Shiver by Amber Garza Read Free Book Online

Shiver
     
    “Kenzie,” the voice hissed, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. It sounded evil, animal-like.
    Terrified, I spun around in the darkened room and tried to locate the source.
    “Kenzie,” it spoke again out of nowhere. Its loud rumble reverberated through my body like rolling thunder.
    An icy chill brushed my body. Shivering, I swiveled my head from side to side , but saw nothing. The room was dark , but my eyes were adjusting to the light and I could make out shapes in the room. There were a couple of chairs and a couch. Nothing stirred. Cold air circled me.
    “Kenzie, Kenzie, come out and play.”
    I sucked in a breath. The voice was so close it tickled my ear. Who was speaking and why did the voice sound oddly familiar? Something wet and slick touched my cheek. Squeezing my eyes shut, I screamed.
    When I opened them again it was no longer dark. Light illuminated the room. My heart hammered in my ears and sweat soaked my back. I was lying down. Was it just a dream? On ly where was I? I took in my unfamiliar surroundings. Getting up off the couch, my gaze swept the large, messy family room. My head swam and my knees softened . Reaching down, I steadied myself on the armrest. Everything felt foggy. My head pounded and my eyes burned. That’s when everything came flooding back. Memories of the party the night before filled my mind. I cringed, remembering.
    Morning sunshine filtered in through the vast picture window. Clearly I had passed out , but where was everyone else? I thought of Caleb, and it caused m y heart to skip a beat. The events of the night before were fuzzy at best , but the memory of Caleb was crystal clear . I hoped I hadn’t done anything stupid. The last thing I wanted to do was screw t hing s up between us. I’d been waiting for him to ask me out for months.
    Glancing over at the clock, m y stomach tightened. Mom was going to kill me , i f she even noticed I was gone. I was hoping that she went out , too , and was now sleeping off a hangover. That was exactly what I planned to do when I got home. Taking a nap sounded incredible. I could barely focus my head hurt so badly. After finding my shoes, I slipped them on and raced out into the cool morning air. I swallowed hard, trying to lubricate my dry, scratchy throat. The sun pierced my sensitive eyes. Shielding them with my hand, I ran toward my run-down car that was parked on the curb.
    As I drove home my mind drifted back to my nightmare. It had seemed so real. Not that it was the first time I had dreamt of the strange voice. It had haunted my dreams since I was a little girl. You would think that by the age of seventeen it would have gone away. Only the dreams seemed to worsen lately. They were coming more often and were much more intense. It left me feeling anxious and worried. A sense of foreboding followed me like a black cloud.
    Not wishing to think of it anymore, I forced my thoughts to something more important - my big date with Caleb Friday night. Daydreaming about Caleb’s dark hair and eyes, I pulled up to my house. My stomach twiste d into knots as I made my way to the front door.
    When I entered our small rental home, Mom was seated at the makeshift kitchen table, surrounded by loose pages of the newspaper, eating a bowl of cereal. She wore a t-shirt and sweats , and her hair was covered in hot-rollers. Her head popped up the minute I opened the door .
    “Where have you been? ” Her eyes were glassy and wild, ringed with mascara residue.
    “Just out.”I shrugged , and made my way to the coffee maker. I had to kill this headache somehow.
    Mom pushed her chair back and stood. It scraped on the floor making a loud squeaking noise. “I’ve been worried sick.”
    “Well, that’s a first.” I scoured the cabinets for a clean coffee mug. I finally found one with minimal lipstick stains. If only my mom didn’t wear so much make-up or we had a dishwasher that actually worked. As I poured hot coffee