We said our goodbyes to Eric and Tristan, the mood slipping back into somber as we got into our car. I’d already gotten all of Noah’s bags from inside and had put them in the trunk, not wanting him to have to step foot in that place again. It made my skin crawl. Such a beautiful and picturesque home now looked twisted and monstrous, as if the ever-spanning glass windows belonged to the eyes of a hungry spider, spinning a dangerously elaborate web while its fangs dripped with venom and its hairy legs rubbed together in excitement.

“Come on,” I said, putting a hand on Noah’s shaking leg. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

“Please,” he said and dropped his head back on the headrest, eyes shut but tears leaking from the corners.

29. Noah Barnes

29

NOAH BARNES

The other cabin was a forty-five-minute drive away, although I wished it were further. As in countries further. I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, even as we drove in a heavy silence through the winding mountain roads. The window was cracked open, a hiss of fresh air circulating through the car. Outside, the day appeared to be one of the prettiest ones yet. The sky was a sapphire blue and dotted with a couple of clouds, looking as if they were placed there with a paintbrush. The trees still had most of their summer leaves, although some were already started shifting into orange and brown, adding another splash of color from the brush.

It served as an extreme contrast to the storm that raged inside me, with lightning bolts striking at my spine and hurricane-force winds rattling through my ribs.

“This it?” Jake asked as he drove up a small driveway, the cabin tucked between two larger ones.

“It is,” I said, looking out the window at the quaint place. Robby’s mansion in the mountains put this one to shame, and yet I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I didn’t care that it didn’t have a view or a hot tub or a hundred windows. It wasn’t Robby’s, and it wasn’t full of cameras, so I was happy.

“Come on, let’s get settled,” Jake said as he put the car in park. He looked my way, and I could tell he was worried for me. The wrinkles in his forehead give him away, his eyebrows doing origami work with how much they folded together.

“I’ll be fine, Jake. Don’t get too stressed-out.” Now it was my turn to offer empty reassurances.

“It’s just… if he saw us in the hot tub. I’m wondering what that would make him do.”

I swallowed a ball of acid. “I thought about that, too. But there’s nothing we can do about it right now.”