“I walked, miles.”
“Why? What are you doing here?”
“I was rereading Romeo and Juliet, and I thought I’d come to plead at your balcony, but you’re on the first floor,” he said. “How can I be dramatic if you sleep on the first floor?” He looked up as if we had a balcony and reached toward it. “Lorelei, Lorelei, where art thou?”
“Shut up, you idiot. How did you find out where I live?”
“A determined lover would find ways,” he replied. “Come out with me for a little while.”
“Are you crazy? You’re going to wake my family and get me into big trouble. Go away, Mark.”
“I can’t,” he said. “Your beauty has paralyzed me. I can’t even move, especially now that I see you in your nightgown, your face glowing with the starlight.”
“How did you know which room was my bedroom?”
“The heart knows exactly where to go, Lorelei. Lorelei. Your name is magical, melodic. I’m drunk on the sound of it. Come out with me. Just for a little while. Give me a chance to win your heart.”
“No,” I said. “You’ll get me into very big trouble now. Please leave before it’s too late.”
“It’s already too late,” he said, moving closer. “I’m no longer in control of myself. I can’t help myself. I can’t leave unless you come out and spend a few minutes with me. Come.” He beckoned. “Come out, Lorelei. Enjoy the night air, look up at the stars, and dream a little dream with me. Come out. I promise I’ll leave, but you won’t want me to leave. Parting, remember, is such sweet sorrow.”
His words were suddenly mesmerizing. He reached in and gently took my hand.
“Come,” he urged. “Please.”
I felt myself moving toward him. His eyes were suddenly luminous, a soft blue. He brought his left hand to my shoulder.
“I’ll lift you out. In my arms, you will be as air,” he said, and his hands went to my waist. I could feel his fing
ers tightening. He brought his face closer, his lips inviting mine, and then, just slightly at first, I saw his teeth, sharp, pointed, growing.
What happened next happened so quickly that I questioned whether it had happened at all. A darker, thicker shadow fell over Mark and then metamorphosed into Daddy. He was bigger and wider than I had ever seen him, even when I saw him that time when I was only four. He enveloped Mark as if his body had turned into a great cape and lifted him away from my window. Mark’s grip around my waist loosened quickly, so quickly I thought his fingers had turned into water.
I didn’t hear a groan so much as a muffled scream. I stood there captivated by the struggle that went on in front of me. It didn’t last long, I’m sure, but it seemed to go on and on. Daddy’s grip on Mark was too iron-clad. He gave up trying to break out of it and instead pushed against Daddy’s face in a desperate attempt to keep Daddy’s teeth from reaching him.
It was as if Daddy were struggling with a clump of butter, however. He moved swiftly, undeterred, until he was on Mark’s neck. Then I heard the scream, the piercing sound that vibrated everything around them, made trees tremble, woke sleeping birds, and seemed to shatter the stars. Mark folded just the way a punctured balloon might. He seemed to lose all his bones, his skeleton crumbling into dust under his skin.
Daddy held him in his arms like a bag of clothes, turned, and glanced at me. I was unable to move. Daddy’s face was so distorted, every feature widened and stretched. Although there was no anger in it directed at me, it was still terrifying to see. I tried to swallow back the gasp that was stuck in my throat, but it wouldn’t move. He said nothing. He simply turned and walked into the darkness.
Moments later, the door opened, and Ava came in. She turned on the lights. Never had I seen her look this frightened, this close to tears. She stood there in her nightgown, staring at me and the window, seemingly unable to move. Before I could say anything, Mrs. Fennel came in behind her, glanced at her, and then walked over to the window and closed it.
“Go back to bed, both of you,” she said.
I started for mine, but Ava didn’t move.
“Ava!” she shouted. “Go!”
Ava woke from her trance. She looked at me and then turned and left the room.
“You won’t be taking Marla to school tomorrow,” Mrs. Fennel said.
“What happened?” I asked. Was I awake? Was this a nightmare?
“You’ll learn everything tomorrow. It’s over. Don’t worry. Just get some sleep.”
“Get some sleep?” I almost laughed. “How do you expect me to go to sleep now?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she went into my bathroom, got a glass of water, and returned, handing me a tablet. “Take it. You’ll sleep enough. Go on,” she ordered.