ROSE'S POVThe glow from my phone screen was the only thing illuminating my room.The contact was saved under a simple, innocuous name, but the messages underneath were anything but. I’d spent weeks stitching the narrative together, the secret meetups, the late-night texts, the way Leon’s eyes glazed over whenever Aaron Walsh was mentioned.I knew exactly what Aaron was. I knew exactly what he was doing and I could no longer keep it a secret. Not when keeping it a secret was standing in the way of what I wanted.I pulled back the edge of my curtain, the moonlight catching the dark silhouette of the truck parked at the curb. It was unmistakable.I’d spent all afternoon orchestrating the circumstances, a series of subtle, breadcrumb-like clues that led Leon’s father to believe he was “checking the perimeter” of the property tonight.I watched, holding my breath, as the front door creaked open. He stepped out, his posture stiff, his flashlight beam cutting a harsh, white swathe through t
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