Dead End: Midnight Hollow by Penn Cassidy (free novel 24 TXT) 📗

“Heed my warning. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more, but it was too unclear, like trying to see through dark, murky water. You’re in danger, young lady. You need to…”

“We need to leave,” said Maddie. Her voice was short and impatient. I whipped around and saw her glaring at Frank with her arms crossed over her chest before looking at me. “Come on, October. Seriously, we’re going to miss the bus.”

She was right. I glanced at my watch. It was time to go. It was nearly midnight, and the aunties would be expecting us soon. I tried to give Frank a semblance of a smile, but I knew it fell flat. What was supposed to be a lighthearted, fun psychic reading at a carnival turned into something cold and eerie. I could tell Mads was visibly upset and ready to leave like yesterday.

“Thank you, Frank…” I backed away slowly without looking away from him.

He stood there, staring at me with a perplexing expression on his withered face. If I looked hard enough, I might have even called it pity. But I’d pretend for now that I hadn’t seen it. Turning away from the old man in the strange purple suit and top hat, I left the tent with Mads, letting the beads swish behind me.

I stared out into the passing cornfields, tracking the moon as it seemed to follow our bus right outside the window. Once again, I felt like it looked particularly orange tonight, and way too big. I tried checking my phone for any known lunar anomalies this week, but there were none.

Everyone was quiet, falling asleep with bellies full of candy and popcorn. Even the cheerleaders had finally shut up, and most were quietly minding their own business. The bus was dark, save for the blue lights of cell phone screens and the orange moonlight shining in through the windows. I had one earbud in, and Fleetwood Mac was playing low, a background to my melancholy.

I could see Maddie in the seat in front of me. She’d moved up a seat to spread out and had a sweatshirt draped over her face as she snored. Naturally, the other seats around me were empty. No one ever wanted to sit near the weird goth girl. I thought I made everyone uncomfortable. Growing up in this small town, I’d known these kids since we were kids. I’d moved here with my parents when I was five and didn’t know anyone, but Maddie introduced me around the moment she took me under her wing.

I used to be popular, just like her. There was a time—only last year, which felt like a lifetime ago—where I’d have been sprawled out with my feet on Jason’s lap, or laughing with Michael about some YouTube video we’d seen. I’d share funny stories and memories with Norman and Freddy, or make plans with the girls. My life was virtually unrecognizable. A whole lot could happen in the span of a one year.

Two seats ahead of me and to the right was Norman. His pale skin was illuminated by the blue light of his phone, making his green eyes shine like gems. He was concentrating, brows furrowed and mouth pressed into a hard line. I wondered what he was reading. Norman loved books, all kinds of books. He and I were always nerds like that. He loved Stephen King, and I loved Mary Shelly. The guys ragged on him all the time, but it was just Norman. He was still a star athlete with chiseled pecs and arms as large as my thighs, but under all that muscle, he was a nerd at heart.

I must have been staring at him a little bit too long, because it took a moment to realize he was now staring back at me. The furrow between his thick, arched brows was even deeper, and my heart sped up when his jaw clenched tightly the longer we stared at each other. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Out of all the guys, Norman put me the most on edge. He was always intense. Always a little bit…darker than the rest of them. It unnerved me now that we no longer had a close friendship. What was he thinking about?

“Find something interesting over there, Bloody Mary?” Freddy’s deep voice whispered in my ear from behind. I jolted with a quiet yelp, caught off guard.

I could feel a tickle of his long golden hair against where my shoulder met my neck. “Fuck off, Fred.” I tried to sound deadpan, but I was pretty sure I failed. Norman was still glaring at me, watching his twin come closer. My cheeks flamed at having been caught so blatantly.

“You’re giving off some serious stalker vibes,” Freddy went on, taking a seat next to me without an invitation. My whole body went as still as a statue. Being so close to any one of them was difficult, and I could already feel beads of sweat on the nape of my neck.

This was stupid. It was dumb to let them affect me this way. I’d known these guys since we were six years old. I’d seen them in every single stage of their awkward adolescence. I knew which one cried during Titanic, which one farted in their sleep, and which one secretly loved to listen to classical music. It was Michael, by the way.

“C’mon, Wednesday, I’m just giving you a hard time. No need to cry about it.” His cooing words whispered against my ear like the devil.

I could hear laughter in his voice, the teasing that never seemed to stop. These assholes had taken to calling me every name in the book, except for my own. Usually, it was something with a spooky connotation because they knew it grated against my every nerve.

“Seriously, I’m not in the mood. Can’t you just fuck off, or better yet, go finger fuck Jenna again or something?” I bit out, regretting it immediately. Even I heard