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Now we have to deal with the guys going on house arrest. If Zach does get out on house arrest, I doubt he’ll stay there. Cameron talked to me about being the key witness if this goes to trial since Harper has no memory. My system was drug-free, which makes me more reliable as a witness than the others.

But it also puts a target on me. Zach’s been looking for a plea deal. He wants to give up names and get away with a slap on the wrist. I might already be hacking into the computers at the police station and DA office to keep up to date on what’s going on in the investigations.

As we walk outside the house, Will sits with Penny beside him on the patio. The music is loud, but they turn to talk into each other’s ears. They’re fucking adorable. He’s been helping me when I need an extra set of hands, or rather fingers. The guy is legit good at hacking. It’s no wonder he almost got to me before I found him.

He’s more than willing to help find out what’s going on in the Tanner case since he doesn’t want it to come back on Penny. Tanner’s infection is worrisome because, if he dies, it becomes murder. But it was self-defense. For the most part. Maybe a little crime of passion as well. Besides, she has William Foster on her side. No one goes against William Foster and wins.

I don’t use Will on Harper’s dad’s stuff. It’s too sensitive, and we don’t want it to fall into the wrong hands. Do I think William Foster might be spying on his daughter’s boyfriend? Besides, Will got skittish from that spreadsheet. If something happened in that quarry and it’s caught on film proving that William Foster was involved, Will might not deal with that well.

“Hey, man.” Mike Cook offers me his fist, and I tap mine against it. “Glad to see you guys out partying.”

“Figured this is the place to be.” I don’t need to look around to know exactly who surrounds us. The hypervigilance is almost as bad as when I was drinking caffeine by the gallon.

“You know it.” Mike laughs. “But if Caden were to open his basement back up...”

“Maybe.” Caden moves in beside me. “Not anytime soon though.”

Mike nods his head in understanding. “Yeah.”

Emma bounces over to us and wraps her arms around Mike’s waist. “You guys fighting tonight?”

“Not tonight.” Eli claps his hand on my shoulder and squeezes it. “We’re not here long. Just trying to blow off steam the traditional way.”

He hands me a bottle of beer. I take it, but I’m reluctant to drink. I don’t know if I should risk it. Harper is in Luke’s arms. Nico is on his crutches. We’re probably safe.

There was a moment this week when we were getting ready for school. Just Harper and me. I nicked myself shaving. She froze and turned pale like she was beyond terrified. After I cleaned up the blood, I held her as she trembled and cried in my arms.

She didn’t remember anything, but she felt it. Which might be worse. How does she process a feeling that she doesn’t remember having?

For the others, I smile and hold the beer, but I don’t drink.

We don’t segregate ourselves at this party. We’re available. That makes everything okay to the other students. If we aren’t paranoid, they can let down their guards and make the stupid mistakes they were going to make tonight anyway.

People come up to us and chat about nothing important. Some about the people who got busted in the drug testing, some about the game. No one seems to want to talk about Homecoming or Zach and Tanner.

That’s fine with me. I’d love to put it in the past.

At some point, I abandon the warm beer and sit on the couch next to Caden. Harper is on his lap, but she hasn’t been drinking either. She slides her hand into mine, and we just hold on to each other.

This constant need to be in contact with her will fade. Probably.

“Eli.” Nick Miller walks over and sits on the ottoman in front of Eli who’s on my other side. “I never got to thank you. Glad you caught the fucker. I heard that lunatic was going to come after my sister next. We did what we could to help secure the dance, especially after you guys left.”

Eli nods and glances at me like he’s afraid this will trigger me. They’ve all been a little more careful around me after Eli explained what happened the night he snuck in. That, combined with the growling in my sleep at Caden, is going to make them think I need intensive therapy.

It’s frustrating as hell for Eli to think I’m weak that way, but I let it go because we have our appointment with the therapist tomorrow.

“The basketball players are getting clean too.” Nick nods his head in time with the music pounding out of the speakers. “By the time the season rolls around, our team should be solid again.”

“You’re down some key players,” Eli notes.

Nick chuckles and shakes his head. “We’ve got some juniors who will be up to the task. Zach was good, but he’s nothing compared to Wes Reed. He’s a sophomore, but we’ve never had anyone like him on the team before. He’s already playing varsity.”

Eli nods. None of this is new information. We’ve kept track of most people as soon as they entered high school. That way, if they cause problems, we can be on top of it.

Zach threw us for a loop. He had everything to lose. Anyone else in his situation wouldn’t have blown up his life over some slight. Who else might have some instability we don’t know about? That might blow up in our faces?

We can know all the surface stuff about people, but we’ll never understand their inner workings. Zach kept his obsession with Olivia Miller hidden well. But everyone has cracks. Places where their defenses aren’t quite as strong.