Then Raven reached out, entwining their fingers. “My dad locked me in the car. I tried to get out, but I couldn’t, and the whole time, he was telling me—” He broke off suddenly, the way the car had staggered to a stop after Lily had punctured the tire. That had been a stroke of genius, and Jack was thankful for Lily keeping those rusty shears in her purse the entire time. He was thankful for Belle’s idea to listen to Dr. Holloway through the vents. No matter how many times the people around them had tried to destroy them, abuse them, or tie them up in knots, none of them had stopped fighting back.

It was the only way they’d survived.

Now Jack was looking forward to quiet nights beside the fire. Toasting marshmallows with his brothers. Reading stories. Someday soon, their mother would come home, and their lives would be cast into upheaval once again, but for the briefest of moments, the world was peaceful.

The breeze filtered in through the window, rustling the dark curtains. Raven untangled his limbs from his sheets. Jack could tell that he was still exhausted from the previous night, because his usually graceful movements looked a bit sloppy. His eyes were red from crying. Still, he managed to swing his legs over the side of the bed, testing his strength. “He said we were going to see my mom. I thought, maybe in the quiet of the cemetery, he’d tell me the truth. I kept hoping we were wrong about things. Maybe he’d only meant to scare Evelyn, or maybe Andrew really was the killer.”

“Andrew’s a killer too. He killed your mom, and he doesn’t get to pretend he’s innocent because Evelyn tricked him into it. He could’ve checked the gun. He could’ve said no to her.” Jack studied Raven’s eyes, expecting to see devastation. “Now he’ll be going to prison along with your dad.”

Raven huffed, shaking his head. “Maybe they’ll share a cell.”

“Raven.”

He turned to look at Jack then, truly peering into his eyes, and Jack expected to see devastation. Fury, bleeding into heartache. But Raven’s gaze was strong. That little boy who’d jumped at every shadow was gone, replaced by someone Jack recognized but didn’t really know anymore. Not as much as he wanted to.

Maybe, if he was very lucky, Raven would let him in, like he was letting Raven in. Jack’s heart swelled at the thought. He guided Raven to his feet. “The girls are outside taking down the fort in the orchard. We’ve been talking, and we think it would make sense for you to stay at my house until my mom comes home.”