I wanted him to come, but I knew deep down that he wouldn’t. Why would he walk into a trap I’m not even trying to hide? But that doesn’t mean he’s not watching, and it doesn’t mean he’s not tempted. He knows I’m here. He knows I’m waiting.

I walk to the end of the alley, the side I rarely see, and step into the street. I’m about to turn and walk back, giving my audience one last look at the journey Mom started but never finished, when I hear a different noise, one that tells me not everyone is watching this at home.

Chapter 87

“Jess-i-ca,” someone sings. “We’re watching you.”

I hear a giggle, a shush, the sounds of bitches warming up. And then I see them.

The girls dance toward me while the boys swagger. When they get close, one of the boys reaches for my body cam, and I step back.

“Let’s have a look,” he says.

I don’t reply, just start backing toward the alley that is suddenly my only escape. But the other boy jumps behind me and yanks the head cam off, then points it at me and says, “Smile.”

The girls laugh, and the boy with the camera points it at them until one says, “Not at us, you prick.”

That’s when I recognize her. She’s in tenth grade; they both are. They belong to the group that think they’re better than us, the mean girls whose whispers travel the length of a hallway. But I don’t know the boys, and that scares me.

The one with the camera points it back at me, and the girls start singing again, “Jess-i-ca. Jess-i-ca.”

And then, “One for sorrow, two for joy.”

That’s when the other boy leans in, so close I can smell his breath, and says, “Three for the girl with a dead mom.”

The body cam is still pointing up at me, recording my reaction, my audience seeing the tears as they fall and hearing the laughter that follows.

“She’s crying,” one of the boys says. “I thought you were supposed to be some kind of badass, chasing after a serial killer. If he found you, he’d ruin you.”

I try to grab the camera, but he jumps back and laughs.

“Fuck you,” I say, stepping forward and making fists.

That’s when I hear movement from the alley, pounding footsteps and heavy breathing.

The four of them exchange looks, throw the camera on the ground, and run.

Chapter 88

When Jamie gets to me, I’m pulling off the body cam, hiding from my audience just long enough to break down.

“I told you not to,” he says.

I turn and say, “I didn’t ask you to come.” But if he hadn’t, they would still be here.

As I pick up the head cam, Jamie says, “Are you okay?”