Page 91 of The Sleeping Girls

ONE HUNDRED ONE

GEORGIAN MANOR

Bianca’s eyeballs ached as she stared out the window. There was that black car again. She’d seen it drive by her house a half dozen times lately. Once, it had even driven up to the gate but then quickly pulled away. A man had been inside although she couldn’t see his face.

Although now, with Kelsey dead and Ruby missing, what if it was the bad man who’d taken them?

The car drove on and she breathed out.You’re being paranoid.

She heard her father’s Mercedes start up, went to the window and watched him drive away from the house. Her parents’ room was downstairs and she figured her mother was on the phone with friends or having a second cocktail.

Two in and she’d be snoozing until dinnertime.

Bianca paced the room, waiting it out, watching the clock. The last school bell should be ringing.

She tugged on her rain jacket, pocketed her phone then tiptoed down the staircase. The kitchen was empty. Her mother was stretched out on the chaise by the fireplace, her hand over her eyes, snoring softly.

Bianca crept to the back door, closed it as quietly as possible then ran to the garage. She glanced down the street for the black car but she didn’t see it, so she climbed on her bike and pedaled down the drive then onto the street and headed toward the school. With the wet fields, the football team wouldn’t be practicing outside, so she and Mitch would be alone.

The rain started up again, the wind stirring the trees. Her fingers tingled from the cold. She tugged her hood over her head, hating to show up looking like a drowned rat. But she couldn’t sit in that glass house, locked away, any longer.

Cars whizzed by, spraying her with rainwater, and her bike skidded in a puddle. She caught herself before she toppled over and pedaled faster, ignoring the strain in her calves as she pedaled up hill.

Huffing for a breath, she rode the two miles, determined to convince Mitch she wasn’t a bad person like he thought. By the time she reached the school though, the student parking lot was nearly empty and the last bus had rolled away. For a moment, her skin prickled with unease.

The place looked deserted, the tall trees bare. Something rattled behind the bleachers. Maybe a couple making out. Or the smokers and pot heads gathering to get high.

Something caught her eye as she scanned the back exit and she thought she saw that black car again. But another sound drew her attention back to the fields and the bleachers. She had to catch Mitch.

She raced across the parking lot to the practice fields, which were empty due to the weather. A pine cone blew down from a tree and pinged off the metal stands, startling her. A shadow moved from the rear of the gym.

Mitch’s car was in the parking lot so she propped her bike against a post and ducked under the stands to get out of the rain.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and she turned, expecting Mitch. But a dark figure slipped from the shadows. A man? Black clothes. A back ski mask on his head and face.

She turned to run but he lunged at her and grabbed her. She tried to scream but he pressed a rag over her mouth and an odd taste filled her mouth. Her head spun and she gasped for a breath, pushing at his hands and kicking.

Seconds later, her head swam. Spots danced behind her eyes. The man’s choppy breathing echoed in her ear as he dragged her into the woods.

Then the world faded.

ONE HUNDRED TWO

SOMEWHERE ON THE AT

He had to finish this. Homecoming was almost here. So fitting that it meant so much to Bianca. She’d put so much effort into it.

But now she wouldn’t get to see the fruits of her labor.

Laughter exploded inside him, erupting like a balloon about to pop as he threw her inside the trunk of his car.

The pep rallies, football game, the dance… sneaking behind the bleachers for some touchy-feely fun. It had been the best time of his life.

Until it had become the worst.

Now it dredged up the pain and memories. His dreams and hopes… all shattered.

He’d loved Anna Marie so much. She was sweet and beautiful, her voice soft and angelic. She had dreams. So did he.