There was another strange vehicle in the driveway. The good news was that it wasn’t the Malibu. The bad news was that it was a douchey-looking short-bed Escalade. It was the sort of flashy identity-crisis-of-a-vehicle you drove when you wanted the reputation of a truck but none of the responsibility. The best compliment I could give it was that it wasn’t Jayden’s pimped-out Honda Civic.

I put the Saturn in neutral, pulled up the parking brake, turned off the engine, and stalked up the driveway. I passed the Escalade and went straight to the garage door. Raised myself on my tiptoes and peeked through the small garage window.

My Subaru was still inside.

I marched to the front door with my arms straight, fists pinned to my hips. My hand reached for the doorknob like I was going to strangle it. It was only with the greatest self-control that I stopped myself.

I knocked instead.

I heard silent whispering from inside. Then silence.

The door opened. On the other side was Thad Magnino.

Thad looked me up and down like I was a piece of meat—the exotic sort that wasn’t exactly his type but that he was willing to try at least once. His snacky eyes made me feel like I was wearing Saran wrap for clothes. Like I was somebody’s fucking leftovers in the fridge, up for grabs.

“Can I help you?” said Thad. He paused before adding, sort of hopefully, “Are you one of Willow’s friends?”

“I need to talk to Ezra,” I said flatly.

“Oh.” There was disappointment in his expression, but also something else. Like he was silently evaluating a challenge. “Well, Ezra’s not home right now—”

“Ezra!” I yelled.

“Whoa, what the—I just told you, he’s not home!”

“EZRA SLEVIN, I KNOW YOU’RE HERE.”

“What the hell?” This came from Willow. She approached the doorway, every inch of her crawling with irritation. And then the recognition clicked. “You’re that girl from theater.” And then, back to irritation. “What do you want?”

I wanted her to explain what the fuck this guy from my grade was doing answering the door to my house, hanging out with my little sister, who was a freshman, for god’s sake! But I couldn’t very well say that because I wasn’t me.

Fortunately, Wynezra appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing a sleepy but curious expression. The floor creaked beneath her feet, and that made both Willow and Thad jump and spin.

“Ezra?” said Willow, slightly traumatized. “How long have you been here?”

Wynezra glanced lazily at a watch that wasn’t on her wrist, then chuckled and shrugged. “Since… all day?”

Willow’s eyes became distant, like a small universe inside her head was imploding and disintegrating into stardust.