Page 114 of Freefall

“Jace, that’s not—” Harper’s words fade out as if someone lowered the volume with a TV remote.

She comes closer, pulling at her brother's arm until he lets her take it. Her fingers brush over the fading yellow bruise on the inside of his forearm. It’s not until she lets out a quiet sob that Jace finally tears his eyes from me and notices where she’s looking.

“Harp,” he says quietly. “Harper.”

She shakes her head, tears spilling down her cheek faster than she can wipe them away.

“It was one time. Pres got some and I…” He trails off. “I’ll never do it again. I promise.”

My heart cracks in two as she wipes at her cheeks, fresh tears replacing the ones she clears away.

“Harpsichord,” he whispers, his voice raw. “You have to believe me. I didn’t even like it. Please.”

She takes another step back. I want to go to her. To hold her. To hit him again for putting that look on her face. He has a disease. I know that. He needs help. I know that too. But all I can think about is how much I hate him for doing this to her.

Jace’s eyes shine with tears as he reaches for her, but she backs up again.

“Jesus, Harper. Are you even listening to me? I said it was one fucking time.”

I’m trying my best to give them space, but the second his mood goes from apologetic to angry again, I step between them. Jace barely acknowledges me.

“Harp,” he pleads, looking over my shoulder. “Please just listen to me.”

“You need help, Jace,” she says softly. “I can’t…I can’t do this again.”

“So what?” he snaps. “You’re giving up on me?”

“Jace,” she sobs, but he’s already stepping around me and heading down the driveway. He tips his chin up toward their parents’ house. “You’re just like them.”

Another sob breaks free from her as he shoves his hand in his sweatshirt pocket, pulls out his phone, and taps the screen before holding it to his ear.

“Hey, Pres. Yeah, I need you to come pick me up.”

He ends the call, shoving the phone back into his pocket, and turns back to us. “Have fun playing pretend, Harp.” The leaves crunching under his boots cut through the silence like a knife. “You were always good at that.”

Even from where I’m standing, I can feel her fighting the urge to run after him. Before she can, I wrap my arms around her from behind and hold on. She lasts all of three seconds before she collapses against me.

It’s only after I carry her into the house and set her down on the bed, pulling the covers over her, that Jace’s words finally sink in.

Bringing home a different guy every week. I didn’t know my sister was such a slut.

I’d been so blinded by rage over what he called her that I hadn’t even processed the first part.

The other man.

29

HARPER

“Let’s go to the blue house next!” Daisy chirps as she adjusts her bright red wig. “Ella said they have full-sized candy bars.”

Nate takes her hand, and the three of us cross the street. The moonlight catches on Nate’s face, the white makeup beneath his eyes making them look even more hollow. Daisy insisted we all dress up as a family. She only changed her mind about five times before finally settling on The Nightmare Before Christmas. I let her watch it for the first time last week, and she was instantly mesmerized.

At first, she was going to be Zero, but the second she saw my Sally costume, she decided we had to match. So here we are—two Sallys and one very broody Jack Skellington. After arguing with me for the better part of an hour that it’s a Christmas movie, not a Halloween movie, Nate finally agreed to wear the costume.

We walk up to a giant blue Colonial, and Daisy rings the doorbell. A man wearing an old-school black-and-white striped prison uniform comes to the door with a large bowl filled with…yep, full-sized candy bars. Daisy’s eyes widen as she takes a Snickers bar and thanks the man.

It’s the perfect Halloween night—crisp without being too cold, with a giant full moon that looks like it was painted in the sky. We decided to stay in our neighborhood because TJ swore it was the best place to trick-or-treat. He invited us to go with him and Ella, but I wanted it to be just the three of us. Our first holiday as a family. Or at least something that closely resembles a family