The Abandoned - A Horror Novel (Horror, Thriller, Supernatural) (The Harrow Haunting Series) Read Online Free Page A

better see what’s happening up there,” Lizzie said, moving toward the door. Alex grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him. She didn’t resist much, and he wrapped his arms around her and planted a big wet sloppy kiss on her lips. He licked right up to her eyelid and kissed there, then slid his lips to her ear and whispered, “Come on. We can make out here. That’s why we’re here.”
    “He might be hurt,” Lizzie said, and then realized the back of her head felt a little funny. Too much wine. The room had begun spinning a little bit.
    “He’s fine,” Alex insisted. “He’s fine. He probably just got freaked by the lightning.”
    Bari Love held up a nearly empty bottle of wine. She chugged the last of it down, giggling, and said, “I got the bottle. Who wants to play?”
     

9
    “He’s out there in the rain,” Lizzie said, but even that came out a little slurred because she’d already had one beer.
    They all sat in a circle, and it was Andy Harris’s turn to spin the bottle in the center.
    The bottle seemed to spin and spin, and it made Lizzie a little light-headed as she watched it go around and around.
    Then it stopped.
    Pointed directly at her.
    Andy wore a big shit-eating grin on his face and nearly smacked his lips. Lizzie felt as if she were betraying Ronnie because her sister had briefly dated Andy during sophomore year and then had been dumped unceremoniously by him before he took up with Bari.
    But it’s the game. Stupid Spin the Bottle. We’ve been playing it since ninth grade, and for some reason the guys always like it just a little bit more than the girls do.
    And still, we play it.
    Andy crawled across the floor toward her. Lizzie glanced at Alex, who was so drunk it looked like he couldn’t recognize anything let alone feel jealous that another guy was going to kiss her. She looked at Bari, but Bari was practically hanging off Zack after their last bottle-induced kiss.
    When Andy got close, his breath all cigarette ash and warm beer, she drew back from him. She gave him a peck on the cheek. “Sorry,” she whispered.
    He pawed at her, but she managed to push him away.
    “Bitch,” he whispered under his breath.
    “Bastard,” Lizzie whispered back.
    She stood up unsteadily. “I want to see what’s going on with Sam.”
    “He screamed for his mommy,” Zack said, laughing.
    “Maybe he got hit with lightning,” Nancy Withers said. “There must be a God after all!”
    “I think someone’s in love with Sam,” Bari said. “Hey, Alex, Lizzie’s got the hots for the geek.”
    Alex swung his head around slightly, his blond hair falling over his eyes. “What?” Then he swung around again to look at Lizzie. “Hey baby. Bay-bay.”
    “Hey,” she said. What the hell am I doing with these jerks? Playing drinking games. Practically girlfriend-swapping. Ronnie’s right about all of them. They think they’re the winners of life, but they missed the boat completely.
    She ignored all the jeers, and went toward the door leading to the narrow corridor.
    As she opened the door, she felt as if her heart froze.
    A middle-aged man, scrawny and tall, stood there before her.
    Naked.
    His body covered with red paint as if he’d been drawing on himself—circles and lines and pictures.
    His teeth were smeared with some brown-red color, and he parted his lips as if he were in the middle of saying something. His hands were down between his legs, furiously stroking himself.
    She opened her mouth to curse, but felt as if the breath had been sucked out of her.
    Lightning flashed outside, and the tall windows along the corridor seemed to light up so white it made her think of a nuclear explosion.
    The light in the room flickered.
    Then the entire house was plunged into darkness.
     

10
    Lizzie stood still for a few seconds, catching her breath.
    In the dark, there didn’t seem to be a naked man at all.
    Instead, she felt utterly alone, as if even those behind her in the room had