Ruby and Olivia by Rachel Hawkins

Author:Rachel Hawkins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2017-10-24T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

OLIVIA

Ruby and I stood there, frozen in place, watching the top of the attic door.

Earlier, when we’d come in, I’d noticed the little window on top of the door, remembering that it was called a transom, because my parents had had one put in over our front door a few years ago so we’d have more light at the front of the house. This window didn’t let in any light from the dim staircase outside, but there was something moving against it now, something darker than the gloom outside the attic.

It was more solid than I would’ve thought a shadow could be. And it was moving back and forth against the glass.

The glass that was at least nine feet above the floor.

And then I realized that, no, it wasn’t a shadow.

It was two shadows.

Ruby was breathing slowly next to me, in and out, and when I looked over, I could see little puffs coming from her lips. Earlier, the attic had been so hot, I hadn’t been sure how we could spend longer than five minutes in it, but now I was freezing, almost shivering with cold.

“You want to call that a trick of the light?” Ruby asked, and I shook my head slowly, my eyes still locked on . . . whatever it was.

There was no sound, and for some reason, that freaked me out the most. The shadows were sliding back and forth across the glass, pressing in in places, but totally noiseless. Back and forth, back and forth they went, like they were watching us, but also . . . taunting us or something.

I felt Ruby’s fingers squeeze mine, and I looked down. I hadn’t even realized we were holding hands, and I wasn’t sure which one of us had grabbed the other. In any case, I squeezed back.

The black spots at the window seemed to stretch, growing so that they covered the whole window, and I made a weird sound in the back of my throat, stepping back and tugging Ruby with me.

And then the shadows were gone.

The window was still dim—not much light in the hall—but those darker, blacker shadows had vanished. I let out a slow breath. “Well, that—” I started, and before I could finish, there was a slam as the door shot open so hard, it smacked into the wall, making me and Ruby both jump and shriek.

It was hot in the attic again, with that same dusty smell we’d noticed when we first came in, and no trace of the chill in the air we’d felt.

I expected Ruby to be excited or say something about sticking around for more proof, but instead, she raced for her plastic caddy, snatching it up off the floor so quickly that the bottles nearly fell out, and rushed back toward me, holding her free hand out, tugging me with her. “We’re getting out of here,” she said, almost breathless as she pulled me out of the attic, grabbing the key as we passed the door.

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