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“Oh, that.” He laughed, soft. The mask was on. “You know Starla. Always running headlong into trouble. She had a fall. Some creep attacked her at the store, left her pretty bruised up. That’s why I had to find her and bring her home myself.” He grinned, squeezing my shoulders. “She’d never admit it, but she needs looking after.”

Alice stared at me. I forced a smile. Pretended I believed the lie. Pretended I wasn’t screaming inside.

“That’s…awful,” Alice whispered. “Did you call the cops?”

He didn’t even flinch. “We did. But you know how it is in small towns. Nothing came of it. I decided I’d handle it myself. This guy won’t be bothering her again.”

I kept my eyes low. It didn’t matter what they asked. Brandon had already rewritten reality.

Landon leaned in, elbows on the counter like we were all just friends having coffee. “Damn, dude. You always know what to do.”

He preened under the praise. “I just take care of what’s mine. Starla didn’t want to see anyone, but I think it’s good for her. Helps her get back to normal.”

Normal. I wanted to laugh. What the fuck was normal? Not this.

Alice tried to catch my eyes. “If you want to talk about it, without anyone around, just let me know, okay?”

Brandon’s fingers dug into my shoulder. Hard and punishing.

“She’s good now,” he said. “Really.”

Alice nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. I saw her glance at my wrist, where the sleeve rode up. The old bruises peeked out from under the frayed sweater. I tugged the fabric down.

He kept talking, filling the room with his version of the story. I tuned it out. The words didn’t matter. Alice and Landon would believe whatever they needed to believe, whatever let them walk out of the house and not feel dirty for leaving me behind.

They didn’t see the way his smile vanished the second he turned away. They didn’t feel the pulse of violence beneath his flesh. They didn’t see how controlling he was. They didn’t see the darkness inside of him, no, he showed that only to me.

I wanted to tell her everything. How he beat me for even thinking about saying the wrong thing. How he took away my voice, my hope, my ability to move through the world like a real person. But I just blinked. Smiled. Let him fill in the blanks.

“We’re just glad you’re back,” Landon said, finally sitting down. He kept glancing at my face, then away, then back again. Like maybe something was off, but he couldn’t see what it was. Or didn’t want to.

Alice sat beside me, eyes wide and worried. “You lost so much weight. Are you eating? Are you sleeping? You don’t look okay.”

“I’m fine,” I heard myself say. My hands twisted in my lap. “Brandon’s making sure I get better.” Lie, lie, lie. My body curled in on itself, every muscle tensed. Lie. Play along. If you slip up, he’ll punish you the second they leave.

Alice searched my face, doubt flickering there, but only for a second. Brandon’s charm started working. It always did. It made me want to vomit.

“She’s getting her phone set up today,” Brandon added, as if that was proof everything was normal. “Once she has her stuff, things will get back to the way they used to be. Right, Starla?”

I nodded. “Of course. It’ll all be fine, really. I just need to adjust being back home and try to relax.”

Alice squeezed my hand again. I watched her. I hoped she could see past the lies, the mask. The ache in my chest augmented. I wanted her to ask. I wanted her to drag me out of here. But I could see it in her eyes, the uncertainty scratching at the corners. Nobody wanted to believe the worst thing was happening right in front of them.

Brandon hovered behind me. He let go of my shoulder. I could feel his eyes boring into the top of my head, waiting. I needed to say the right things, do the right things. Don’t slip up. Don’t make it worse.

Alice brushed a piece of hair behind my ear. Her voice dropped, soft and shaky. “You sure you’re okay? Because, you know, if you ever… if you ever needed somewhere to go, I’d help you. We all would.”

Her words hung in the air. I almost cried. My mouth worked, but nothing came out at first. I forced myself to smile. “I know. I’m okay, really. Just tired. And hungry.”

She laughed, like it was a relief. She wanted it to be true. They all did. Denial was easier.

Landon slid into the chair across from me. It was so fucking awkward. Normal people never knew what to do when a tragedy sat in their kitchen.

Brandon moved around the table, all smiles now. “Can I get you guys a drink or something?” He was the perfect host. The fake charm. I wanted to vomit.

Landon cleared his throat. “I’ll take a beer, if you got one.”

Brandon nodded. His eyes never left me, not for a second. He went to the fridge, grabbed beers for them and a soda for me. Placed them on the table with too much force. The bottles clinked together. “There you go,” he said. “Starla likes cherry. Figured you still did.”