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“Exactly,” she said sweetly. “I’ll take both doors off their damn hinges next time.” She turned to us, her smile wide and warm. “My babies. You two ready for your night out?”

Cade pushed off the desk. “Been waiting all day.”

“Well, then let’s not keep them waiting any longer,” she said to Dad, clapping her hands once. “We need to be on our way too if we want to make it in time to meet Frankie and Esther.”

Dad stood, smoothing his varsity jacket like it were one of his suits. “Alright. Let’s head out.”

We walked back through the house together. Once outside, Dad armed the security system, the soft beep echoing into the still night. My truck was still running. Next to it was the vehicle that had been acquired earlier that afternoon after we had filled our parents in on a few things.

Cade slowed. “I wanted to ask earlier, but is that a classic?”

Dad shot him with a glare over his shoulder. “Jesus Christ, Cade. Do you have to make me feel ancient every chance you get? It’s a PT Cruiser, not a damn relic.”

“In our defense, it’s the first time either of us has seen one in the wild. You sure it won’t stand out too much?”

“Where you’re heading, it won’t,” he muttered, fumbling with the keys and mumbling something about kids with no sense of humble bearings, which was rich, considering the kind of cars he drove every day.

We weren’t the flashiest family in Hemlock Heights.

We had money. More than most. We didn’t shove it in people’s faces.

It was like when I told Sassy I’d take care of her.

She brushed it off again, but she’d find out soon enough how serious I was.

In a few weeks, when she walked outside and found her Acura replaced with that sleek black beauty I had customized for her, the one she kept pinning to her secret Pinterest board, she’d flip.

I nearly smiled at the thought.

She’d probably cuss me out in a rare show. I’d let her throw her little fit and try not to smile while she did it. Sass was fucking gorgeous when she was riled up. She wouldn’t stay mad for long. I knew exactly how to make it better.

Dad slipped an arm around Mom as they walked us toward the truck. “Have fun. Send the right text when it’s done.”

Mom rose on her toes, kissing each of our cheeks like we were heading off to war. “Be careful,” she murmured. “And don’t forget to call if—”

“We got it, Mom,” I said, softer than I’d been all night.

“Love you both,” she added before she and Dad climbed into my ride.

Cade and I turned back to the PT Cruiser, both staring at it.

My brother’s eyes lit up. “Can I drive?”

“All yours.”

He grinned and slid into the driver’s seat with way too much enthusiasm for such an unholy vehicle. I circled around, dropped into the passenger seat, and shut the door as he adjusted the mirrors.

I reached for my phone, pulled up the GPS, and tilted it toward Cade. “No built-in nav.”

“And no Bluetooth. Damn. You know how long it's been since I used a radio?”

We rolled out, the Cruiser whining in protest as we glided through curved roads of our neighborhood.

If someone caught sight of this car, Uncle B would be getting a call at his station.

We passed by darkened windows. Perfect lawns.

Houses built to keep secrets buried and whispers confined to their gated cul-de-sacs.

Nick’s place was a few streets down. I knew his mom’s sedan would be parked in its usual spot.

Rook’s house was half-fortress, with all sharp angles and black iron fencing.

Ari’s place came next, her parents’ modest luxury cars glinting under the motion lights.

Cloe’s house was slick and modern—glass, steel, and more polished lies than the others.

Whatever her dad did on that secret level of his, no one asked.

Roxxi’s estate loomed at the top of a hill, regal and untouchable, like she ruled the rest of us from that castle with a click of her manicured nails.

The guard shack appeared ahead. Mom and Dad peeled left, their headlights fading toward the interstate. They must have told Norman, the guard on duty, who was in the misplaced car behind them, because he let us out with a friendly nod.

We took a hard right, officially on route to our destination.

We didn’t ever need alibis, but that night, just in case, ours would be solid.

My truck would be miles from what we were about to do.

If things went sideways, we still had Uncle B.

He could bury crimes deeper than most people dared to dig.

I leaned my head back and let the silence stretch.

This weekend wasn’t supposed to go like this.

I had every intention of getting Sanj in my bed, but not in the way it went down the night before . I’d take it, though.

I did take it.

I wasn’t fucking sorry either.

Whoever sent that text should be put on my payroll.

She didn’t even know how perfect she looked at that moment.

Her body soft and bare beneath me, lit only by the fireplace glow.

I saw every inch of her I had always fantasized about it.

I memorized and branded it onto every inch of my brain.

But I didn’t just want her in my bed. I wanted her to break open and be rebuilt with only me inside.

And that was coming soon.

Cade was quiet most of the drive, fingers tapping against the steering wheel. He finally glanced over at me. “So, about what comes next...”

“Yeah?”

“I mean, you and Sanj,” he said. “That’s happening. You know that.”

I nodded. “Been happening.”

“Right,” Cade said, a grin pulling at his mouth. “And I know you’d never hurt her intentionally.”

I waited, catching the shift in his tone.

“Don’t let your head get in the way about deadweight. You know what I mean?”

I did know what he meant.

I wasn’t bothered by his concern.

He was the other half of me, and almost as protective of Sanj as I was.

“Listen,” I began, keeping my voice even. “I’ve known her since we were born. I’ve seen every version of her. Happy, sad, guarded, raging. I’ve loved each of them a little more.”

Cade nodded, silent, letting me finish.

“She’s been with him. It’s killed me. Like breathing with fucking glass in my lungs and acid in my veins, but the way I see it, he got to enjoy it while it lasted. He played a small part in a story that was already written; by the end, he won’t matter enough to be more than a footnote.”

My brother grinned. “That was kinda deep, I love it.”

We fell into silence again, only the engine’s low hum and the radio crackling through the ancient speakers.

“You still getting those private texts, right?” he asked after another few minutes rolled by.

“Yeah. It’s been pretty steady since they started.” I reached for my phone.

“Nick’s are fucking hilarious.”

I thumbed through my inbox, skipping right past the Marked group chat with over a hundred unread messages. I wasn’t reading that shit again.

“Got a new favorite from 0428. They said:

I know where you sleep. I’ll tuck you in.

Or bury you instead .”

Cade barked a laugh. “They’re really leaning into the psycho bit this year.”

“Or they’re just bored,” I said, a dark chuckle curling under my breath. “Here’s another:

Tell her your secrets, golden boy. Or I’ll carve them out and do it for you. ”

I went back to the GPS and returned my phone to the cupholder. “They’re fucking with me,” I said flatly. “Testing my edge.”

Cade shook his head, eyes still on the road. “Yeah, well, they’re gonna need better material if they want to get under our skin.”

“You’d think they’d know that by now.”

“Oh, you think yours are good? Wait till you hear mine.” He reached into his pocket and handed me his phone.

I unlocked it and found the texts he’d been getting. “ Can you feel me watching? I see everything, peach. Even when you think you’re alone .” I laughed. “Peach? What the fuck is that?”

“That’s apparently my nickname now. They started with it this morning.”

I kept scrolling, pausing on one from a few days ago.

You think you’re untouchable.

I know where all the bodies are buried.

Even the ones you forgot.

“The one about bodies?”

He smirked. “You know my bodies are never found once they’re buried in the ground.”

Yeah. That was true.

“I can’t believe Sanj thought Ashton could be behind any of this,” Cade speculated. “Deadweight is not that creative.”

I laughed, sharp and cold. “He could’ve surprised us. Chess club and Dennis weren’t exactly top-tier predators either.”

Cade grunted. “Okay, fair point.”

Our conversation died off as we crossed into an area with cracked sidewalks and mailboxes attached to the houses. If Hemlock had a hood, we were in it now.

Cade’s knuckles tapped a rhythm against the wheel as he took a left. “Damn, guess our ride isn’t so special after all.”

I glanced over and spotted the car he was eyeing. Its paint was chipped, its hood was dented, and it had a busted tail light.

“That was an Impala,” I said.

“No need to show-off, bro. We know you’re the smarter twin.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I laughed.

Cade grinned. “I prefer this to that. The cruiser is growing on me a little. Our hunchbacked Trojan horse with no Bluetooth.”

My grin faded as we slowed at the next intersection, the dim glow from the streetlights casting long, fractured shadows across the road.

“We close?” Cade asked.

“Just up ahead.”

The convenience store’s neon sign blinked erratically, casting a sickly green hue across the parking lot.

Hunt gear was displayed in the dirty ass windows, alongside Crowsfell and Hemlock High merch.

They advertised hot food for sale. I wouldn’t drink air from this place.

The store itself was empty, save for a bored-looking cashier scrolling on his phone behind the counter.