I stared at the envelope on my kitchen counter, my name scribbled across the front in blocky, unrecognizable handwriting. No return address. No hint of who had sent it. The silence in the room seemed to grow louder, the faint hum of the fridge turning into a low roar as I reached for the letter. My fingers felt cold against the paper, a chill that spread up my arm.
With a sharp inhale, I tore the envelope open and pulled out the single sheet. The words glared back at me, almost daring me to take them seriously:
Keep a close eye on her. The streets aren’t safe for someone who crosses the wrong people. —Kermit
“Kermit?” I whispered to myself, the absurdity of the name doing nothing to ease the knot of dread tightening in my chest. It felt like a sick prank, but there was something off about it, something that made my skin crawl. I crumpled the letter in my fist, resisting the urge to call Isiah right then and there. What was I supposed to say? That a threat signed by a puppet character had just landed in my lap? It sounded insane.
I forced myself to push it out of my mind over the next few days, focusing on practice, on keeping up appearances for the team. The locker room was already a boiling pot after what had happened with Patrick. We didn’t need more fuel on the fire.
But then the call came, slicing through the night like a blade. The phone rang on my bedside table, the harsh sound jolting me awake. I sat up, blinking against the dark, and glanced at the unknown number before answering.
“Hello?”
A voice came through, low and rough, like a whisper mixed with static. “Don’t let Hadassah out alone. Tread lightly.”
My blood ran cold. “Who is this? What do you want?”
There was a pause, followed by a soft, unsettling chuckle. “Kermit.”
The line went dead, leaving me gripping the phone like it was my lifeline. The shadows in my room seemed to deepen, pressing in on me as if they carried secrets of their own. I set the phone down slowly, my heartbeat pounding in my ears, a single question echoing through my mind.
Who is Kermit?
