Read Online The Darkness Within by Taylor Henderson - Free Book Online
Authors: Taylor Henderson
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Maybe it wasn’t the wind causing the chills, but the anticipation of what was going to happen soon. I stood near my window, peering outside to check and see if David’s car was in the driveway. “He’s still here,” I groaned into the receiver.
“I thought you said he leaves at seven every night?” Adrianna questioned. “It’s almost eight now…” The skepticism was loud and clear in her voice. She thought this was a bad idea, and I didn’t blame her for that. There were probably better ways to go about finding out information about David, but this was the only one I could think of. By searching for information in his house, I could find what I was looking for without him getting suspicious or risking being lied to. Besides, I wanted to see for myself what he was really hiding in his basement and why he’d been so jumpy when I asked to see his photography.
Sighing, I turned away from the window and went to plop down on my bed. “He does! I don’t know what’s taking him so long.”
“Do you know where he goes? How long it takes him to get back? Are you sure his daughter isn’t home?” Her questions came at me like rapid fire. If I was being honest, I hadn’t really put a lot of thought into this mission. I had been watching him for the past few days and all I knew was that he left every night around seven o’clock and that I’d have enough time to get in and have a look around. I just wanted to find out what he was hiding and then get out unscathed.
Instead of answering her questions, and then having to hear her try to convince me that this was a bad idea for the umpteenth time, I answered her question with a question. “Do you have no faith?”
Adrianna blew out a breath of air into the phone. “I just have a bad feeling about this, Claire. You hardly know this man and now you’re planning on going inside his eerie, little house alone, and at night?” I could just picture her shaking her head in disbelief. “Eres una chica loca,” she mumbled under her breath.
I rolled my eyes at her words. I didn’t speak Spanish, but I had picked up a few things from being around her and her family. “I’m not crazy. I have to make sure Mom isn’t cozying up to some weirdo. We know absolutely nothing about this guy. He claims to have a daughter, but the only girl I’ve ever seen was at night when she was trying to escape. How do we know he’s not running some illegal prostitution ring from his basement? What if that girl wasn’t even his daughter, Ade?”
She scoffed. “All the more reason for you not to go inside.”
“Well, I’m going,” I huffed. She didn’t understand because she hadn’t experienced David’s weird behavior first hand like I had. Plus, he wasn’t interested in her mother.
Outside my window, the sound of a car roaring to life caught my attention. I jumped off of my bed, practically running to the window. David’s gray sedan was backing out of the driveway. I gripped my cell phone tighter, forgetting that it wasn’t as durable as my house phone and would probably bend if I squeezed it any tighter. My heart hammered in my chest at the thought of what I had to do next. Planning to go inside David’s house, alone, at night, was much easier than actually going through with it. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I was not going to chicken out. “He left,” I said, my voice coming out in a whisper. If it was any louder it would have come out shaky and she would have been able to tell exactly how nervous I was.
“Wait a second to make sure there are no lights on in the house and that he doesn’t come back.”
“Okay,” I replied, before rolling my bottom lip into my mouth and chewing on it. My gaze scanned over his house, checking every window for light. A few of the windows were still boarded up, which scared me even more. Everything was shrouded in the dark shadows that came with nightfall, making my task seem even more daunting than it had a few seconds
“I thought you said he leaves at seven every night?” Adrianna questioned. “It’s almost eight now…” The skepticism was loud and clear in her voice. She thought this was a bad idea, and I didn’t blame her for that. There were probably better ways to go about finding out information about David, but this was the only one I could think of. By searching for information in his house, I could find what I was looking for without him getting suspicious or risking being lied to. Besides, I wanted to see for myself what he was really hiding in his basement and why he’d been so jumpy when I asked to see his photography.
Sighing, I turned away from the window and went to plop down on my bed. “He does! I don’t know what’s taking him so long.”
“Do you know where he goes? How long it takes him to get back? Are you sure his daughter isn’t home?” Her questions came at me like rapid fire. If I was being honest, I hadn’t really put a lot of thought into this mission. I had been watching him for the past few days and all I knew was that he left every night around seven o’clock and that I’d have enough time to get in and have a look around. I just wanted to find out what he was hiding and then get out unscathed.
Instead of answering her questions, and then having to hear her try to convince me that this was a bad idea for the umpteenth time, I answered her question with a question. “Do you have no faith?”
Adrianna blew out a breath of air into the phone. “I just have a bad feeling about this, Claire. You hardly know this man and now you’re planning on going inside his eerie, little house alone, and at night?” I could just picture her shaking her head in disbelief. “Eres una chica loca,” she mumbled under her breath.
I rolled my eyes at her words. I didn’t speak Spanish, but I had picked up a few things from being around her and her family. “I’m not crazy. I have to make sure Mom isn’t cozying up to some weirdo. We know absolutely nothing about this guy. He claims to have a daughter, but the only girl I’ve ever seen was at night when she was trying to escape. How do we know he’s not running some illegal prostitution ring from his basement? What if that girl wasn’t even his daughter, Ade?”
She scoffed. “All the more reason for you not to go inside.”
“Well, I’m going,” I huffed. She didn’t understand because she hadn’t experienced David’s weird behavior first hand like I had. Plus, he wasn’t interested in her mother.
Outside my window, the sound of a car roaring to life caught my attention. I jumped off of my bed, practically running to the window. David’s gray sedan was backing out of the driveway. I gripped my cell phone tighter, forgetting that it wasn’t as durable as my house phone and would probably bend if I squeezed it any tighter. My heart hammered in my chest at the thought of what I had to do next. Planning to go inside David’s house, alone, at night, was much easier than actually going through with it. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I was not going to chicken out. “He left,” I said, my voice coming out in a whisper. If it was any louder it would have come out shaky and she would have been able to tell exactly how nervous I was.
“Wait a second to make sure there are no lights on in the house and that he doesn’t come back.”
“Okay,” I replied, before rolling my bottom lip into my mouth and chewing on it. My gaze scanned over his house, checking every window for light. A few of the windows were still boarded up, which scared me even more. Everything was shrouded in the dark shadows that came with nightfall, making my task seem even more daunting than it had a few seconds
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