The sleep over

Chapter one

The invitation

Emma Reed hadn’t seen the cabin in years. The last time she and her friends had all been there together was a summer night in their senior year of high school, a lifetime ago. Now, with ten years behind them and their twenties fading, they were finally getting together for a reunion.The invitation had arrived out of the blue, a group text from Sarah Mills. Emma had stared at her phone in disbelief. Sarah, who had barely spoken to any of them since Rachel’s death, was organizing a sleepover in the same cabin where it all happened? It felt wrong, like something out of a horror movie. But curiosity, and a lingering sense of guilt, made Emma type out her reluctant acceptance.Tom, Lily, Mia, Jake, and Emma had all confirmed within the hour. It was as if they were all waiting for someone else to make the first move. After all, they had been through so much together. They were bound by memories—some good, some horrific. And they were still trying to escape the long shadow cast by that one terrible night when everything had changed.As Emma packed her bags, her mind drifted back to high school. Rachel had been the center of their group, the bright, magnetic force that pulled them all together. But Rachel was gone, and Emma had never truly forgiven herself for what had happened. She wondered if any of them had.The drive up to the cabin was longer than Emma remembered. The roads twisted and turned through dense forests, the trees closing in on either side like a dark tunnel. The farther she drove, the more isolated she felt. Her cell phone lost service halfway there, and she found herself alone with her thoughts and the rhythmic hum of the tires on the road.When she finally pulled into the gravel driveway, the sight of the cabin sent a shiver down her spine. It looked almost the same as it had a decade ago, though the wood was more weathered, and the windows seemed to stare out blankly like the eyes of a dead man. A sense of dread settled over her as she parked the car.Emma wasn’t the first to arrive. Jake’s car was already there, parked haphazardly near the front steps. As she climbed out of her car and grabbed her bag, the cabin door swung open, and Jake stepped out, a broad grin on his face.“Emma! Long time no see!” he called, walking over to give her a hug. His embrace was warm, but his eyes held a shadow that hadn’t been there before.“Jake,” Emma said, trying to return the smile. “It’s good to see you.”He stepped back, nodding toward the cabin. “You ready for this? It feels weird, doesn’t it?”Emma nodded, her throat tight. “Yeah, it does.”As they made their way inside, the familiar creak of the floorboards echoed through the dimly lit cabin. The place smelled of old wood and dust, but there was a faint scent of pine from the trees outside. The living room was just as she remembered it, with its worn furniture and the large stone fireplace that had once been the heart of their gatherings.Lily was already there, sitting on the couch with a drink in her hand. She looked up as Emma and Jake entered, her face breaking into a bright smile. “Hey, you two! It’s been forever!”Emma dropped her bag near the door and joined Lily on the couch. “It really has,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.They exchanged small talk, reminiscing about old times, but there was a tension in the air that none of them acknowledged. It wasn’t long before the others arrived—Tom, Mia, and finally, Sarah. When Sarah walked through the door, the room fell silent. She looked around at the group, her gaze lingering on each of them before she spoke.“Welcome back,” Sarah said, her voice calm but carrying an undercurrent of something darker. “It’s good to see you all again. I’ve missed this.”Emma felt a chill run down her spine. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this weekend was going to be anything but a friendly reunion.