Chapters (95)
- Front Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Video #1
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Video #2
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Video #3
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- The Final Video
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Cover
“Okay.” Dad studies Olivia for a moment. She presses her lips into a tight line. “Drive safe. Stay together and keep an eye on each other, you hear? And don’t stay out long. I don’t want you falling so far behind on homework that you can’t get out of the hole. I know you have a lot on your mind, but you also need to get back to those college applications.”
“Of course, Dad.”
And with that, we’re out the door—in the car and free.
I drive slowly and carefully, taking my time. Olivia is texting in the passenger’s seat.
“I’m going to drive by once we get there,” I say. “The cops might be watching the house or something.”
“Good idea.” She puts her phone in her lap. “Have you ever lied to Dad before? That was pretty badass. Does Hector even have a grandmother?”
“I don’t know. Have you ever not talked back to Dad before?”
“Never. It’s so unnatural.”
“I guess I did lie about stuff I did with Chloe sometimes. You know, where we were going and what we were doing.”
“It’s none of his business if you’re having sex. That’s private.”
“I thought you hated that word.”
“Don’t argue with me, Hunter.”
“I didn’t know talking to you was the same thing as arguing.”
“It’s none of Dad’s business. Okay?”
“It’s certainly his business now,” I say. “Everything about our sex life came out with the cops. And with Dad right there.”
“For real? That’s the most awkward thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I think Dad gets it. We’re not little kids. You have a girlfriend now.”
“Still, it’s so weird.”
Chloe lives in a subdivision called Brighton Mews. It’s about thirty years old and has a lot of winding streets. The houses are all brick ranches, the yards green and perfectly trimmed. Despite having a lot of trees lining the streets, stray leaves and branches never land in anybody’s yard. It’s like they all magically disappear before they hit the ground. Haley mentioned not feeling comfortable in certain neighborhoods. Brighton Mews would be one of those places. It’s awfully, awfully white.
It’s just turned dark, and most of the houses are lit up inside and out. Chandeliers over dinner tables, TVs in family rooms, computers in home offices. Everything glows. There are matching pumpkins and cornstalks on nearly every porch, the occasional bedsheet ghost hanging from a tree.
I turn down Chloe’s street and take my time, expecting to see a cop car parked right out front. Maybe more than one. What if Chloe came home and no one was there to greet her? What if whoever took her came back?