The Intruder

by Freida McFadden

There is at least a fifty percent chance that in the next twenty-four hours, the roof of the cabin I’m renting will collapse and kill me. It’s an apt metaphor for the rest of my life.

she’s either dying or has shit luck

And then a few days ago, my calls became more urgent. There’s a storm coming, and if this roof doesn’t get fixed ASAP, I could die.

like why so mf dramatic holy shit

I came out here after I lost my teaching job.

so many things are sounding wrong about this lady

and I look back with disdain on the days when my smartphone was glued to my right hand. I sold the phone before I came out here.

like she literally is either dying or she did something bad and doesn’t want to be found or even both

I miss my students. I would have done anything for those kids. Except that’s what got me into trouble.

No. I’ll be happy when the tree is gone. I’ve been worried about it for the last month, and now that a storm is coming, I’m really worried.

bro if she’s so scared about a storm like go stay in a motel in town?? you are renting a small cabin that is not yours and it sounds like you sold everything you own

Unfortunately, it’s far too late for a major repair at this point. The storm is coming tonight.

almost sounds like something more than the storm is coming hm

“Fine. I’ll come back when the storm is over.” And then he adds, “If you survive it.”

like what is going on for real

Before I shut the door, I see a glint of something in the corner of the shed, probably some sort of old gardening tool. Once

or an eyeball. maybe a knife

knowing the odds are fifty-fifty it will get ripped off when the sixty-mile-per-hour winds start up.

she keeps using the fifty fifty odds shit stfu

And then there’s one other person who I suspect would be happy to spend the night in my bed. But I’m not interested.

sussy they’re setting her up to sound like a child predator

It is barely more than halfway through the school year, and this is already my sixth visit to the principal’s office.

is frieda trying to make us think ella went to the school casey taught at

knew it wasn’t my own lunch, because I didn’t bring mine today. I almost never bring anything. But Garber doesn’t know that.

what if this is casey and she changed her name

A lot of other girls in my grade have boobs, but I don’t. Just teeny little mosquito bites.

poor gal

on the way the green is leaking onto the back of his neck—and he is picking at a huge hole in the knee of his blue jeans.

this girl is so observant

I actually saw a rabbit nuzzling with a deer, and I promptly named them Bambi and Thumper, but sadly, I failed to get a photo before they both scurried away.

unless she has a real camera lmao i thought she didn’t have a phone?

him to do it. I don’t need a man to make sure there isn’t a bogeyman hiding in my shed, for Christ’s sake.

this girl hates men i swear. but she claims to have loved her dad so much and that he knew everything. daddy issues?? this is why it would make sense if casey was also the girl in the other chapters

Lee charges out into the night, my maroon umbrella protecting him from the downpour, although the rain is becoming increasingly horizontal.

perhap he uses her shed for something

My mom knows everything about stuff like that. I squeeze

this has to be casey lol

But wait. I can’t. The phones are out. That means I can’t call Lee, and I can’t call the police. I can’t call anyone.

you think she’d have some type of emergency phone living out in a cabin like that

The hot dogs smell really good.

“Is your name Eleanor?” I ask her.

interesting so we are supposed to assume this is ella i guess but idk im still not buying it frieda loves to trick us <3

“So when I was a kid, my dad and I had something called an infinity promise.”

hmmm maybe casey and ella are not the same person

We pass Mrs. Fleming’s house first. It’s dark inside. A few days after I took out her trash, she slipped and fell during the night, and she hit her head really badly. She’s in the hospital now, and they’re not sure she’s going to get better. In other news, I’ve had money for lunch for the entire week.

WHAT

Eventually, it will heal and then leave behind a little white circle easily concealed by a long-sleeved shirt—or at least that’s what I assume based on last time.

bruh

Poor girl. I can’t even imagine what she’s been through today. I’m sure murdering someone is very exhausting.

LMFAO

I would never leave a scrap of garbage lying around—which

doesn’t this just make you think casey is ella even more???

She says yogurt is good pretty much forever, unless the top of the container is puffing out.

right

fact…” He fishes into the pocket of his baggy jeans and comes up with a lighter the same color as his hair. “Can you take this for me? I just need it away from me.”

this would make you think ella is eleanor

When I do bad things, it’s always on purpose. If I mess with somebody, it’s only because they deserve it.

It’s the first piece of personal information she has shared with me, and I eat it up, happy to have more of a distraction. “Oh?”

i just had i thought lol what if whatever casey did like she helped out a kid that was being abused but she went over the top and got fired and it made like national news and ella heard about it and that’s why she’s there?

It’s my birth certificate. With my father’s name on

ooooooo

It’s an X-Acto knife with a retractable blade.

ok this could be the blade

invite you to her birthday party, as if she would invite you after you broke her arm! Why would anyone want you there?” Now that she’s saying it, I do kind of remember all that. It didn’t seem like that big a deal to me, although I guess I wasn’t the one in a cast.

dude this girl literally is psychotic

make sure he doesn’t get detention again. He’s working very hard on his pulse control. I hope he can do it. I don’t want anything to go wrong with Anton’s heart. If

And a split second later, he slams his fist into Brittany’s pretty face. “You stuck-up bitch,” he hisses at her. “You’re going to pay. For everything.”

DUDE

“I’m Ella,” I finally manage. Then I think better of it and give my full name: “Elizabeth Casey.”

KNEW IT