Catch Twenty-Two (Westover Prep 2)

I want to snarl at the way his eyes rake over Frankie before he urges them all to walk away with him.

“They seem like nice people,” Frankie says when I watch them to make sure they actually leave us alone.

“Just kids from school,” I assure her. “So how about that haunted house?”

I clasp her hand, refusing to let my friends derail our evening.

“It’s the end of June,” Frankie stammers as I tug her along. “Isn’t that stuff better suited for Halloween?”

“This is Mormon country,” I remind her with a grin. “Other than a few Trunk or Treat events at the local churches, this haunted house is the closest thing we get to celebrating pagan holidays.”

“I’d rather not.” She digs her feet in when we near the mouth of the haunted house.

“What?” I turn around to see legitimate fear in her eyes. “Are you scared?”

“Don’t tease me. I just don’t like scary things. Haunted houses, scary movies, I don’t see the point in them.”

“It gets your adrenaline going, and when it’s over, you get to feel ridiculous for being a little spooked by idiots wearing rubber masks.”

“Can we just skip it? The Ferris wheel seems like a good idea. I can sit at the concession stand while you ride it with that girl.”

Dammit, doesn’t jealousy look good on her.

I pull her against my chest. “One, I’ll keep you safe from the boogey monsters. Two, if anyone is riding the Ferris wheel with me, it’d be you. Now come on.”

Before she can argue further, I hand over our tickets to the guy manning the front of the haunted house.

“Any heart problems?” We both shake our heads. “Are you pregnant?”

“No,” Frankie snaps, but the guy doesn’t seem offended. He merely steps to the side and allows us to enter.

I chuckle when she stiffens the second we step inside. We’re immediately wrapped in darkness. The air inside is stifling, but I expect it. I come into the haunted house multiple times each year. I’m betting it’ll only be once today. Frankie isn’t going to do this twice. I’m shocked she didn’t refuse to begin with.

“Hold my hand,” she whispers and her fingers brush the front of my stomach as she seeks me out.

I clutch her hand quickly before it can go any lower. She’d quickly find out just how much I’ve been enjoying her company all evening if that happened.

She squeals like a maniac when a goblin-masked idiot steps around the corner. By the time we make it to the room with the witch stirring a cauldron while she just stares ominously in our direction, Frankie is a ball of nerves. Her hand trembles in mine, and she’s so close to me, I might as well be carrying her. I’m loving every second of this, and I’m sure she can sense it when I cover her back with my front and wrap both arms around her and pull her in tight.

“I won’t let them get you,” I vow.

She doesn’t respond immediately, but when I lean forward, I see her eyes darting all over the place, waiting for the next person to jump out and scare her. Since I’ve been in this haunted house a hundred times, and nothing ever changes around here, I know we’re about twenty feet from the exit, but I’m also aware of the nook off to the side. I don’t waste a second turning Frankie in my arms and pushing her against the wall to the right.

“Wh-what are you doing? Let’s get out of here.” She can’t look me in the eye, too terrified that the trip inside isn’t over and she’s going to be scared again.

“I’ve got you,” I whisper as I watch her eyes dart all over the place.Chapter 18Frankie

“L-Let’s get out of here,” I urge again.

I don’t have to go into detail how terrified I am. He’s a smart boy. He can tell by the tremble in my hands. He can probably smell my fear, but he doesn’t seem to want to budge.

The creepy green light that has created the terrifying ambiance since the moment we stepped inside makes his face eerie and ghostly, but when I shift my focus to his green-specked hazel eyes I don’t feel as frightened anymore.

“What are you doing?” I whisper when he seems perfectly content just to look down at me.

There’s distance between us, but I’m still stuck between his hard body and the wall at my back.

A shrill scream echoes around us, and I immediately know that the guy with the Jason Voorhees mask just scared the people walking through the haunted house right behind us.

We’re hidden in the shadows, a little alcove where the hazy lights don’t quite reach, and I look around Zeke’s silent body as three people walk toward the exit door. They don’t even look in our direction as they leave.