“No!” I slam my hand against the wall beside me. “I don’t want to listen! I don’t want anything from you! From either of you!” My voice cracks, and I can’t stop the tears anymore. My chest heaves as I sink against the wall, staring at the floor, at them. At the monsters I thought I could trust. “Last night wasa fucking mistake. Meeting either of you was a gigantic mistake. After everything I have learned today, that’s the part I can’t get over. You lied to me, again. You fucked me over and over again. Manipulative fucking bastards.”
Jamie exhales, frustrated, desperate. “I’m trying to help, Chloe. Just listen. We can get you out of Pointe. We can get you out. Safe.”
I shake my head, hysterical. “No! No, I can’t. I can’t. I don’t want—” My hands fly to my ears again, squeezing tight. “I need… I need to leave. Now. Give me the phone. Give me my bag. I’m done with both of you.”
Jamie hesitates. He glances at Miles, who is silent, watching. His eyes are dark, unreadable, but not cruel—just steady, like he’s measuring me. And I hate that. I hate that I have to look at him at all, even when my gut tells me he’s the lesser evil of the two.
Miles’s voice cuts through the tension, calm and controlled. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
I’m heaving now. “I DON’T CARE.”
He looks hurt but at least he’s no longer trying to make any physical contact with me. “Jamie.”
I glance between them, chest tightening.
Jamie’s hands are gentle as he hands me my phone, my bag, my journal. I hug them to my chest, tears spilling freely now, blurring my vision. His hand lingers, brushing against mine.
“It’s okay, Chloe. It’s okay,” he murmurs.
“You two are fucking evil,” I whisper, not looking at him. “I wish I’d never met either of you. I wish I’d never… let any of this happen. My dad is dead, and it is all your fault.”
He swallows hard, eyes pained, but he doesn’t answer. He doesn’t argue. All three of us walk to the car, the woods pressing in around us. Every snapped branch underfoot feels like the echo of my old life, now shattered beyond recognition. I cannot fathom that my dad is gone.
The engine rumbles, and we pull onto the narrow path. My hands clutch the bag in my lap.
Jamie’s voice is low, patient. “I’ll get you to the main road. From there, you can disappear. Just… trust me.”
I glance at Miles in the rearview mirror. I cannot bear his gaze, cannot meet his eyes. He’s standing in the driveway, watching us drive away.
I nod once, almost imperceptibly.
He tilts his head, acknowledging and turns his attention back to the darkness beyond the windshield.
The car snakes through the trees. The night presses in, suffocating and dense, and I cannot believe just how upside down my life has become. Every safe thing I thought I had is gone.
We drive and then headlights appear out of nowhere. For half a second, I think I’m imagining them. Then the world erupts.
The sound hits first—a shriek that slices through the night. The jolt slams me against the door, my shoulder exploding with pain. Glass rains down like ice. The car jerks sideways, the seatbelt cutting into my ribs. My bag flies from my lap, my journal spins through the air, pages fluttering.
Jamie’s voice cuts through the chaos. “Chloe!”
He’s gripping the wheel, fighting it with both hands, the veins in his arms straining. The headlights of the other car flash again, closer this time—
Impact.
Another hit.
The world folds in on itself.
My head snaps forward, pain bursts bright behind my eyes. The window beside me shatters, cold air rushing in. I can’t tell which way is up. I can’t hear anything but my pulse and the grinding ofmetal. My body slams hard into the seatbelt again, the air ripped from my lungs.
Then—silence.
“Chloe—hey—” Jamie’s voice is hoarse. He’s turned toward me, blood streaking down his temple. “You okay?”
I can’t answer. My mouth opens, but nothing comes out. I stare at the windshield, at the spiderweb cracks spreading through it, at the smoke curling in thin gray ribbons. My brain feels disconnected, floating somewhere above me.
“Run,” Jamie says suddenly. His tone sharpens, urgent. “Get out. Now.”
