“Where are we going?” I’m trying to sound completely unfazed. I don’t want to scare him again, not when he’s driving, or whatever you want to call what we’re doing. There’s a reason people have to take tests to operate cars. I haven’t even taken the test for my permit yet.

“I don’t know.” He takes one hand off the wheel and scratches the back of his neck. “Gray’s on the other side of Canada, so I was thinking my aunt’s?”

“Where does she live?”

“Michigan.”

Okay, so that’s not as close as Jayla’s basement, but not as bad as driving to the other side of Canada. But still, I feel it settling over me, this feeling of doom, like it’s all going off the rails and there’s no way to stop it. I have to try, though.

“Have you talked to Gray about everything that’s going on?”

“Uh, no, Peak, this was pretty spur of the moment. I came to you first.”

I turn to face him, pulling one leg up on the seat. It’s now or never. “Don’t freak out, please. But this feels like a bad idea. I really think we should go back now.”

He slams his head against his seat and looks at me, so hurt, so lost, and I wish I never said anything. “I told you not to come. And I gave you the chance to get out when we got the car. I can’t stay. I thought you got that.”

And he’s so worked up, I need to adjust the timeline of my plan. I can’t wait for him to calm down; cooler heads need to prevail now.

“I’m not asking you to go back to your dad’s. We’ll go to my house. I know my parents will let you spend the night.” He makes a face like he doesn’t believe me. “Just the night, and probably on the couch, but tomorrow we’ll tell them everything. You’ve wanted to all along; you were right. Okay?”

“It’s too late. I can’t fix this. They’ll hate me, especially now.”

“They won’t. They’ll understand. Trust me, tragic origin stories are kind of their thing. Do you even read Vera’s comics? And here I thought you were a superfan,” I tease. I’m trying to break the tension; it doesn’t work. “Fine, they’ll be mad. But even if they’re furious, they’ll still help. I promise.”

“You trust them way too much.”

And oh, that breaks my heart. “You’re supposed to be able to,” I say. “Like, in a perfect world, everybody could trust their parents.”

“Yeah, well.”