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She turns to look at the other parents before shaking her head. “Honestly, it’s surreal. These guys were never my crowd in high school.”

I laugh lightly. “Thank goodness for that.”

How much more fucked up would this whole thing be if Mom had dated one of their dads in high school?

“How are you girls doing?” Mom turns to Kenz and Penny. Kenz sits next to me, and Penny sits behind me, surrounding me.

I take a few deep breaths now that the focus is off me.

Kenz smiles and takes my hand. “We’re all doing the best we can. Sticking together whenever possible. I’m surprised my mom isn’t here right now. She wants to ground me but can’t justify grounding me for being kidnapped.”

She squeezes my hand, and I remember to smile.

“Of course, I don’t have a new boyfriend like Penny,” Kenz teases.

Penny blushes when we look back at her. “Will is amazing.”

“How’s living at your father’s house going?” Mom is careful with her tone. It was Penny’s choice to go back there.

Penny smiles and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s been good. My dad is a complicated guy, but he wants a child he can mold into himself. Luke never would have been that.”

“But you will?” I ask, unable to help myself. I have no love for William Foster and know my mom doesn’t like the guy either, with very good reason. I hope Penny knows what she’s getting herself into.

Penny shrugs and smiles softly. “I’ve never had much direction in life. I don’t have a plan laid out like some seniors. He’s willing to give me the best education possible and wants me to do well in school. That’s better than my mom ever did for me.”

Mom’s brow pinches. She wants to offer our house again to Penny. If she could, Mom would try to save everybody, but I think she realizes Penny doesn’t want saving this time.

“If you need anything...” Mom says, letting it go.

Penny nods and glances at me. “I’m just glad Luke is out of our house. It will make it easier because I’m sure my dad would use us against one another. Luke deserves a break.”

She sounds so confident. Like what she’s doing is exactly what she wants. Maybe it is. She could have been injured or died at that house. Maybe it was the wake-up call she needed to help her move forward with her life.

“Okay,” Kenz says, breaking the tension, “but where are we going to college?”

Ashley

The halftime show is over, and the locker room is filled with all the girls from the dance team and the band, including the girls from the color guard. Emma and Hannah stand with me, along with all the rest of the varsity cheerleaders. A united front.

“Listen up,” I yell.

The noise dies down as everyone turns to look at us standing by the exit. Rachel Hayes rolls her eyes at Heather Parson. Autumn Cook sits next to them.

“Everyone knows what went down on Homecoming weekend.” I move forward, making eye contact with the girls. “If you don’t, ask your friends what happened in this locker room on Friday night.”

Everyone remains quiet. I let that sink in. The main story is a prank, but with the details from Saturday night, it pushes Friday night into the horror show it was.

“What you don’t know is what happened on Senior night.” I cross my arms. “Sidney decided to skunk Harper with her perfume on Luke’s jersey.”

Some girls snicker, and I turn to glare at them until they stop.

“We’ve made our peace with Harper and apologized for what we allowed Sidney to get away with.” I need to be clear because this shit ends here. “What most people don’t know about is how Sidney set up Harper. Sidney figured Harper would try to clean it somehow, so Sidney had Zach Gray watching her to scare her.” Fucking bitch. If I’d known the shit, I would have told Eli or the other horsemen. Sidney was jealous, but she shouldn’t have been. Luke was never hers.

There are little grumbles of conversation, but I’m not done.

“Harper ended up coming to this locker room to fix it.” I turn my gaze to Rachel, Heather, and Autumn. Rachel leans back like she doesn’t care. Autumn looks away. Heather holds her breath. “Someone decided to trap Harper in the laundry room, which normally wouldn’t be a big deal. Pranks happen, but someone who knew she was trapped there also told Zach where she was.”

There’s a collective gasp.