The Art of Being a Gentleman

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

APPARENTLY ATTEMPTING SLEEP was useless.

              Only minutes after they had said goodnight, Ricky had unleashed the gnarliest snore that David had ever heard. He tried tuning it out, he tried covering his ears, he tried humming... but nothing beat out the awful sounds that Rick was making from the other side of the room.

              Not to mention Mack was tossing and turning on his ridiculously squeaky bed, and David's thoughts were going a hundred miles a minute.

              Quietly as he could, though it probably didn't matter... he could turn on a chainsaw and it would still be quieter than the ruckus Ricky was making, David got up and tiptoed out of the room. He made his way down the dark hallway and up the steps, back into the kitchen, ignoring the unnerving feeling he always had when he was walking around at night. It always made him feel like he was outside reality for a little while. Like everything else in the world had stopped while he wandered the quiet house.

              On the far side of the kitchen was a door that led to the backyard, where there was a small patio that looked out into the open field. Grabbing a glass of water on his way through, David carefully slid open the door, hoping not to wake up anyone else, and slowly closed it behind him, backing onto the patio. The cool air wrapped around him, waking up his senses even more than they already had been. Which only made him more alert to the eerie silence of the world at night. Though the sky was dark, the moon was almost full, casting off a spooky light that made everything look a little creepier.

              It kind of felt like he was being watched.

              He surveyed the dark edges of the trees which seemed particularly sketchy, and he could feel the hair on his arms stand up. He swore he could see a pair of eyes glinting in the shadows.

              Taking a half step to the side, he was considering whether he should just go inside where he'd be safe from potential murderers, when he heard a slight creak in the wood of the patio and then—

              "Hey stranger."

              David made a sound that was not human as he basically jumped out of his skin at the sound of another person's voice.

              "Screw you."

              He hunched himself over, a hand to his chest as he took a few calming breaths, while Hannah tried to stifle her obnoxious giggles. "Are you trying to kill me?" he muttered, eventually climbing up and joining her where she sat on the railing, their feet dangling above the grass below.

              She was still snickering, "Sorry, I didn't think you'd freak out so much."

              "I've watched scary movies, Hannah. I've prepared myself for these sorts of situations."

              "Situations like innocent girls doing nothing...?"

              "Shh," he covered her mouth with his hand, earning himself an amused glare. "Let's just forget any of the last few minutes ever happened."

              She pushed his hand away but smirked at him, "Oh, I'm not forgetting that girly squeal for as long as I live." He groaned and she couldn't help but laugh, "Why are you out here anyway?"

              "Couldn't sleep. Ricky snores like a bear."

              "That's unfortunate."

              David pursed his lips and lifted his eyes to the stars, "I just think it's funny how he calls himself a gentleman and then has the audacity to do something like that."