“What?”
“I’m going to put it in neutral. That way we can get it down the driveway before we start the engine. I don’t want my mom to hear.”
“Oh. That makes sense,” I say, standing in front of his car.
He goes around to the driver’s side and gets in. I wait for him to signal that he’s ready, and then I push the car.
It starts to roll back and I walk with it all the way down the driveway and around the corner. When it’s far enough down the road, Myles gestures for me to get in.
I buckle and sit quietly, rubbing my knuckles.
He starts the engine, and that’s the only sound between us. Neither one of us speaks. I know he’s furious with me, which is fine because I don’t want to listen to him complain anyway. All I need him to do is get as far from Mallory as possible, and I’ll be able to stop the past from repeating itself. This is already progress. Myles is about to drive four hours away from her.
It’s odd being next to him again after so long. In some ways he hasn’t changed at all—like how he slouches slightlywhen he sits or how he’s always tapping his fingers—but at the same time he’s a stranger. His voice is lower, unfamiliar. He doesn’t wear glasses anymore because now he prefers his contacts, and he smells like he’s discovered Old Spice.
I can’t help but look over at him, trying to figure out what’s going through his mind. His jaw is tight and his eyes are focused on the road like they’re glued to it. When we were younger, I used to be proud of how I could get him to open up. He wasn’t very talkative, but I knew how to get him to rant over the silliest things. I’d purposely misquote a line from a TV show he liked or casually asked him a question about baseball just because I wanted to hear his voice.
A lump grows in the back of my throat as I push down those memories. I’m not supposed to be thinking about the old Myles. He doesn’t exist anymore. The only person left is the boy who kills my sister. Even if I stop him, it doesn’t change what I know he’s capable of doing. He’s a monster.
The night is black, making the stars stand out. Each one sparkles overhead like little lights strung together, similar to the ones I hung up in my tree house when I was a kid.
I roll the window down to get a better look. I rest my arms on the opening, letting my hair blow in every direction.
For a moment I forget how miserable I am. I listen to the howl of the wind and watch the trees zoom by a million miles a minute.
The window starts to roll up and I jerk away. “Hey!”
Myles glares at me through the corner of his eye. “Don’t make me put the child lock on.”
I grunt, falling back into the seat, and whisper, “I forgot you’re no fun.”
His jaw twitches. “At least I’m not annoying.”
I shouldn't care what he thinks of me anymore, but thatstings. He’s never called me annoying before. He used to like how different I was.
I don’t know why it matters what he thinks of me. It’s not like it’ll change how I feel about him.
Once we get to Lancaster, I’ll figure out how to keep him there even if I have to slash his tires or throw away his keys. If we’re four hours away from home, there’s no way he’ll be able to do anything to Mallory.
“Well, the Myles I knew would never steal test answers.”
“The Myles you knew doesn't exist anymore.”
That’s true.
“I didn’t want to,” he mumbles.
My heart burns. He didn’twantto? He has free will, doesn’t he? He doesn’t have to do anything. Is that the same logic he used when he pushed Mallory over the bridge?
I roll my eyes and slump more in my seat. “Yeah, right. You probably do stuff like that all the time.”
His grip tightens on the steering wheel, and his back tenses up. “Just be quiet.”
“Excuse me?”
“I agreed to drive. I didn’t agree to talk.”
This boy. I hate him so much. I don’t want to talk to him anyway.
