Chapter 1

Chapter

One

ANI

I don’t know what time it is. I’ve been sleeping more than I’ve been awake, and the darkness of the night has deepened. I am curiously removed from the world around me and wake slowly, disorientated, with soft sheets luxurious against my skin. A feeling of stillness hangs in the air, and the room is lit by a soft night light that is always kept on. Somewhere, in the distance, a clock is ticking, and I feel a faint chill.

I’ve been in this mansion for weeks—maybe even a month. Each day has blended with the next, and I feel as if I’m living in an odd purgatory between the hell I was once in and a potential future of better times ahead now that he’s gone.

Forever gone.

Gone.

My phone vibrates on the nightstand beside me, which makes me wonder if that is the sound that woke me. It’s my sister calling, so I answer quickly. If I don’t, she’ll start to panic.

“Hey.” I reach for the glass of water beside my bed. My voice is scratchy, and I don’t want Daphne to worry even more that I may be getting sick or something.

“Did I wake you?”

“I really need to start sleeping on a regular schedule. I’m losing all sense of time.”

“You’re healing. Your body went through a lot,” Daphne says, softly. “Your mind did, too.” This isn’t the first time she’s given me this reassurance. Every time I bring up how I should leave and get out of her hair, I receive this same lecture.

“I know, but I’m feeling better. The bruising is fading. Nothing I can’t hide with a little makeup.” I leave out the fact that I have the kind of makeup that covers the bruises back at my trailer and have done this multiple times.

“You aren’t ready to leave Olympus,” Daphne says, clearly reading my mind. “I don’t want you in that tin can any longer.”

“That tin can is my home.”

“It’s a piece-of-shit trailer, and it doesn’t need to be your home. I can help you?—”

“I’m not taking your money,” I say.

“Ani…”

“I’m serious. You and Apollo have already done far more than I’m comfortable with.”

My sister and I have been having this argument ever since she married into the Godwin family. Just because she has access to money now doesn’t mean I do. I don’t take charity or handouts. Never have. Never will.

“Tell me about the house you visited today,” I say. “I’m assuming you’ve seen it by now.”

“It’s so pretty. Everything inside is what I imagined it would be. It’s perfect. Apollo said we can buy it. It has three bedrooms, so if you want to move?—”

“I’m not moving in with you guys,” I say. “No way. Don’t even think that’s a possibility. It’s bad enough I’m staying in the infamous Godwin family estate. I’m sure I’m an uninvited guest.”

“I invited you. Apollo invited you. And both of us want you to remain there until we come up with a plan to get you in a better situation.”

“ I need to come up with a plan. Not we . This is my problem. My messed-up life.”

She sighs heavily on the other end of the phone but doesn’t argue any further. Instead, she says, “Thank you for remembering this house and giving the information to Apollo. It was by far the most romantic thing I could have experienced. A true Cinderella story.”

“You deserve it,” I say, and she does. My older sister has always done whatever she could for me, and it’s time for her to put herself first.

“We’re going to stay in Seattle for a couple of days while Apollo does some work for Medusa Enterprises and also does what it takes to buy the house. Do you think you’ll be okay on the island without me?”

I suppress the urge to groan as I sit up all the way, peering into the darkness. I’ve spent way too much time in bed, and my body is shouting for me to get up and stop feeling sorry for myself. He did this to me. He put me in this dark space. But he’s gone now, and it’s up to me to bounce back and rebuild. I can’t be the victim any longer.

He’s gone. He’s gone.

It’s as if I’ve been in prison. Doing my time. And, though my accommodations have been nice—extremely nice—I’m finally free. It’s time I start acting like it. Yes, I’m in a mansion, but I can’t hide in this luxury forever.

My room’s furniture is opulent—a four-poster bed, a vanity, and a tall armoire all dominate the room. An ornate rug spreads out across the floor, and expensive tapestries hang on the walls. Despite the interior’s elegance, there is something vaguely menacing about it. The shadows seem to lurk in the corners, and the objects that decorate the room appear to be watching me.

I always feel watched.

I have to keep telling myself that he’s gone. He’s gone. He’s not watching. Stop thinking he’s watching.

“I’ll be fine,” I reassure my sister, who has worried about me since the day I was born. She takes being a big sister to a completely different level.

“Apollo told me that a housekeeper and cook will arrive tomorrow. He wants the house to be staffed again, so you won’t be on your own completely.”

“I really need to get back to my home,” I say. “There’s no reason for Apollo to pay to have people here just for me.”

“Ani…” Daphne audibly draws a calming breath. “A few more days, okay? Then we can revisit this conversation. That’s all I ask.”

I can sit here and try to argue, but I know my sister. She’ll win. She always does.

“Fine. A few more days, but then I’m serious. I need to get home and deal with my mess of a life.”

A silence stretches out on the other end, which tells me Daphne isn’t going to just agree to let me go, but I’m not going to battle this out yet. I’m going to need a plan of action to even have a chance of convincing her I’m going to be all right, and I don’t have it yet .

“It’s getting late. We’ll talk tomorrow,” she says. “There’s food in the kitchen and?—”

“I can fend for myself,” I say, “but thank you. I appreciate it. Love you.”

“Love you.”

When I hang up, my stomach growls at the mention of food. I do indeed need to find something to eat in the kitchen downstairs. As I get out of the bed, an ominous creak echoes down the hall, and I shiver. It’s not the first time I’ve heard a creak, bump, or shuffle of what I swear are feet when no one is supposed to be in the manor.

Godwin ghosts are everywhere, and I have to keep reminding myself that they’re harmless, even though I know living Godwins are anything but.

After I throw on a borrowed robe and step out into the hallway, my heart pounds, no matter how much I’m telling myself I’m being ridiculous. But when I hear another bang at the end of the hallway, I know it’s not just my imagination. Daphne said the housekeeper and cook don’t arrive until the morning. The house should be empty… and quiet.

Olympus Manor is old and drafty, and the darkness seems to stalk me as I move down the hallway. Still feeling as if I’m being watched, I peer into each of the empty rooms as I pass them but see nothing. I’m not sure what exactly I’m expecting—the Boogie Monster, a ghost, or maybe it’s just bats in the attic fluttering around that I hear.

I reach the end of the hallway where a staircase leads up to the attic. I hesitate, suddenly feeling very foolish in the darkness. This is how people in horror movies die.

That creak comes again, this time, from the attic. Something inside of me wants to go up, but I feel like I’m trespassing if I do.

But then again, maybe I can put my mind at ease by checking it out. It could help me believe that all thoughts of monsters are simply in my head.

After taking a deep breath, I start up the stairs, my footsteps echoing in the darkness. As I reach the top, the creaking becomes louder and more insistent. I step into the attic, my heart in my throat, but then I quickly stop and turn back around.

This is the part in the horror movie where you scream at the screen at how stupid the actor is being. They go places they don’t belong. I will not be that dumb girl. Besides, it’s probably just a raccoon or rats or something, and I’m far from an exterminator. I’ll just tell Daphne that the Godwins better get someone out here to take a look.

Another creak behind me has me jump, so I leave the attic’s doorway and quickly make my way to the kitchen. It’s like when I was a kid, scared of the dark at night. I would pull the blanket up over my head and think of rainbows and flowers.

You can’t see the monsters if you don’t open your eyes.