“Let me worry about that.”

“But Mom is—”

“They get back from Nebraska on Sunday. We can leave later that day or the next morning.”

“I don’t think Mom will like—”

“Let me handle your mother.”

He was acting impulsively. No, obsessed, crazy. Maybe he did have a concussion. But Maggie didn’t have the heart to pop this balloon tonight. He’d come around.

“Get some sleep,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of planning and packing to do tomorrow.”

She wanted to tell him what had happened earlier. That she’d lied to him and was sorry. That she’d been terrified. That she’d used what he’d taught her and gotten away. But instead she kissed him on the cheek and said, “Good night, Dad.”

Sitting on her bed in her sleep shirt, Maggie hugged her knees as her mind returned to the party. Her heart thrummed looking at the fingerprint bruises on her wrists. She’d been a fool. Believing Eric was interested in her. Believing he was a sweet boy, like her brothers. She tried to suppress the tears, but that look in his eyes. If she hadn’t tricked him into letting his guard down, he would’ve … She didn’t want to think about that. She wanted to forget about tonight. She wanted this stupid year to end so she could leave for college and start over. Someplace where it mattered how intelligent you were, and not just how you looked or how well you threw a ball. Someplace where she wasn’t just Danny Pine’s sister.

She wished her mom was home. She could call her, of course. But she didn’t want to call this late, worry Mom while she was out of town. Mom had enough going on, dealing with Grandpa. And returning to that town where everyone hated them.

She thought about Eric again, pretending to care about Danny’s case. Faking interest in the video. She reached for her laptop, which was at the foot of the bed. She wanted to check for any comments or tips about the video. If there was one thing the Pines were good at, it was using Danny’s case to avoid their problems. Excitement flickered in her chest. The page was filled with dozens of new comments, potential tips. But then she read them:

Slut

You should KYS

No one invited a loser to the party

Your brother’s a killer and you’re a whore

Skank!!!!!!!

A sob escaped her mouth. It was Eric or his friends, it had to be. And KYS? Kill yourself? Because she’d rejected him? Or was all this to deter her from saying what had really happened in that laundry room? She snapped the laptop shut. She pinched her eyes closed and cried herself to sleep.

CHAPTER 15

MATT PINE