Chapter 21 The Ambush
The Ambush
Harper
I’m still not tired though. Sitting up in bed, I grab my phone and pull up my messages from the girls in a group chat.
Penny:
Wish you were here
Nat:
This is Nat. The guys are on fire tonight
Izzy:
Hey, this is Izzy. The other team is getting their asses handed to them
Penny is the only one who doesn’t use her name every time she texts. I programmed all their names in earlier in the week, but I guess they just assume I didn’t.
Vicky:
Vicky here. The other team has decided to play tackle the quarterback. Luke is getting hit a lot
Penny:
Everyone is holding their breath waiting for Luke to get up after a brutal tackle
My heart wrenches and I straighten. That’s the last text. Why is that the last text? I glance at the time. The game should be over by now.
Me:
What happened?
I lift the screen on my laptop and turn on the webcam app. Their rooms are empty. Just like I knew they’d be.
Nat:
We won!
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Yay, we won, but they don’t say what happened to Luke. He must be okay, or they would have said something. Maybe he just had the wind knocked out of him. Maybe something is broken. Maybe he’s at the hospital.
Didn’t the guys say something about Luke’s dad being out of town? What if he’s all alone in the hospital?
Vicky:
Party at Jason’s tonight
I pull up the horsemen group chat. I don’t have to ask about Luke specifically. I can just ask how the game went.
Me:
How did the game go?
I stand and pace to the bathroom and back. I mean, obviously Luke’s okay. They wouldn’t be having a party at Jason’s, whoever that is, if he wasn’t. The guys probably won’t be home until late tonight.
I glance at their empty rooms on the screen. Maybe Kenz knows something. I send her a quick text to ask if she knows what happened at the game.
Kenz:
Haven’t heard anything. What does your posse of wannabees have to say?
Me:
Penny texted saying Luke was down, but then they said we won and there’s a party later
Kenz:
One less horseman for you *smiley face emoji*
No. Well, yes, but no, I don’t want that. I feel like I’m cut off from everything and can’t even ask if Luke’s okay because I might show my hand. That maybe I care a little about him. About all of them.
Me:
Do you know if the guys are on the way back?
Kenz:
Brandon said he’d be here in thirty
You aren’t really worried. Are you?
Luke is Death. No one takes down Death
Me:
Just curious
I drop my phone on my bed before I do something stupid like call Luke. I can just imagine his gloating smile. Ugh!
A glass of water will help. I head down the stairs without turning on the light. Midway down the stairs, loud knocks at the doors burst into the silence. My feet stop moving. My heart clogs my throat. I freeze as the escalating noise seems to surround me.
The knocks continue pounding like the hounds of hell want in. Occasionally, a knob will rattle like someone is trying the locks. I back slowly up the steps, one step at a time, to get to my phone and away from the doors.
Then the noise stops abruptly. I hold my breath.
Clenching the handrail, I pause to listen over the pounding of my heart.
Did they get in? With all the noise, would I have heard a door opening?
The only sound now is the emptiness of night.
I keep my eyes trained on the darkness of the lower level for any movement as I creep to the upstairs hallway.
I turn and bolt into my room. Lock the door and move anything I can in front of it. When it feels like I have enough blocking the door, I go to my bed and pick up my phone to call Mom. My hands shake.
Her phone rings and rings.
“Come on, come on,” I whisper, my gaze fixed on the door. I search my room for a weapon, but the only thing that comes close is a pinata stick with ribbons on it from my tenth birthday party. I grab it and the weight of it in my hand feels good.
No sounds come from the other side of my door, but my pulse is chaotic and I can’t stop shaking. The call goes to voicemail.
“Mom, call me when you get this.”
I look at my phone and try to think. Maybe it was the horsemen playing a trick. Maybe it was some neighborhood kids, bored on a Friday night.
Okay, reason, come on, Harper, think. The guys just finished a game a half hour away. They aren’t pounding on your doors. If they wanted in, they would come in.
The kids messing around scenario is more likely. My phone buzzes and I shriek a little.
I take a breath and answer my phone. “Mom?”
“Hey, what’s happening?”
“Someone knocked on the doors for like five minutes straight. It’s quiet now, but I’m up in my room.” I don’t tell her I’m scared shitless.
“I’ll call the neighbor to check it out. Okay? Are you safe?”
I nod and realize she can’t see me. I need to talk. “Yeah, that sounds good. Can you have them text when they finish?”
“Are you okay, sweetie?” Mom’s voice is doing a lot to calm me.
“Yeah, just freaked out. Nothing like being all alone in the middle of a scene from a horror movie.” I force a laugh that I know comes out sounding wrong. I’m trying to be mature, but I really want my mom here.
“I’d come home if I could.” Mom covers the speaker and says something to someone else. “I’ll be there in the morning. I’m going to call Francis and Bob right now.”
“Love you, Mom.” I know she has to work. It’s completely unreasonable of me to want her here. I’m practically an adult, but I still want her to be here with me.
“Love you too, kid.”
I grip my phone in one hand, and the other holds the pinata stick upright as I watch my door. The phone buzzes a second later.
Kenz:
Sorry to break it to you, but Luke just had the wind knocked out of him
Me:
Someone just pounded on my doors and I’m freaking out
Kenz:
*shock face emoji* Need me to come over?
Me:
No. Neighbors should be investigating
Kenz:
That’s messed up. You sure you don’t want me to come over?
I consider it for a hot minute. She’s not asking just to be polite. She’d be over in a heartbeat if I asked, but I know she’s expecting Brandon. Besides, I’m a big girl who will be fine after Bob and Francis make sure zombies aren’t gathering around my property.
Me:
No. You keep that man of yours satisfied
Kenz:
You know it
No other texts have come in. Guess the guys don’t check their phones, or I’m low priority since they know exactly where I am and what I’m up to. My phone buzzes.
Unknown number:
All clear. –Bob & Fran. You can come down and we’ll check out the house.
I move the stuff from in front of my door and turn on the lights to head downstairs. With my pinata stick held high, I move slowly and check around every corner, turning on every light along the way. Finally, I make it to the back door where Bob and Fran wait.
There are still no noises of anyone in the house. That doesn’t mean someone isn’t hiding somewhere though. I open the back door. Bob has a bat in his hands while Fran holds her phone up.
“You okay, Harper?” Fran asks, stepping in, and she reaches out to grab my bare arm. I realize I’m still in my sleep shorts and sleep shirt without a bra. Bob moves past me into the house and starts going room by room.
Putting my pinata stick down, I grab a sweatshirt from the rack next to the door and shrug it on. Zipping it up, I say, “I’m okay. Just a little freaked out.”
“We didn’t find anything or anyone outside. Probably just bored teens.” She shakes her head of curly red hair. It’s tucked up in a handkerchief, almost in a Lucille Ball hairstyle. “Your mom wanted you to text her when we give the all clear.”
I nod. “Thank you for coming over.”
“Anytime. We were just heading to bed when your mom caught us. We know how she worries when she works.” Fran pats my shoulder as I wrap my arms around my middle. “You’re always welcome to use our guest bedroom.”
I should be used to night shifts, but it’s been a while since Mom has had to work them. It never gets easier. I’ve stayed at Bob and Fran’s before. Their house has a weird smell and creepy dolls in the guest bedroom. “No, I’m good here.”
As Bob walks upstairs, he calls out, “So far, so good.”
“Did you want something to drink? I could make you a tea.” Fran moves toward the kitchen island and looks at the cabinets.
“No. Thank you. I was heading to bed myself.” Taking a deep breath, I say, “I’ll be good.”
I clutch my phone. My knuckles are white. I’m not sure if the guys will actually try to reach out tonight, given how late it is, but I didn’t like the feeling of not being able to contact someone.
Bob comes down the stairs. “All clear. The doors are still locked and did their jobs. You just lock up after we leave and you’ll be fine through the night. I’ll keep an eye out for a while, but I doubt whoever it was will come back. I don’t think we need to call the police.”
“Thank you again for coming over.” I smile at them as best I can.
“You need anything, you call us or just come over. Bob’s a light sleeper, so he’ll hear if you come knocking.” Fran touches my arm one more time before Bob heads out the door.
He turns. “Make sure you lock it up tight.”
I smile and nod. “I will.”
“Sleep tight.” Fran waves as they step off the porch.
I lock the door and double check the front door is locked too. I text my mom the all clear and pick up my pinata stick.
I honestly don’t think I’m going to sleep tonight. With all the lights still on, I grab some chocolate ice cream from the fridge. In the living room, I settle on the couch and queue up a bunch of Friends episodes.