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But I’d already thrown open the door and popped out.

“Waverly,” he called in exasperated warning.

Hope jumped out with me, dogging my heels as I headed toward the first officer standing in the driveway and talking into the radio attached to his shoulder.

When he spotted us, he pulled a flashlight from his belt and aimed it at our faces. “Evening, folks,” he greeted calmly. “Either of you Waverly Frank?”

“I am,” I said, suddenly hoping my parents hadn’t been in a car accident or?—

Hope appeared at my side and took my arm in a show of support. “What happened? Is everything okay?”

“We’re just here to make a health check,” the officer explained. “Your parents seemed to think something must be wrong since you weren’t answering your phone.”

I cringed, immediately embarrassed because, of course , that’s what this was about.

“Yeah,” I admitted sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I forgot it at home when I went out this evening.”

“Your mom said she never saw you leave the house on the camera,” the man told me as his flashlight veered to my left. “And who’re you, sir?”

I hadn’t realized Parker had come up to flank my free side until he answered, “Parker Ohrley.”

“He’s my boyfriend,” Hope spoke up quickly. “We were just bringing Waverly home.”

“Home from where?”

“My friend’s house,” I said. “I was at my friend Xander’s house with some people.”

The officer nodded his acceptance before tipping his head toward the house. “You might want to call your parents. Let ’em know you’re okay.” Then, turning toward Parker and Hope, he asked to see some identification.

Mortified, I hurried to the front door, past another officer who’d been shining his lights in the windows to check the place out.

“Waverly?” he asked me.

I nodded. “Yes, sir. Sorry for the trouble.”

“Just glad you’re okay,” he answered and moved back toward the other officer.

My fingers fumbled with my keys, and I glanced up at the little camera in the rafters at the corner of the porch, knowing my mother must be watching me right that moment.

I offered her a small wince in apology and finally got the door open.

As soon as I raced inside, I flipped the lights on and raced up the stairs, snagging my phone from my bed once I hit my room.

I had forty-two messages.

Forty-two.

“What in the world?” I muttered in confusion. I usually had no new messages.

Some were from Xander, asking where I was and demanding to know if I was okay. But the lion’s share was from my mother, with a few from Dad and even one from Mrs. Bergamen.

Knowing I should reply to Mom first, I opened the phone app, only for it to start ringing.

I winced at the picture of my mom that appeared, and I took one deep breath to brace myself before accepting the call.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” she boomed.

“I’m sorry,” I started immediately. “I didn’t?—”

She hissed, interrupting me. “First of all, just tell me you’re okay.”

“Of course,” I said. “I’m?—”

“Then what the hell, Waverly?”

“I’m sorry,” I gushed as I hurried back down the stairs. “I forgot my phone at home when I left the house.”

Pushing my way outside, I found both officers questioning Hope and Parker as if they’d done something illegal.

“But I never saw you leave , and your car hasn’t moved all night.”

Pausing at the edge of the porch on the first step, I squinted in confusion. “I didn’t drive. I walked. And I have no idea why you didn’t see me leave.” I glanced up at the camera in the corner. “I went out through the front door.”

“Why didn’t you take your car? What’s wrong with the MINI Cooper?”

“Nothing. I just—I didn’t want to worry about parking when I got there.”

She snorted. “Well, why didn’t I see you leave? I thought you were still at home. You didn’t answer your phone?—”

“Can you see me on the camera now?” I asked, waving at it.

“No. I—dammit.” She stopped talking to me, and I heard muffled voices in the background. Finally, she came back with a weary sigh. “Your dad said he turned that camera off yesterday because the wind kept moving the porch chairs and setting it off. He forgot to turn it back on.”

So that explained why she’d thought I’d never left the house.

“You didn’t answer your phone,” she repeated.

“I know.” I gripped a handful of my hair in defeat as I made my way back toward the others. “I forgot it on my bed.”

“I thought?—”

She didn’t finish the sentence. But I knew exactly what she’d thought. That I’d tried to kill myself again. And maybe even succeeded this time.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated. “I’m okay. I swear. Everything is fine.”

“So how did you get home?” she wanted to know. “You couldn’t call a ride if you left your phone on your bed. Oh God. Please tell me you didn’t walk the streets alone after dark.”

“No. Parker gave me a ride. He was over there too.”

“Parker? Parker Ohrley ?”

I bit my lip. “Yes.”

“Is he still there?”

“Yeah. Both he and his girlfriend Hope are here.”

“I want to talk to him,” Mom demanded just as I reached the others.

“But—”

“Put him on the phone. Now.”

With a sickened wince, I looked up at Parker, who lifted both eyebrows in question.

Holding out my phone, I said, “My mom wants to talk to you.”

He paused, clearly confused. “To me ?”

I nodded.

“Okay,” he said slowly, then took the phone. “Hey, Katherine.”

After listening for a moment and nodding at whatever my mother was telling him, he finally explained to her, “I can’t tell you much.

She was at the house I was at, visiting with the same friends I was there to see, and she was ready to go home at the same time my girl and I were, so we drove her home. End of story.”

After furrowing his brow through my mother’s reply, he then lifted his eyebrows and said, “Uh, you’ll have to ask her that.”

My mother must’ve demanded more—asking questions Parker wasn’t too fond of. His eyes narrowed and his lips tightened, telling me he was beginning to get annoyed.

He muttered, “ Again , you’ll have to ask your daughter.

I was just visiting my friends, and she happened to show up to hang out with Xander, who is cousins with my buddy Foster Union.

Yes, Foster Union the football player. No, Foster doesn’t live there.

His cousin Xander does. And Waverly was ready to head home when we were, so we offered to drop her off.

That’s all I know. No. She was fine the whole time.

These are my closest friends. They’re safe. Everything was okay. I don’t?—”

After hissing out a breath, he pulled the phone from his ear. “Thank fuck.” He handed the phone back to me. “She’s ready to talk to you again.”

“Joy,” I muttered sarcastically, causing him to smirk in understanding as I pressed the phone back to my ear.

“ Whose house were you at again?” Mom asked before I could even speak.

“I told you, Xander Union’s. She takes Early American Lit with me, and we sit next to each other in class. She invited me to come over to help celebrate her cousin’s football win.”

“So you were at a party?”

“A…get-together,” I hedged, agreeing without really agreeing. “Yes.”

“You were at a party,” she decided. “Why didn’t you just tell us that’s what you were doing?”

Because I hadn’t wanted this third degree.

“I told you I was going to?—”

“You failed to mention other people would be there. You lied to your father.”

“No. I?—”

“And you left your phone at home.”

“I know. I’m really sorry about that. I never meant to worry you.”

Except that was all I seemed to do. All my life, I’d been nothing but a nuisance for her to stress about.

Suddenly, it felt as if everything I’d done tonight had just been entirely wrong.

Why could I never do anything right?

This was why I didn’t even try to go out and live life. I fucked it up whenever I attempted to do anything .

“I’m sorry,” I said again, my voice breaking.

“Waverly…” She groaned as if exhausted by my emotions.

She didn’t want to have to deal with my fuck-ups any more than I wanted to make them.

“It’s…whatever. It’s fine. You’re okay. We’ll talk about it when we get home.

Now, your father and I missed our reservation for supper, so we’re starving.

We’re going to try to salvage the rest of our night and just…

forget this happened. Please be courteous enough to remember your phone if you go out again. Okay?”

I nodded, my voice not immediately working. “Yes, ma’am,” I finally managed to rasp. “I will. I’m sorry.”

With a long suffering sigh, she hung up.