After several long seconds, she forced herself to cross the kitchen. She pushed the back door shut and turned the lock carefully, trying to steady her breathing. She felt foolish for how jumpy she was, but the unease didn’t fade. It clung to her as she returned to the living room and sat beside Tommy, pretending to scroll her phone while her eyes kept drifting toward the hallway.
She checked the time repeatedly, counting down the minutes until the parents came home. When keys finally jingled at the front door, relief washed through her so quickly she almost laughed. Mark and Sabrina stepped inside, chatting casually about their workday, filling the house with normalcy that instantly made the fear feel… exaggerated.