Page 99 of Juliet's Echo

The guilt on both of their faces answered the question before either one opened their mouths.

I didn't have the sympathy or the fucks to give.

A cold sensation rushed through my body like I'd swallowed crushed ice. It settled deep in my bones and forced my focus away from Juliet's friends and toward my house.

Alonse.

His brief interaction with Juliet flashed through my mind. The way he’d reacted to seeing her. The way he’d stared. The way his entire demeanor shifted.

That shit wasn’t normal.

Hell, he wasn’t normal.

“She didn't call you?” Yahya asked, interrupting my thoughts.

Whether she called me or not, I needed to call her. So, I pulled my phone from my pocket, completely ignoring Yahya’s question.

Frantically tapping the screen a few times, I groaned.

My shit was dead.

“Fuck!” I let that word fly so angrily, a few people turned in our direction.

The chill intensified and traveled straight to my heart.

“Okay, it's cool. I'll call her,” Yahya said.

She pulled out her phone and placed the call on speaker.

“Your call has been forwarded to an automated voice messaging service.”

The recording might as well have punched me in the chest.

“Let me try,” Mega suggested.

His call rang once. Then twice. It almost sounded like somebody picked up and hope immediately sparked inside me. But before anyone could say a word, those two familiar tones sounded and the call disconnected.

Before either of them could say another word or attempt another call, I was already running.

The entire drive home felt eerie, like I wasn't alone.

Every light changed from red to green before I reached it. Every turn was clear. All gas and no brakes. It was almost as if something was clearing a path for me.

Gradually, I eased up on the gas. The last thing I needed was to make a fool of myself flying into the driveway like a maniac. Juliet was probably fine. More than likely, she rang the bell, nobody answered, and she called herself an Uber home. Hell, it would probably make more sense for me to bust a U-turn and head toward her house.

Yeah. That's what I'd do.

As I started turning the wheel to make the illegal turn, a blast of cold rushed through my body. The sensation was so intense it forced my eyes to shut and drove my forehead against the steering wheel.

“Fuck.”

For a split second, I thought I’d been shot. The cold spread through my chest and down my arms, sinking into my bones. Then I felt it. A presence. Something rising behind me slowly and deliberately, as if someone had been sitting in the back seat the entire ride, waiting for the right moment to make themselves known.

Every hair on my body stood up as the presence leaned forward, closer and closer, until I could almost feel a breath against my ear.

“Hurry home now.”

The voice came as more of a feeling than actual words, but I understood it all the same. Slowly, I leaned back against the seat, and the chill returned instantly. This time, it felt like invisible fingers twisting mine, pulling my hands toward the steering wheel.