boredom if I didnât.â
She stood up and followed him, putting a hand on his arm. âBut I was just killing time. Waiting for you. Youâve got to believe me.â
Jade turned her wide green eyes on him and Deena could practically see Chuck melt. âDo you believe me?â Jade asked softly.
Chuck hesitated. âYeah. I suppose so.â
âWell, good.â Jade gave him a quick kiss. âItâs so late. Deena and I are totally wrecked from the game. Go on home and weâll get together tomorrowâokay?â
âOkay,â Chuck agreed. âThe only thing is, I donât exactly feel like facing Dad tonight. Can I have your key, Deena? Iâll just let myself in.â
âSure,â said Deena. She fished in her bag for her keys and handed them over to Chuck. âBut you donât have to worry. Mom and Dad are away. Thatâs why Iâm staying at Jadeâs tonight.â
Chuck seemed very relieved. Jade walked Chuck downstairs. From the bedroom, Deena could hear them talking in low voices for several minutes before the front door shut.
Dad is going to have a fit, Deena realized. She dreaded the scene when Chuck spilled the news that he dropped out of school.
Maybe Mom and Dad will get used to the idea, Deena thought hopefully. Maybe theyâll even help Chuck get it together to move out to California.
Or maybe thereâll be a terrible screaming fight.
âIâm so glad Chuckâs back. Arenât you?â Jade asked, strolling back into the bedroom.
âYes. Of course,â Deena replied quickly. But she found herself wondering if she really was glad.
Chuck was always so much trouble. . . .
â¢Â â¢Â â¢
Deena was still thinking about Chuck when she pulled the covers up to her chin and switched off the light. A few minutes later she managed to forget all about Chuck as she drifted off into a great dream about Steve Mason.
She awoke with a start when the bedroom phone rang. Her eyes popped open and darted around the strange surroundings. It took her a moment to realize she wasnât in her own bedroom.
âWould you get that?â Jade asked groggily. âItâs closer to you.â
The digital clock showed two-thirty as Deena groped for the receiver. âHello?â she whispered.
âHello,â rasped a familiar, gravelly voice. Deena jerked up, instantly alert. âWho is this?â she demanded.
âYou know,â the voice said. âRemember the closet?â
âWho is it?â Jade asked from across the room.
âItâs him!â Deena cried.
Jade quickly made her way over to Deena and lowered her head to the phone so she could hear too.
âRemember the closet?â the voice went on. âThe one you were hiding in?â
Deena gasped. A year ago she and Jade had hidden in a tiny closet in Farbersonâs house while he stalked through each room, searching for them. Squashed together, they had huddled, terrified in the back of the dark closet. But Farberson had found them.
No one else knows about the closet, Deena told herself. Jade, me, and Farberson. Weâre the only ones who know.
That means this caller has to be Farberson!
âGo away! Leave us alone!â Deena cried into the phone receiver, her voice tiny and frightened.
âThink about how scared you were that night,â the voice whispered. âBecause youâre going to be more scaredâreal soon.â
chapter
5
âT hanks, Mrs. Smith,â Deena called as Jadeâs mother dropped her at home on Saturday morning. It was a clear, cold day and Deena squinted into the sun as she walked up the circular driveway to her house.
I wonder if Mom and Dad know that Chuck is home yet, she thought.
As she walked to the back of the house, she heard a door slam and then angry shouting.
They know, all right! Deena thought.
âWhy didnât you at least tell us you were having