It didn’t stop me from getting a crush on him. I looked for him in the hall between classes. When we had one together, I kept constant track of where he was in the room. And when he asked me out, I said yes.

Dating was public in Eben Cape. There weren’t too many people in school, so there was no such thing as a secret boyfriend. If you went out to the local burger place with a guy, everyone knew about it.

So everyone knew when I started dating Beau.

I found myself drawn to his intensity. I wanted to be the girl who finally made him open up. I really wanted to know what it would take to make him laugh. The more he withheld from me, the more I wanted from him. I made it my project. I asked him questions about himself. I listened carefully to the answers. And I was always available when he wanted to see me.

It took Beau a few months to invite me to his house. We went after school and spent half an hour pretending to do our homework at the kitchen table. He had just suggested a walk on the beach when his older brother Rhys got home.

Rhys, like Beau, was handsome. Unlike Beau, he seemed more open. He had an easier smile, and he strode across the kitchen to shake my hand with a grin on his face. He asked me questions about myself. About school. About my friends. The kinds of questions that came harder to Beau.

At some point, Beau went through into the next room. For what, I don’t know. His shoes? To keep himself from snapping at his brother? Either way, I was alone with Rhys.

“You’re pretty,” he said, and he stepped closer. “You look like you’d be a good kisser.”

“I am,” I said. I was being bold because I couldn’t be any other way. Rhys took up the whole room with his presence.

I meant to say more, but he got there first.

“Prove it.” His grin never faltered. “Come out with me on Friday night.”

“What?” My face went hot, my bravado fading away. “I’m here with Beau. He’s your brother.”

“So?” he said.

I should have known then what he was. A creep. Worse than a creep. The man who would turn my existence into a living hell.

I toss the pen down next to the notepad. Sometimes I type on the computer, but this—this I’ve been writing by hand while Paige naps on the couch. She went back and forth on her zip line for hours this morning, sprawled out on the cushions, and went out. I haven’t seen her nap like this since she was a toddler.