Page 19 of River Wild

I feel my face start to heat.

I’m going to have to say something; otherwise, I’m just going to look like a creeper.

I straighten up and lift my hand in greeting. “Hi.” I smile.

He doesn’t respond. Maybe he didn’t hear me.

I speak louder this time, “I’m your new neighbor, An—” Fudge. “Carrie. My name is Carrie.”

I get nothing.

He’s just standing there, staring at me.

His eyes are dark and intense.

And hard.

Cold.

A chill slithers through me, all the warmth I was feeling a moment ago disappearing.

I shift on my bare feet. I don’t know what to do. Do I just go back inside? But that would be rude.

But he’s being rude, ignoring me.

Maybe he isn’t actually ignoring me, and he really just can’t hear me from all the way over there.

I decide to try one last time and yell over, “My name is Carrie. I just—”

The words die on my tongue when he abruptly turns around and stalks back inside his house.

The screen door slams so hard behind him that it bounces off the frame, making a loud cracking sound.

A few seconds later, the music stops playing, leaving me in total silence.

And this silence doesn’t feel quite so welcoming.