Free You Can't Come in Here! by P.J. Night Page A

and—”
    Emily stopped pacing, lost in her thoughts. Could it be that there is no Mr. and Mrs. Strig? That they died, and for some reason Drew and Vicky don’t want anyone to know, so they set up this complicated hoax? Do the coffins belong to Mr. and Mrs. Strig?
    Emily started to turn green—this wasn’t just creepy, it was downright gross. Why? Why? Why? Why would you hide the fact that your parents are dead? And why three coffins?
    She sat back down on her bed and forced herself to take a deep breath. She really didn’t know what was going on. She felt duped, taken, lied to. Whatever the deal was with Drew and Vicky, they were not who they appeared to be. Hannah had seen that there was something creepy about Drew and Vicky, but until now Emily couldn’t see it. Or maybe she just hadn’t wanted to.
    Well, that was about to change. She was through with them. She didn’t ever want to go back into that freak show of a house, and she certainly didn’t want them in her house. It went without saying that Drew and Vicky would most definitely not be coming to her sleepover.
    Emily snatched up her cell phone and started tapping out a text message to Hannah. She had no intention of telling anyone about what she had just seen, but she did want her other friends to know that Drew and Vicky would not be coming to the party.
    HEY, HANNAH. THINGS DID NOT GO SO GOOD AT DREW AND VICKY’S. THEIR PARENTS REFUSED TO ALLOW THEM TO COME TO THE PARTY. THEY DON’T EVEN WANT ME TO HANG OUT WITH THEM ANYMORE.
    Emily sent the message. A few seconds later she got a reply:
    SORRY, EM. I KNOW YOU LIKED THEM (EVEN IF I DIDN’T!).
    Emily wrote back:
    THANKS. THE REALLY WEIRD PART IS THAT DREW AND VICKY DIDN’T EVEN SEEM TO MIND. GUESS I’VE SEEN THE LAST OF THEM. CU LATER. . . . E
    Emily felt better that she had at least told Hannah something. She felt bad about lying to her, but she didn’t know what to make of all this herself. She was not about to try to explain what she had seen to Hannah or Ethan or especially to her parents. She was too embarrassed about everything. She could say that she had gotten into a fight with Drew and Vicky. She could say that Mr. and Mrs. Strig didn’t want their kids hanging out with her anymore. That would get her mom’s back up. She would have a hard time believing that anyone wouldn’t want their kids hanging out with her daughter.
    Emily smiled at the thought of how loyal her mom was.She began to feel a little better. The burden of trying to get Drew and Vicky to fit in with all her other friends, plus the pressure of getting the Strigs to meet the Hunters before the party, had obviously been weighing on her more than she realized. Having all that lifted off her shoulders felt like a real relief. Emily began to relax. She slid down, stretched out on her bed, and dozed off.
    Bing-bong! Bing-bong!
    Emily awakened to the sound of the doorbell ringing. She glanced at her clock and saw that it was eight fifteen. The sun had already set. She had slept the afternoon away.
    Emily tiptoed down the stairs, dreading the two people she knew would be on the other side of the door. Franklin stood at the top of the stairs, hissing, his back arched.
    â€œEmily, it’s Vicky!” Vicky shouted as she began banging on the door.
    â€œAnd Drew!”
    â€œWe finally talked to our parents, and it’s okay. They want to meet your parents, and they’re going to let us come to the sleepover party. Just open up and let us in.”
    Emily ignored them.
    They pounded on the door. “Emily! Emily!” they called urgently from the other side. “Let us in! Please let us in!”
    Emily felt a small pang of guilt. After all this time, Drew and Vicky finally wanted to come over. They wanted to come to the sleepover, and now she was the one resisting.
    Then the image of the coffins popped into her mind, and a cold chill ran down her