Page 80 of Soul So Dark

“What for?”

“I need to return something.”

“Well, then,” he picks up the remote and turns off the flat screen above the stone fireplace, “let’s go on a field trip.”

Dallas hates Aiden, but I figure if she’s not home, then she doesn’t need to know he’s with me. When we arrive, the house looks dark and Colson’s Civic is gone. Regardless, we jog up the front steps and ring the doorbell. If Christy or Scott are home, they’ll let us in, just like every other time any of us knock on their door.

“What are you returning, anyway?” Aiden asks, gazing out across the dark lawn.

“Her glasses case.”

He shakes his head. “God, you’re such a skeeze.”

“Fuck off.”

When there’s no answer, we head to the garage and I type in the code we’ve all had memorized since middle school. Seconds later, we’re inside the house and making our way upstairs. Arriving at Dallas’s room, I open the door and step inside without a thought. But as soon as I look up, I catch sight of a figure sitting upright at the head of Dallas’s bed, their back against the wall and legs straight out in front of them.

It’s definitely not her.

“Jesus!” I gasp, stumbling backward into Aiden.

He grabs my shoulders with a curse as I smack the wall, searching for the light switch. I finally find it and light floods the room. But then my terror turns to utter confusion.

“Rory?”

He doesn’t move, only stares back at us from the bed. Goosebumps skitter up my arms and an uneasiness settles in my gut. He shouldn’t be here, and there’s something incredibly disturbing about the way he’s sitting leisurely in Dallas’s Pepto Bismol pink room, on her fluffy white comforter.

“The fuck are you doing here?” Aiden snaps over my shoulder.

“I should ask you the same thing,” Rory deadpans.

The more I look at him, the fewer patience I have. “No, really, what are you doing here?”

Finally, he cracks a smile. “I have a date with Elina.”

Oh shit...

“Dude, are you on something right now?” Aiden’s tone softens. “You’re in Colson’s house, sitting in his sister’s room, like a fucking creep.”

“Yeah,” Rory cocks his head, “and when she comes back, I’m going to lock that door and tear her ass up.She’s going to find out what I’m like face to face instead of behind a screen.”

The adrenaline is pumping, and the more he talks, the more everything melts away and tunnel vision takes hold.

Aiden gives an exasperated sigh. “What are you babbling about?”

“Since you’re here, you want a piece?” Rory asks with a flash of his eyes. “You can have as much fun with her as you want. I’ll get a few pictures, and afterward, it’ll be like we were never here.”

My jaw is clenched so hard that my teeth are about to crack.

“What?” Aiden asks again.

“Dallas is Elina,” I blurt out, not taking my eyes off Rory. “She’s been hustling him, pretending to be Elina the entire time. She sends him fake nudes and he sends her money.”

Rory’s eyes dart to me, his expression turning loathsome. Out of the corner of my eye, Aiden slowly swivels his head to look at me.

“You knew?” Rory growls.

“I knew.” The details don’t matter, only what I’m about to do.