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Well, not exactly. He said to ask her if she slept in her own bed that night, to which he was right. She didn’t.
He’s still playing with me, and still so good at it.
But more importantly… I lift my gaze, watching Dylan discreetly slip some folded-up bills into Codi’s hoodie pocket as she stands right next to her and doesn’t notice. She sleeps in my room. Not his.
Dylan
I skid around the Loop, taking the last left before blowing through the finish line. I grip the steering wheel, shifting back into fourth, then fifth, and feeling the car quake underneath me as my tail fans out with the next turn.
I haven’t raced the Loop in a car in over a year. I think it was the last time my dad helped me with anything. He would love it if I raced cars. It’s a little safer, especially when my name is traditionally male, and no one can see me inside. Many assume I’ll be a guy until I climb out and take off my helmet. Maybe I’dinviteless scrutiny and less aggression on the track, hidden that way. And hey, I can still ride motorcycles as a—insert air quotes—hobby.
And then there’s Hunter and whatever bullshit he’s on again.
I’m going to turn off the volume tonight. I’m turning it all off—everyone else’s voices—and enjoying my birthday.
The track is still empty—the Pirates just getting out of school—and I race around the last bend, waving at the guysin the tower who work here every day, getting ready for the evening races. I should get out of here before anyone shows up.
I drop the Mustang—one of many my dad has—back in the rear parking lot of his shop and climb on the new bike Farrow gave me. It’s not new, but it’s new to me, and I’m to understand that if I put this one in the river too, he’ll put me there with it.
Running back home, I spot my dad’s car in front of the curb and make a short right, into Monika Swenson’s carport two houses down. She’s a nurse at the hospital where Mom works. Hopefully she’ll be there for a little while longer.
I climb out and jog down to my house, keeping my eyes peeled for my parents. I just need in my room for a minute.
Jumping up into the tree between mine and Hawke’s houses, I scale it until I reach my bedroom. I lean over the thigh-high fence and open my French doors, leaping into my room.
Laptop. Maybe some makeup.I go through the list in my head as I grab things.
Hesitating at my underwear drawer, I pluck out another pair of cute ones. Just in case. I don’t know if I’ll be in another situation where someone is watching me undress in a shower, but there’s nothing wrong with being ready for it.
Tossing the stuff on the bed, I grab my backpack and stuff everything inside, taking a body spray and a pair of earrings that Juliet bought me too.
I stop, remembering.Razors. I need replacement cartridges. At least one. I tiptoe to my door and peek into the hallway, spotting my little brother coming up the stairs. He has a Polar seltzer in one hand and a bag of Fritos in the other. He stuffs his face inside, grabbing chips with his mouth.
When he reaches the top, I grab him, whip him around, and he starts to shout, but I plant a hand over his mouth.
“Where’s the mark?” I growl in his ear.
“Mum muh muh mum.”
I remove my hand.
“In the kitchen,” he whispers with his mouth full of chips.
“Is he armed?” I ask.
“Always.”
We listen for our father below. A cabinet closes, then the door off the kitchen into the garage.
“I’ve exceeded my energy consumption,” I tell James.
“Energy conversion power recharge?” he suggests.
“Negative. My suit’s in the cleaners.”
“What are we going to do?” he cries.
“Radioactive spiders?”
