Ten Months Later…
“I’ll meet you guys at the bar about ten. I have to see if Sydney wants to go,” I said to a group of my coworkers.
“Aw, come on. This is supposed to be guys’ night. You’ve been shoved up that girl’s ass since you two got together. What happened to the man I used to envy? The one who used to get different ass every day of the week? Had the girls drooling over him,” Linc said.
He was my best friend, I guessed some would say. We went out together. He’d helped me get over all the shit with Piper when I came back to the city. Even though he’d acted like it about killed him. He’d been there the night I met Sydney.
She was a great girl from North Carolina. What can I say? I love Southern accents. When I found her, I knew there was no way I could let her go. Not when I’d made that mistake before.
“If she doesn’t want to go, then it’ll just be me.”
“Yeah, right. He won’t show if she doesn’t want to go,” Linc said to the rest of the group.
I gave him a stern look, trying my best to keep the smile from my face. “I’ll be there.”
Later that night, I stumbled out of Tavern, the city’s hottest new bar. Sydney had opted to stay home, and despite wanting to stay in with her, I’d made a promise. A promise I would never hear the end of if I broke. One beer had turned into several. I’d lost count after the fifth. It had been forever since I’d imbibed. Not to mention just as long since I’d stayed up past midnight. I stifled a yawn as I grazed the side of a taxi on my way to my car.
“You sure you’re good to drive home?” I heard Linc call from behind me.
The sidewalk was swaying a bit, but I had driven in much worse conditions than this before.
I swatted the air behind me, not really sure what I was aiming at. Maybe the thought that I was incapable of doing something? “Of course! Don’t doubt me.” I turned to see two of him chuckling. “My car is in the garage over there, around the block.”
“Just be careful, bro. There isn’t much traffic, and you don’t have far to go … that’s the only reason I’m letting you leave.”
I swayed down the sidewalk in the direction of my car.
“Text me when you get home, or I’ll come looking for you.”
I ignored him and kept walking. If I stayed too long, he would probably change his mind and insist on driving me. I couldn’t do that. He had been talking to a hot blonde all night. More than likely, he wasn’t going home alone, and I couldn’t mess that up for him.
I tripped over the corner of the sidewalk, taking a few steps out into the street to catch my balance. A horn blasted, and my heart jumped in my throat. A bus barreled toward me, its headlights blinding me for a moment. I fell back, landing on the disgusting asphalt. Something moved across the road. Dark hair caught the breeze underneath a hood.
Piper.
“Piper!” I screamed.
Her eyes flicked up, solid black.
The bus blasted by, its wind blowing against my face. She was gone. I rubbed my forehead. Maybe I should have let Linc drive me home. Now I was seeing things. I stood, unable to shake the image. Her eyes … they had been so wrong. Black eyes. No emotion. No sympathy. Only emptiness.
I walked faster, feeling as if someone were watching me. Relief flooded over me as I reached the garage. I handed the guy my ticket and paid, eager to get home. I stood, leaned against the wall, and glanced up at the street. I expected to see her again. But it was empty. The roar of a car rounding the corner echoed against the concrete walls. I stepped forward, waiting. The car pulled to a stop, and a guy hopped out of the driver’s seat.
Somehow, I managed to make it home in one piece. The thought of seeing Piper had me rattled. I tossed my jacket across the couch, ready to get a shower and climb into bed with Sydney. But when I opened the bedroom door, expecting to see her form curled under the covers, the bed was empty.
“Syd?”
The lights flickered. I paused and looked up. Before I could refocus on what I was doing, a knock came from the door. “What? Did you go out and forget your keys?” I asked, walking toward it. I stopped, my hand hovering above the handle. The temperature started to drop. Its iciness left an uncomfortable stinging sensation in its wake. I licked my lips and peered through the peephole. A woman with dark hair stood on the other side, but her head was down. A woman, whom I had just seen on the street. Piper. I pulled back. Something about her was off.
“Taylor, let me in,” she called out.
I was torn. Part of me wanted to ignore the girl I had looked for and had spent sleepless nights over, but the other part wanted to hold her. She was the one who’d gotten away. I drew courage from some place deep down and turned the handle.
I threw the door open. “Piper!”
She wasn’t alone. Two children stood behind her. My jaw dropped as I realized that I had just made a huge mistake. Before I could scamper back into the safety of my apartment, their heads snapped up. The kids pushed through, around her, as she continued to stare at me.
Her lips curled into a sinister smile. “We have our sacrifice.”
About the Author
R.S. Broadhead is the author of the Realms of Darkness Series, the Reaper Series, and the Urban Legends Series. When she's not hard at work writing you can find her ghost hunting, taking a nap, or surfing the web for creepy stories for inspiration on her next novel. R.S. writes New Adult Paranormal and Supernatural Thrillers.
She lives in Alabama with her husband and two daughters. She loves to chat with readers!
Also by RS Broadhead
Realms of Darkness Series
Unveiled
Reckoning
Torment
The Reaper Series
Defiance
Newsletter Signup Link - http://eepurl.com/bRBkZH
Chosen (The Urban Legends Series Book 1) Page 20