“Psycho, is it? The last I checked, that’s what you liked…”
The smile on his face was unnerving. It was cocky, arrogant, and borderline unhinged.
Behind me, I could feel Max go still again, every muscle wired tight. He was listening, and if Jackson pushed me, Max wasn’t going to stay quiet.
Max didn’t know what had happened between Jackson and me, but I could see the unease beginning to take hold in his chest. Everything now felt dangerous. I could sense the slow, peaceful story of summer slipping into a dark abyss. One where only one of us would come out alive.
Graham’s voice carried over the lake, all cheer and obliviousness. “Alright, it looks like everyone’s paired off. Time to put you into groups of four!”
He pointed to Max and me, and then Jackson andHeather.
“You four, together.”
Graham handed me a bowl of folded slips. I drew one, fingers brushing scrap paper, and unfolded it.
“Two Truths and a Lie,” I read aloud, my lips curling into something I hoped passed for a smile. The words caught in my throat halfway through the rules.
Heather gave a nervous laugh. “Oh wow. This is going to be hard.”
Max leaned back on his hands, voice carrying. “How are we supposed to win if we don’t know each other?”
“That’s the point,” Graham called back. “It’s like speed dating. But you’re getting to know your other counselors.”
Heather grinned at Max. “Aw, cute. Max, I’m ready for our first date. We should do this romance-themed!”
Max gave her a polite half-smile, but his shoulders were tight. “Fine,” he said, low. He was definitelynotinto that idea.
I could do romance. Safer than digging too close to my history.
Jackson shifted beside me, his fingers skirting down my spine. He was too close. “We’ve got this, Kenz,” he said, smiling like he owned the air between us.
I hated his nickname for me. Kenz. It made my blood boil.
I rolled my eyes and glanced across at Max. He was watching us. Arms crossed. Jaw tight. His expression wasn’t just dislike. It was something darker.
I had never seen that expression on Max’s face before.
Jackson’s hand found my arm. His fingers gripped like a warning. His smile was casual, but the press of his thumb on my skin marked me ashis.
I remembered his hands on my throat, the bruising pressure, the way my vision spotted at the edges. He liked to choke me, whenever anything didn’t go his way.
“You’re such a fucking slut, Kenz. You liked it? When you saw me fucking her? You like to watch. Don’t worry, baby. Shedoesn’t mean anything to me. It’s always going to be you and me. Til death do us part.”
The memory wasn’t just in my head; it pulsed through my skin, stuttering through my body.
Max saw it, the way I reacted. His body coiled, jaw ticking like something dangerous had just been switched on inside him. He looked like a predator about to go on a hunt, and the prey was Jackson.
Jackson noticed, too. His smirk dared Max to step over a line so that he could cut deeper. His hand slid to my waist, his fingertips skating over my hips.
“Don’t touch me,” I snapped.
Max stood. His fists clenched. He looked at me, silently asking permission to intervene. I shook my head. He sat again, but the heat in his eyes didn’t dim.
Jackson’s gaze cut between us. Cold calculation was there now, like a man cataloging weapons.
Graham’s voice broke the tension. “Alright, time to start. Go.”
I felt unease rip through me, and I nervously started the game, stumbling over my words.
