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Back Surrender Your Sons Save as PDF
Chapters (43)
  1. Author’s Note with Content Warnings
  2. CHAPTER ONE
  3. CHAPTER TWO
  4. CHAPTER THREE
  5. CHAPTER FOUR
  6. CHAPTER FIVE
  7. CHAPTER SIX
  8. CHAPTER SEVEN
  9. CHAPTER EIGHT
  10. CHAPTER NINE
  11. CHAPTER TEN
  12. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  13. CHAPTER TWELVE
  14. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  15. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  16. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  17. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  18. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  19. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  20. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  21. CHAPTER TWENTY
  22. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  31. CHAPTER THIRTY
  32. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  41. CHAPTER FORTY
  42. EPILOGUE
  43. Acknowledgments

Past Darcy’s shoulder, Miss Manners joins Molly on her hands and knees and presses a tissue to my friend’s cheek wound. When the cotton comes back soaked with fresh crimson, Ramona mutters, annoyed that her assault isn’t healing fast enough.

Molly’s cleaning time might be over soon, so I confess quickly: “Ricky’s dead. A long time ago, he was in some kind of accident, and it left him almost quadriplegic. Only his mom says it wasn’t an accident, which makes me think he was attacked. I delivered him meals until a week ago when he died from a bedsore, which means that if he was attacked, whoever attacked him is now responsible for his death. Which is probably what made the FBI come to his house and question the Reverend about what happened to Ricky. Then Ricky left me a message in his will warning me about something called Nightlight. Then I was taken to Nightlight, a place where everyone seems to know who Ricky is, but nobody will talk about him. Which makes me suspicious that this mysterious attack might’ve happened when he was a camper here. The end.”

“The FBI…?” Darcy asks, her lower lip shuddering. “Congrats. It takes a lot to scare me.”

I only glanced away from the living room for a second, but a second was all it took. The lemon-dressed woman charges past the drawn curtain into our dining area, and danger drops on us too swiftly for me to get out the full warning: “Lemons—”

“Listen to me carrying on!” Darcy cackles, switching instantly to flirty date-speak. “You have the manliest speaking voice.”

“First time I’ve heard that.” I chuckle through sweat as Miss Manners reaches us, stopping in a clean one-two halt like a military officer.

“Everyone, into the living room for the rest of the hour,” she spits, glaring back at Molly. My friend presses a napkin to her wound, her head drawn down and inward. “I’m taking the cry-baby to the clinic.” Ramona’s eyes flare demonically under the electric candlelight. Darcy and I don’t regard each other as we oblige the teacher and leave our table.

Enough has already been said.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

TAKE THE WALL