A chorus of laughter erupted before a sudden and suspicious silence enveloped the second floor. Matt’s door creaked open but never closed. Soft footsteps made their way to my door, pulling my attention from the ceiling and the thoughts that held me captive there. My bedroom door began a slow creep open, alluding to a mission of stealth. My heart dared hope Jayden had managed to sneak away but it was only Kaden, the boy with one whole strand of facial hair.He stuck his head inside, nearly jumping out of his skin when our eyes met. The boy paled, losing the courage had seen him down the hall.“What?” his presence was disappointment enough without any attempts at lingering.

“…Jayden.”“We can start with the small stuff,” he encouraged.“I can’t.”“Why not?”I shook my head, wanting desperately to dispel the thoughts that crept in from the corners in the wake of this change in topic. “I can’t,” I repeated, as much a reminder for myself as it was a response to his request. Jayden said all the right things and knew the right expressions to melt my heart, but it was too much of a risk. I didn’t know—didn’t remember what lay dormant beneath the mask and couldn’t risk such a reveal. “You won’t like what you see…”

Day after day, I was forced to watch Matt walk around with my iPod. When asked where he’d gotten it, the boy was ready with the excuse a friend had recently gotten a new one and had allowed him to have it. There weren’t any questions after that, there never were for Matt. Mom didn’t care where he got it, not truly; she’d simply been curious about the newest addition to his collection.Like everything else he owned, he treated it poorly. Sometimes it was left sunken into the couch where someone could sit on it. There were times it lay on the ground, forgotten and primed to be stepped on. He would break it before long, then neither of us would have it.I wanted to take it back, to yank the earphones from his ears and lay him flat for how careless he continued to be. It was wishful thinking and little more. Nothing would justify such an act in my mother’s eyes, not even learning it first belonged to me. She would pop it into the dishwasher or

I was still working through the math on Jayden’s earlier statement when I realised they’d both turned expectant gazes to me. Somehow, I’d ended up in the middle of a standoff I’d rather watch from a distance and it brought the most unpleasant churning to my stomach. If I said no, it would unnecessarily offend the boy who’d approached me in good faith. If I said yes, I’d offend the boy who still hadn’t learned I wasn’t his property.My stomach hurt too much for this mess.“Um…thank you. It was very sweet of you.” I smiled, trying to soften the blow of the rejection Jayden had offered on my behalf. I relaxed only after he mirrored my smile with one of his own. Josh wasn’t angry—at least, he didn’t seem to be. He’d been disappointed by the outcome, but his reaction was not the world-ending catastrophe I’d convinced myself it would be.The boy waved his goodbye then head

I felt the unpleasant sensation of blood draining from my face at the sight of the knife he’d had all along. The danger had been worse than I understood and was growing worse still. If Matt got hurt, it would be my fault. My mother would be furious that ‘a guest’ of mine had hurt her son, and I would be in for worse.“Adam, ple—”“No, you get lost,” Matt said. “You can’t just come to my house, order me around, and hurt my sister. Don’t make me have to say it again or I’ll get my mom’s pistol and put a bullet through your fucking skull.”Adam scoffed, raising the knife higher in show he meant business.I watched in abject horror as my little brother pulled my mother’s pistol from his back pocket. Before I could begin to wonder what on earth he’d been doing with it, he raised it toward the stubborn boy. The metal glistened in the light of the setting sun, giving