly nodded.
“You were eavesdropping?” Quinn asked as he stepped outside and closed the door, causing her elbows to drag across the hardwood floor.
“I was spying ,” Dylan said loudly as she lay there, still wondering about what she heard. At first, she thought that his father was joking, but the longer he spoke, the more intrigued she became.
A family destined to marry their neighbors.
“There’s a difference?” Quinn asked as she felt his hands close around her hips and try to pull her free only to stop when she didn’t budge.
“I was training to become a spy,” Dylan mumbled as she was jostled.
“Do I want to know why?” Quinn asked as he tried to shift her onto her right side.
“Probably not.”
“How much did you hear?” Quinn asked as he gave up trying to shift her onto her right side and began trying to turn her onto her left side.
“Everything,” she said, shrugging it off as he continued jostling her.
“Does Jenn know?” he asked after a slight pause.
“That you think that you’re supposed to marry her?” Dylan asked before shaking her head with a heartfelt sigh. “No, I take the oath I made as a spy very seriously.”
“There was an oath?” Quinn asked as he used his hold on her to pull her back a few inches before he slowly managed to turn her onto her side.
“Of course,” Dylan said, shrugging it off as though that was a given. “Why do you think it’s Jenn? How do you know that you’re not supposed to marry Brooke?”
“Because your sister is a spoiled brat,” he said, making her wonder why he couldn’t see that Jenn was worse than Brooke. She lied, blamed her for everything, tattletaled on her every chance she got, and had him wrapped around her little finger.
“And Jenn isn’t?” Dylan asked as she felt him release her hips seconds before he wrapped his hands around her ankles and began pulling her free.
“No,” he said, making her roll her eyes as she was pulled free.
“For all you know, it could be me,” Dylan said with a heartfelt sigh, mostly to annoy him and-
Wow, he looked really angry, Dylan thought when he placed her down on her feet and-
“Run.”
She opened her mouth only to end up closing it, clearing her throat, and murmuring, “Fair enough,” when that muscle in his jaw ticked double time, letting her know that perhaps she went too far this time.