Page 16 of Tasting Innocence

“Maybe it’s not part of this whole thing.”

I purse my lips and arch a brow. “You scared?”

“No,” he says with a chuckle.

“Are you in on this whole thing?” I ask.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, is it a murder mystery? Is someone gonna ‘die’ and then we have to figure it out? Do you know all the secrets of this place? Maybe you don’t want me to open the door and find the man behind the curtain, so to speak.”

He smirks, crossing his arms. “You’re way off, but go ahead. Open it.”

I study him for several seconds before I reach for the knob and twist. “It’s stuck.”

“Probably shouldn’t be opened.”

“Oh shush and come help me. Put those muscles to work.”

“You noticed, huh?”

I roll my eyes. “Just do it.”

His large hand grips the knob and turns, then he gives it a few yanks before it opens.

“Heavy door,” he says.

I peek in and notice some steps. “It goes downstairs.”

After walking through and going down a couple, Dex follows, mumbling something.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“You’re probably gonna get us killed. And not by some ghost or whatever, but because we’re about to fall to our deaths down these narrow steps and nobody will find our bodies.”

“Leave the door open then.”

I descend a few more, moving slowly and holding on to the wall since I can barely see. After about six steps, the door shuts, enclosing us in complete darkness.

“Dex!”

“What? I left it open. The door’s heavy, it probably just shut on its own.”

“Ugh. Do you have your phone?”

“No, I left it in my room.”

I growl. “Same. Go back up and see if you can push it open.”

A few seconds later I hear him grunt as he attempts to open it. “There’s no knob and it won’t open.”

“Oh my God!”

“Hey, I tried to tell you,” he says.

“Shut up. Let’s hope we get downstairs and end up in the lobby or something.”

“Hold my hand,” he orders.