We Used to Live Here
by Marcus Kliewer
Contents
16. Thief
Overview
After waking from her fall, Eve insists a woman is hiding in the house, but Thomas and Paige respond with skepticism that leaves Eve more isolated and unsure of her own senses. When Eve confronts Kai over a phone, the struggle ends with Shylo biting him, giving the family a reason to leave while making Eve look unstable. Once they are gone, the house seems to alter itself again when the study window has changed, and eerie basement sounds convince Eve that staying is no longer safe.
Summary
Eve wakes on the living room couch with a pounding head after her fall from the attic. Thomas and Paige tell Eve that she was screaming for help, fell, and briefly lost consciousness. When Eve says she saw a woman in a hospital gown in the attic and may have seen the same figure on the basement stairs the night before, Thomas rejects the idea that it could be Alison and suggests a squatter instead. Paige questions whether Eve really saw anyone and urges calling the police, but Thomas decides to inspect the attic himself.
While Thomas is upstairs, Paige awkwardly apologizes for her earlier behavior and talks about how Thomas brought her to religion. Thomas then returns and says he found nobody in the attic, only a flashlight. Eve notices signs that Thomas may be lying and begins doubting her own judgment, especially after the head injury, until she hears a phone chime upstairs that sounds exactly like her missing phone.
Eve runs to the study and finds Kai handling what she believes is her cracked-screen phone. When Eve demands it back, Kai refuses and a physical struggle follows. Shylo rushes in, barks, and bites Kai’s ankle. Thomas, Paige, Jenny, and Newton arrive to see the chaos. Eve insists Kai stole her phone, but when she picks it up, the device is actually Kai’s intact phone, not hers, which makes Eve appear confused and unstable even though Eve is certain she saw her own phone.
Kai admits he secretly kept his phone during the family’s digital fast because he wanted contact with his friends. Thomas focuses on Kai’s injury, and Paige presses Eve to confirm that Shylo is vaccinated. After Eve says yes, Paige declares that the dog should be put down. Thomas decides to drive Kai for treatment, and the family prepares to leave. Before going, Paige takes Kai’s phone back, warns Eve that she will hear from them, and ends with a pitying promise to pray for Eve.
Once the house is quiet, Eve notices that the study’s stained-glass window has somehow become an ordinary old clear-glass window, with no sign that any change was recently made. Shaken, Eve goes looking for Shylo, hears whimpers that seem to come from the basement, and follows them downstairs with the flashlight. At the bottom, Eve hears another whimper behind her and turns to find Shylo safely at the top of the stairs, proving the sound below was false. When Eve then hears a metallic groan from the darkness, likely the dumbwaiter, panic takes over. Eve retreats, locks the basement door, checks that Shylo is unharmed, and decides she must get out immediately.
Who Appears
- Evewakes injured, insists an intruder is in the house, confronts Kai, and resolves to flee with Shylo
- Kaicaught with a hidden phone, fights Eve over it, and is bitten by Shylo
- Thomas Faustexplains Eve’s fall, downplays the attic threat, checks upstairs, and takes charge after Kai is bitten
- Paige Faustquestions Eve’s perceptions, condemns Shylo after the bite, and leaves threatening consequences
- Shylobites Kai during the struggle and later helps reveal the basement whimpers were deceptive
- Jennywatches Eve nervously and leaves with the family after Kai is injured
- Newtonstays near Jenny, follows Thomas’s instructions, and witnesses the aftermath of Kai’s bite