Read Online The Night House by Rachel Tafoya - Free Book Online Page B

or the CIA. I couldn’t tell anyone about it, or it would put my parents in danger. It’s not like anyone knew about vampires. They wouldn’t believe me anyway.
    I didn’t realize, back then, what vampires could do. They didn’t feel real to me.
    My parents were always bringing me to stupid dinner parties, because they took me everywhere. They didn’t trust babysitters and couldn’t stand the thought of leaving me alone. They knew what was out there.
    It started while I was changing. The dress my mother had picked out was just a hair too small, and it took ten minutes of groaning and yanking to get the stupid thing over my head. My mom gave me a crooked smile when it was finally on.
    “Can you breathe?”
    I frowned. “Barely.”
    She ran her fingers through my hair. “Well, if you just stopped growing up like I asked you, this wouldn’t be a problem.”
    I swatted her hand away. “How creepy would it be if I never grew up? Do you really want a thirteen-year-old forever?”
    That’s when the window broke upstairs. Everything froze. Then it was like my mom left her loving mother act behind and slipped into someone else’s body: the body of a hunter. She crept over to the stairs, not making a sound, and peered up.
    “Mom?” I asked.
    She held up her hand and shushed me.
    Fear crept through me like ice water. We’d had false alarms before. My parents never wrote anything off; they had to investigate. I never took them seriously. I mean, the idea of vampires actually breaking into the house seemed insane. This time, it was different. I could see the awareness in her body, like a sixth sense kicking in. This time was real.
    She came back to me and put her hands on either side of my face. Her voice was barely audible. “You know what to do. Don’t make a sound. I’m going to lock your door. If you don’t hear from us in five minutes, go through the cellar, go to the neighbors and call the police.”
    “Is it really them?” I breathed.
    She held my gaze for an instant. “Maybe.”
    Tears trickled down my face. She kissed the top of my head.
    “Hush. You’ll be fine,” she said. “I love you so much.”
    I wanted to say it back, but she told me not to make a sound. So I cried silently as she went into the cellar and returned with an old hunting knife. My hand was so sweaty, I almost cut myself on the blade. It stained my hand orange with rust. They always said iron worked best, but this blade was old and withered. Then my mother vanished up the stairs. I heard the click of the lock.
    “I love you too,” I whispered to the empty room.
    In the silence, I listened hard, but I also tried to block it all out. This was our worst nightmare come true. They had never come to our house before. Vampires weren’t a real concern in the suburbs of Bucks County. It was like being afraid of terrorists: it didn’t really affect us. And yet, here they were.
    It started off slow. Shuffling and scuffling that turned into bumps and crashes, which escalated to yelling and screaming. My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it would break my ribs. The damn dress was so tight, and it constricted my chest with every heaving breath I took. Everything inside of me was screaming, Get out of the house! But I couldn’t. My parents were up there fighting for me. How could I leave them?
    Then I heard a door bust open from somewhere above, then the sound of someone descending the stairs in double time. I sank to the floor, the knife in my lap, crying violently. This was it. All those idle threats, crazy safety procedures, for nothing.
    Mom would get her wish after all. I wasn’t going to have the chance to grow up.
    “Oh, no.” This was the voice of my killer. He sounded ashamed, but more than that, he sounded scared. I covered my ears and buried my face in my knees. I couldn’t bear to look at him.
    A long, painfully still moment went by. I raised my head, expecting to see the bogeyman himself. Instead, I saw a sickly vampire