Page 74

I escaped the cabin, I freed Ryder to clear my twisted debt to Noah, and I left the monster behind in the dark.

A strange weightlessness spreads through my chest, and I suck in a lungful of air as a passing calm clears my head for the first time tonight.

I know this is crazy. Hitch hiking on Halloween night, but I’m not afraid to get into a stranger’s car. I survived Ryder tonight already, and if I can survive him, then this stranger might as well be a teddy bear.

As I approach it, the driver opens the passenger side door slightly, casting a warm interior light over the wet gravel. The guy looks to be in his late twenties with dark hair and a friendly, but concerned face.

He leans over the center console. “Hey, are you okay? Do you need a ride?”

I take a frantic, deep breath, rushing up to the side of the car.

“My car broke down a few miles back. I would love it if you could give me a lift down the highway. Just to a specific stretch of road a few miles south,” I lie smoothly through a trembling voice laced with residual adrenaline.

“Sure, hop in.” The driver sits up, making room for me to enter.

I climb into the warm interior, pulling the heavy door shut against the freezing mist.

As he steps on the gas and pulls back onto the asphalt, he glances over at me with an easygoing smile.

He checks his rearview mirror. “I’m Xander, by the way. What’s your name?”

“This is a very nice car, Xander. My name is Harmony.”

“Thanks.” He smiles coyly. “Are you from around here?”

“No, not anymore. I used to live here a long time ago.” I rub my cold arms.

Xander eyes me, then reaches over to the dash, cranking up the heat.

I bet he picks up girls easily with a machine like this. They probably let him fuck them too. Well, he has another thing coming if he thinks I’m that type of girl.

A subtle sigh of relief slips past my lips as the night finally feels like it’s getting back on track.

My schedule has been torn to pieces, but I can still do what I came to Blackwood to accomplish. I can finally go to the dark spot where Noah died, face my demons, and pay my respects.

Xander checks his GPS, his brow furrowing slightly as he looks back at the road. “So... this stretch of highway you want to go to. Are you sure that’s where you want to go right now? It’s a pretty desolate part of the road, especially at five in the morning.”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

He nods slowly, though curiosity glints in his eyes. “What’s out there?”

I look out the window, watching the heavy fog swallow the tall pine trees lining the highway. “I’m visiting the site where a friend of mine died.”

Xander’s face shifts instantly, a quiet realization dawning over him. “Oh... so, you knew Noah Miller?”

My head snaps toward him, my gaze narrowing slightly.

“We went to high school together,” I admit softly. “Did you know Noah?”

“I heard the story about what happened. I was just a freshman the year Noah died. The entire town went quiet after that night.” Xander steers smoothly through the thick mist.

Before I can respond, the loud, abrasive buzz of my phone vibrating inside my coat pocket startles me.

I pull it out, squinting at the glowing screen.

Stacey Middleton.

Blaire’s mom.