Mark stood in the hallway for another ten seconds, thinking she would come back in or hide around the corner. When he realized she had actually left the house, he ripped off the mask.
“Jess! It’s me! It’s a prank!” he yelled, laughing.
He walked out into the backyard. It was late autumn, pitch black, and freezing. He expected to hear her cursing at him or a sigh of relief.
But there was only silence.
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“Jessica, come out, it’s not funny!”—his voice shifted from laughter to panic. He circled the house. She was gone. He called her phone. It rang in the living room—she had left it on the couch. She had run out barefoot, in thin pajamas, with no keys and no money.
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