The house was quiet, the kind of quiet that made every creak of the floorboards feel like a shout.

She slipped out of the guest room barefoot, careful not to wake her best friend who was snoring softly under the covers, retired from the fun of the day.

Her throat was dry, her mouth begging for water, and the glow of the moon through the hallway windows guided her steps.

Downstairs, the hum of the fridge was the only sound… until the sound of her heart. She froze.

Someone was already in the kitchen.

A faint shuffle, the clink of a glass against the counter. When she turned the corner,...