I flinch hard, my heart lurching into my throat as I twist towards the sound. Every nerve in my body lights up at once. Whatever it is, it’s on the porch.
Silence moves in again, thick and heavy. Every instinct I have screams at me to move, get up, to check and do something, but I’m frozen. My mind is scrambling to catch up with the surge of adrenaline flooding through me.
Then it comes again, closer this time.
A scrape along the wooden logs heading towards the sliding glass door.
I take a deep breath, wondering how I’m not shaking this whole couch with how jarred I am. “Not a deer.”
Pulling together every ounce of courage I have, I push myself to my feet. My legs move before I fully decide to let them, carrying me slowly toward the front door. Each step feels too loud, the quiet of t
