I took a deep breath. Amber was smart; she wouldn’t be in over her head. She probably was just being extra careful, folding me into her plans. Nothing major.

A loud, retching sound jolted me from my thoughts.

I raced to my bathroom door—the one I shared with Tessa.

“Tessa?” I asked, knocking.

“Go. Away.” Her words were garbled with the sounds of too much spit. Another gagging sound, and a splat.

I cringed, totally thinking about vacating the house. But it was my baby sister, so I knocked again.

“Let me in,” I said.

“No.” She growled the word.

I jiggled the handle, finding it unlocked, and stepped through.

“Damn it, Dean,” she said, glaring up at me from where she kneeled over the toilet.

I rolled my eyes and gathered her hair off her neck and away from her face, securing it with one of those damn ties she left all over the counter. “Did you go to a party last night without me knowing?”

It was absolutely possible. She could’ve thrown her own party, inviting the entire school over, and I likely wouldn’t have noticed. Not when I’d been wrapped up in Amber.

The memory scorched my insides, and I wetted my lips. I could still taste her kiss. Could still smell her on my skin.

Puke splattered the water in the toilet, and I snapped the eff out of it. I leaned over, rubbing my sister’s back, cringing as she lost her guts over and over again.

“How much did you drink last night?” I asked, trying like hell not to let disappointment leak into my tone. It wasn’t that she drank; it was that she’d obviously had way too much.

“I didn’t,” she said.

Grabbing a washcloth, I soaked it with cold water, wrung it, and handed it to her. “You don’t have to lie to me, Tessa,” I said. “I’m not Mom and Dad.”

She wiped her face, resting her forehead on the arms crossed over the toilet she’d just flushed. “I’m not.”

I folded my arms over my chest, leaning against the wall near the tub.

“Go away, Dean. Please.” She closed her eyes, tears leaking from the corners.

“Not until you talk to me.”

She groaned, clutching at her stomach with one arm. “No.”

I ground my teeth, sucking in a long breath through my nose. “Please, Tessa,” I said once I knew my voice would be even. “You’ve been ghosting me. Sean. For way longer than normal. It’s time you tell me what’s going on.” I now knew the reasoning—her prank on Tanner was likely eating away at her—but it didn’t explain her distance from us. Was she so sure we’d lecture her over it?

“I have not—”

Another wave cut her off, and I hissed. “You sure you didn’t drink?”