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“Honest. I would show them toAubrey, just not Anae. You know how she is. She would read into every word and see things that aren’t there.”
I’ve never had a reason to doubt Hannah before, so I take her word for it, but I’m still a little uneasy. It’s not her I don’t trust. It’s Dare. The effect he seems to have on people is, to say the least, frightening.
I know Hannah hates Dare, though. She probably didn’t think about it being the middle of the night when she sent the message. She was probably worried about Aubrey since Anae is still hung up on Dare. If he doesn’t know Anae is still a threat, he can’t watch out for her, and not watching out for her could literally endanger Aubrey’s life.
“Have you talked to Aubrey?” I ask.
Her lips press together and she shakes her head. “He still doesn’t really let us talk. I like her stuff on social media from time to time, but I’ve been afraid to actually message her. He was pretty clear about not wanting me to.”
“In this middle-of-the-night DM?”
Hannah shakes her head. “Before they moved. The tone of our message was actually surprisingly non-hateful. It was probably just because I caught him by surprise reaching out to him like that, but it actually made me wonder…” She trails off like she’s not sure she wants to share.
I shake my head. “Nope. No saying potentially scary things concerning Dare and then trailing off. Spill.”
“It’s probably a pipe dream. Last time I asked, he was not at all receptive to the idea, but some time has passed, and we live on opposite ends of the country now. Maybe if I play nice, he’ll let me talk to her. I may not even have the same fog-clearing effect on her from so far away, so maybe he could tolerate me being her friend now.”
I shake my head. “It issuchbullshit that she requires hispermissionto talk to her friends.”
“He’s very high-maintenance,” she agrees. “But he’s also the boss, so if I want any contact with her, I have to go through him to get it.”
“That is so fucked up. I don’t know how she tolerates him.”
Hannah nods. “I know, but it’s not her fault. It’s hard to fight back against someone who plays as dirty as Dare does. She’s armed with a water gun, and he has a tank—and a willingness to roll over anyone who gets in his way.”
I nod, my lips pressed firmly together. “Speaking of his willingness to literallytake outthe competition. Remember when we had that little chat about how the smartest and safest thing for you to do is stay far,faraway from Aubrey and let her battle her own demons?”
“I do. Remember when we had that little chat aboutyouhandling your Landon stuff so you could be free to talk to Javi?” Pointedly, she pushes my hair back over my shoulder to expose my neck that she just finished covering up for me.
“Touché. But—”
She holds up a hand to stop me. “No. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I know the risks, and I’m just as capable of making my own terrible decisions as you are.”
I crack a smile. “I guess I can’t argue with that.”
___
Since we were running late this morning and I was already at Hannah’s house, I gave her a ride to school.
Since tonight is Mom’s night to work late and Hayden is working late as well, I ask if she wants to come home with me to do homework and stay for dinner.
Last night was the closest thing to a win as we’ve had with Landon, but that family time win didn’t come for free, and I’m the one who had to pay the very depraved cost.
I’m not feeling very spendy tonight, so I need my bestie to play shield for me.
When she was here last time, I also forgot to show her the pool house, so I decide I should finally do that now.
Landon’s car is in the driveway, but I haven’t seen him since we got here. He might be hanging out in his cave in the basement, or maybe he’s in his room doing homework. I’ve neverseenLandon do homework, but presumably he does since he hasn’t been kicked out of school yet.
It’s a nice evening, so when we first step outside, I’m sad I can’t take advantage of it and go for a swim. Hannah touched up my makeup at lunchtime, but a swim in the pool would definitely wash it all off.
Then we step out onto the patio, and I see Landon’s muscular arms slicing through the water. Guess I wouldn’t have been able to go for a swim, anyway.
I knew Landon was on the swim team, so I assumed he spent time swimming in the off season, but this is the first time since we moved in I’ve actually caught him in the pool.
He’s swimming away from us and I don’t think he’s seen us yet, so I grab Hannah’s hand and make her walk faster with me toward the pool house’s side door. Opening the main one is a whole thing and can’t be done without drawing attention.
Hannah giggles, her eyes twinkling with mirth when we get inside.
