As Sarah reached the stairs, she paused and rested her arm on the railing. She glanced back at Jimmy, still awkwardly fumbling with his belt.
"The next time you're invited for dinner," she said with a sly smile, "don't just assume you're on the menu, okay?"
"I mean, seriously," she continued, stepping closer, voice laced with biting sarcasm. "You really thought I was gonna let you drop your pants in my husband's house? While he's upstairs? What were you gonna say if he walked in? 'Oh hey, Mr. Blackwell-I'm just bonding with your wife over dessert'?"
"Or did the thought that 'I'm your friend's stepmother' not even cross your mind?" she added, raising an eyebrow.
Jimmy muttered, "It was just a misunderstanding..."
Sarah turned fully, giving him the look. "A misunderstanding?" she repeated, mockingly. "Sweetheart, you stood up and unzipped like this was BangBros-not my damn dining room."
Jimmy shrank into his chair. "I didn't mean it like-"
"Oh no, you did," she cut in, walking toward him with a slow, deliberate clap. "You were two seconds away from becoming a registered sex offender in my dining room."
He opened his mouth, but she raised a hand to silence him.
"Enjoy your dessert," she said, turning toward the stairs with a smirk, "And leave my house."
Then, without looking back, she walked upstairs.
Jimmy hurriedly got up and left, still red-faced with embarrassment.
As he opened the front door, he nearly ran into Jake-just returning from his evening stroll, standing right on the doorstep.
They both froze.
"...You good?" Jake asked, eyeing Jimmy's flushed face and awkward posture.
"Y-Yeah," Jimmy stammered, trying to slide past. He leaned in and muttered, "Your stepmom's insane."
Jake blinked. "Huh?"
From inside, Sarah's voice called out sweetly, "Goodnight, Jimmy! Thanks for stopping by!"
Jake's eyes narrowed.
Jimmy let out a nervous laugh and waved. "Alright, see ya, bro!"
Then he bolted.
Halfway down the walkway, he stopped, turned, and jogged back. "Actually, uh... the real reason I came-I thought you'd heard the news."
Jake frowned. "What news?"
Jimmy shifted uncomfortably. "After the reunion night, right?... Jocelyn was found dead. And Emily's missing."
Jake's face fell. "W-What? Wait, what are you talking about?"
"Emily's the prime suspect." Jimmy hesitated, eyes drifting past Jake-he caught sight of Sarah watching from the hallway, expression unreadable.
He panicked. "Anyway-bye!" And took off again.
Jake lingered in the doorway, staring after him, a strange knot tightening in his chest. Something wasn't right.
As he stepped inside, he slipped off his shoes and started walking toward the kitchen-when a sudden knock echoed from the door behind him.
"Ah, jeez," he muttered, turning back toward the door. "What'd you forget this time?"
He pulled it open with a sigh-
But no one was there.
Just the quiet street... and a strange chill in the air.
Sarah's nose twitched the moment the door opened.
A scent-faint, unfamiliar... and not human.
Her eyes narrowed. Who'sthis? she thought, already rising from the bed.
She padded downstairs quickly, barefoot and alert. "Who was that... at the door?" she asked, voice calm but edged with suspicion.
Jake glanced back at her. "No one was there when I opened it. Kinda creepy," he muttered, still staring into the night.
Sarah's gaze shifted past him. Her expression darkened. "That scent wasn't no one."
Jake blinked. "Scent?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she stepped outside, scanning the shadows, eyes narrowing against the wind.
Something-or someone-had been there.
And it wasn't friendly.
"Um... I'll be in my room," Jake muttered, backing away slowly. He watched Sarah, still frozen in the doorway, her eyes locked on something unseen in the distance.
As he climbed the stairs, he glanced back once more.
Jimmy wasn't capping... he thought, a chill crawling up his spine.
There was something seriously off about her tonight.
As Jake disappeared upstairs, Sarah lingered by the door, eyes scanning the quiet street.
Then--
A rustle.
The bushes just off the porch shifted, ever so slightly.
Her posture changed. Calm vanished.
"Come out, whoever you are," she said, voice low, firm, and dangerous.
Silence.
Only the wind.
But her eyes glowed now-faint amber, distinctly inhuman.
She took one slow step onto the porch.
That's when it fled-swift and silent, vanishing into the shadows.
Sarah didn't chase.