Page 188 of I Never Stopped Loving You

TEN MINUTES PRIOR

Cool air runs along my body making me shiver and forcing my consciousness to become aware of the world around me. It’s late. The moon is the only source of light spilling into the room right now. I reach behind me feeling the bed and searching for Noah, but he's not here.

“Noah?” I whisper into the dark.

Only silence answers me.

“Noah?” I call out again as I sit up and glance through the open doorway into the bathroom.

He’s not in there. His phone isn’t on the nightstand, and the bedroom door is slightly cracked open. He did say he hardly ever sleeps. I wonder if he just went downstairs to get a drink or something.

You’re in my Hell now, and there’s no escaping me.

Why are those the words that seem to haunt my mind? He felt so different this time…It was strange. It felt like he was pleading for me to understand something he hadn’t shown me yet. He asked me if I believed he would never hurt me. He said my happiness and my life were his priority now. Why would he say something like that if there wasn’t more going on? Something he wants to tell me but is too afraid to…Could that be it?

Fuck. I need to know.

I glance in the dresser, finally finding a pair of Noah’s boxers and one of his black T-shirts that falls to my mid thigh. I wish I had my slippers. A pair of Noah’s socks will have to do for now because hardwood floors are always cold this time of year.

Holy shit. It’s almost Thanksgiving. Then it’ll be Christmas. I wonder if he'd want to go get a tree and decorate it. Maybe we can go and pick one out together.

The blaring sound of a car alarm somewhere off in the distance startles me, and I almost lose my footing on the staircase leading to the main floor. The house is completely silent. Maybe he fell asleep on the couch.

“Noah?” I whisper as I make my way through the house, searching for him, but all I hear is silence.

Moonlight fills the living room and kitchen. Shadows cling to the corners causing goosebumps to run up and down my arms. Something feels off. It’s too quiet down here.

I turn, making my way through the kitchen toward the dining room, when I hear a strange whistling sound. It’s low, but because the house is deathly silent, I can hear it. It sounds like wind is whistling through a cracked-open window.

I follow the sound and end up in the laundry room. There are no windows in here though. Maybe the vent isn’t sealed right?

I bend listening for the sound, but it gets quieter near the dryer. It’s so weird. Where the hell is it coming from? I place my ear close to the wall and follow along searching for it. It’s an old house. It could just have cracks in its foundation allowing the cold November air to seep inside.

As I’m about to give up and search the rest of the house for Noah, my fingers find a part of the wall that sticks out barely further than the rest of the wall.

“What's this?” I quietly ask myself and the darkness surrounding me.

The moonlight from the kitchen and hallway window barely reaches in here, just enough to allow me to see the outlines of everything in the room.

I press on the wall, and it pushes in slightly. When I remove my hand, the wall springs back and slowly pops out toward me. A small sliver of light can be seen along the panels illuminating the outline of what looks like a door.

Holy shit. A secret room? This is some serious horror movie shit.

I glance back into the hallway listening to hear if Noah is nearby, but just like before, there's nothing but silence.

That tiny voice in the back of my mind has returned. It’s currently screaming at me to go back up to bed and just ask him about it in the morning. But unfortunately, there’s an even louder voice currently demanding I go through the hidden door.

Curiosity killed the cat. I wonder what it’ll do to me?

I wedge my finger into the edge of the door and pull, letting more light spill into the laundry room. My eyes squint shut from the sudden brightness, and when I’m finally able to open them again, I’m stunned. It’s not a room, it’s a hidden staircase.

At the bottom is another door cracked open. My heart is racing, making it difficult to hear anything besides the thump, thump, thump inside my head. I swear I can hear voices down there.

“Noah?” I whisper again, but a bit louder this time.

There it is again. That’s definitely a voice, but is there two? Yes. There are definitely two voices.

Okay, Willow. Seriously. Just go back to bed. You don’t need to go down there. You don’t need to be so goddamn curious…