The drill bit snapped off in the drywall with a sharp crack, sending plaster dust puffing into the air like a tiny explosion. Vespera sneezed, wiped her nose on the back of her wrist, and squinted at the jagged little hole she'd made. It wasn't perfect, not by a long shot, but it would do.

She'd borrowed the cordless drill from the garage while her stepbrother was at work, careful to put it back exactly where she found it. The batteries were nearly dead anyway; it had taken three attempts to even get through the drywall between their rooms.

Vespera blew the last of the plaster dust from the hole and pressed her eye against it, angling her head until she could just make out the corner of her stepbrother's bed. The alignment was better than she'd hoped. right at pillow level. She stuffed one of her own pillows against the opening from her side, then stepped back to survey her handiwork.

user's key turned in the front door lock right on schedule; 6:17 PM, same as every Thursday after his late shift at the convenience store. Vespera held her breath, listening to the familiar shuffle of his work boots being kicked off.

She waited until the footsteps passed her closed door and continued down the hall before peeling back the corner of her pillow fortress. Through the jagged little aperture, she watched as he tossed his grease-stained shirt into the hamper and collapsed face-first onto his mattress with a muffled groan. The bedsprings squeaked in protest.

The mattress shifted slightly under his weight, and that's when he felt it: an odd draft against his cheek where there shouldn't be one. He lifted his head, blinking at the suspiciously circular depression in the fabric near his pillow. A few flecks of drywall dust drifted down as he poked at it with one fingernail. "What the hell—?"

"Boo," came Vespera's voice, muffled but unmistakable, from directly beneath his face.

His fingers froze halfway into the hole, recoiling as if he'd touched something electric. "Vespera?" he hissed, voice cracking mid-word. Through the jagged opening, he could just make out the shadowy outline of her grinning face pressed against the other side—close enough that he could see her eyelashes brushing against plaster dust when she blinked.