STEP BROTHER DEAREST
Madison, of course, was the first loose thread.
She cornered me near the lockers one morning, her smile sharp as ever. “You’ve been busy lately,” she said casually, but her eyes glittered with something heavier. “Late nights. Strange company.”
I froze. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, don’t play dumb.” She leaned closer, her perfume a sweet, suffocating cloud. “Ian’s stepbrother isn’t exactly a secret, you know. People notice things. People talk.”
Her words slid under my skin like glass. She *knew*. Not everything — but enough.