Over the next week, Kayla tried convincing herself she’d imagined the back door incident. It was her first day, nerves were normal, and the house was probably just older than it looked. Still, every time she climbed the stairs to grab something for Tommy she felt a quiet tension settle between her shoulders.
The first odd moment happened on a Wednesday afternoon. Tommy had asked for his favorite crackers, which Sabrina told Kayla were kept in the upstairs pantry next to the linen closet. Kayla headed up, humming softly to keep herself calm. But halfway down the hall, she stopped. A soft creak echoed behind her, quick, subtle, like a foot shifting weight.