Dark Keeps Score

Living in a tiny house with strict parents means there aren't many places to hide. It was don't touch this, don't touch that, be careful with this and be careful with that. My mom could lose it over a pillow tossed onto the floor, and my dad was worse, and that's saying something. He couldn't stand clutter even more than my mom did, so I was always careful at home. I had plenty of friends, but just one was allowed over, and her name was Sloane. My mom and dad knew Sloane was a clean freak, but they didn't get how reckless she could turn once they were gone, like right now. The wood floor groaned under my bare feet. I crept down the hallway while my little brother, Eli, counted all the way up to twenty. "Seven... eight... nine... ten... eleven," he called. Sloane, my best friend, grabbed me and shoved me right into the wall by accident. "Piper, where do we hide?" she breathed in my ear. She didn't wait for me to answer. Instead she hauled me through the laundry-room door before I could get out a word. It was pitch-black, and I couldn't see anything. That's what made playing The Dark Keeps Score in the dark even better. "Ready or not, here I come!" Eli shouted as he ran down the hall past the laundry room. His little feet slammed against the floorboards. Sloane and I crouched behind the dryer, trying not to let our giggles slip out. The dark started messing with my head. Shadows twisted and curled around me, turning into strange shapes and throwing my imagination somewhere else. It was scary, really scary, but I loved the rush. Sloane pulled out her phone for just a second. I slapped my hand over the lit screen where she'd been texting her dad. "He's going to spot us if you don't shut that off," I whispered.