But he grabbed my wrists and spun me around, circling me with his arms like a steel band. My own arms were pinned as his breath fell on my ear.
“Save your strength,” he told me.
But it was gone. My knees buckled and he fell with me, both of us crouched on the floor on our knees, his hold keeping me from falling forward.
I put my hands on the wall, my head bowed as I tried to get my head clear.
But that’s when I noticed the chill seeping through my jeans. And the faint scent of chlorine. His bottoms were damp from the pool.
“I smell the pool on you,” I told him, my voice strengthening a little. “You were at the party. Lots of people. Lots of witnesses. They will find you.”
He held me quietly for a moment, and then spoke low but clear. “My kind of fun has a price,” he whispered. “Better enjoy myself while I can.”
“Why me?”
I mean, really. Not that I wished him on anyone, but was it because I was blind? Because he thought I was an easy target?
“I don’t know,” he said, and I finally heard a clip of his deep voice, although it was still too low to recognize.
“Were you in the ballroom when I was dancing?”
“Yes.”
“You watched me the whole time?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” I asked.
Oh, my God. The initial creak in the floorboards I heard upstairs before, too. That was him. He was here the whole time. The idea of his eyes on me. Being in the room, lurking in a corner and watching me…toying with me.
Why would he just hang out and watch?
“Because it was pretty,” he finally said.
Pretty?
“You asked me why you?” he said, holding me to him, my back pressed into his chest. “That’s why. You’re pure.”
Pure? What…? Did he want to make me impure now or…?
“Your parents are bad,” he explained. “Your sister lacks any depth to be interesting, and I hate my house. It’s so dark there.” He paused, then continued. “It all fucking disappeared when you were dancing, though. It made the world prettier. I liked it.”
“So, what?” I argued. “You wanna lock me in your basement to dance for you on command? Is that it?”
But instead of the creepy, monotone, and calm response I’d been getting, his chest shook with a quiet laugh. “Can I hide there with you?” he asked.
I knitted my brow, taken off guard by the tone. Almost sincere.
I pushed my confusion away, though, and thought fast. Jerking my head back into him twice, I finally felt it hit his face, and I didn’t waste a moment once his hold loosened. It was only a second, but I planted my foot on the wall and pushed against it, making him lose his footing and sending him falling backward. He took me with him, but it was enough to loosen his grip on me, and I scrambled away, across the floor.
My parents had a landline in their bedroom and bathroom. I could lock myself in and still have plenty of time to grab for some kind of a weapon. Hell, I could break the mirror for the shards if I needed to.
I scurried up the stairs and down the hall to my parents’ room. My legs felt like rubber, my lungs hurt for air, and my hair stuck to my face and body, a light layer of sweat cooling my skin.
I threw open their double doors and raced for the bedside table, hitting my leg on the bed frame as I rushed past.
“Shi