“What is it exactly that the two of you are so desperate to keep working on?” X queries, his voice edged like a blade. He’s furious and frustrated with both of us at this point. “What the hell is more important than going out and looking for Parrish?”
We exchange a look that just seems to set Maxx off.
“Kimber, could you give us a minute?” he asks, turning to her with a forced smile. She gives him a wary look, like she has no intention of doing any such thing.
“Kim, come on. Go upstairs and give us a second, and I’ll take you to coffee after Parrish comes home.” Chasm raises his brows at her, and her face flushes as red as my tits usually do.
“Fine.” She shoves up to her feet and takes off. I lean back on my stool to watch her, ensuring that she’s well out of earshot before turning back to the boys. Delphine seems to realize that we need a moment and quietly excuses herself as well, heading into the gym area to clean the equipment. Tess and Paul want it wiped down twice a week, even if nobody uses it which just seems like a total waste of energy in my opinion.
“You don’t think I’m worried about Parrish, too?” Chasm asks quietly, turning to look at Maxx and leaning his ass against the kitchen island. “I’m doing everything that I can.”
“How much can you really do sitting behind a computer or staring at your phone?” X challenges, giving me an assessing look. He wants to ask what I know, but he doesn’t want to do it when Chasm’s around. Great. I’ll need to add ‘avoid my sister’s boyfriend’ to my list of things to do.
“You always say things like that,” Chas retorts, getting irritated. “As if life isn’t real unless it’s lived outside, burning calories, dripping sweat. Don’t be stupid. I can do all sorts of things from my computer that are a hell of lot more useful than trudging around Medina looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Maxx stands up quickly, the chair scraping across the floor. For a second there, it seems like he might actually start a fight with his friend. Instead, he puts his palms flat on the table, lets his head hang low and lets out a long, tired exhale.
“Tell me then,” X continues, his voice low and dangerous. I wonder if Maxine’s ever seen this side of her boyfriend before? His anger is justifiable though, isn’t it? I know he’s just worried about Parrish, and I can’t blame him. He should be worried. If he knew what I knew, he’d understand exactly how dire the situation is. “What are you doing? Hacking into red light cams and looking for license plates? Searching the FBI’s database with your fingerprint samples?” He lifts his head up, green eyes blazing.
Chasm sneers back at him in response, and I stand up abruptly, doing my best to break the tension.
“We searched every account that Parrish has for clues.” That’s true, although it isn’t all that we did. But I won’t lie to Maxx. So partial truths and omissions it is. “His email, his PlayStation account, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Steam, Discord, even online banking. We’re searching for digital trails, Maxx.”
He just stares at me like he’s never seen me before or, more likely, as if he made a huge error in judgement, like I’m not the person he thought I was, the person he wanted me to be.
“Don’t ask for permission; own your space. Take it. If you make sure you’re comfortable with yourself, you’ll fit in wherever you are.”
I bet he’s regretting offering up such sage advice to me now; I know I look like a total asshole in all of this.
“You haven’t called your sister,” he says, his voice accusatory and laced with suspicion. X stands up straight, shirtless and beautiful, and then he turns away to head for the balcony doors. That’s when I notice his tattoos, these angelic white angel wings that go from his shoulder blades all the way down to the waistband of his pants and then beneath them.
I’d recognize that work anywhere: it’s Parrish’s.
I suck in a sharp breath, closing my eyes against a sudden wave of melancholy. I should’ve let him ink me when he was here, so I’d have a piece of him at all times. When I open my eyes, I see that Maxx has propped the doors open, letting the breeze tousle his chocolate hair as he stares back at me. He’s leaned up against the edge of the doorframe like he’s waiting for a response.
Oh, that’s right. Maxine.
“I’ve been busy.” What a feeble excuse. But it’s the truth. What else can I possibly say? Sorry, this creeper in a black stag mask who says he’s my father as well as the Seattle Slayer had me set my school on fire, so I haven’t had a chance to call. “Maxine will understand.”
X scoffs, shaking his head like he’s disgusted with me. He disappears onto the balcony and finally slams the doors behind him.
“Be careful with him,” Chas tells me, his gaze focused on the doors and not on me. “He isn’t as nice as he wants everyone to think.”
Chasm takes off like he’s about to leave but pauses beside me instead, reaching up a hand to play with my hair. I watch mesmerized as he twirls the lime green strands around his fingers.
“I’ve got to go start my hair and makeup.” He releases my hair and taps at one of his lip piercings for emphasis. “I’ll check in with you before I leave. Keep up the search and I’ll be in touch.”
With a small curse that reminds me of the way he said fuck it at the lake before he kissed me, Chasm leans in and presses a warm kiss to my forehead, taking off down the hallway before I even know how to feel about it.
With Chasm gone, the house feels lonelier than ever. I end up spending the first half of my day texting and calling people. Lumen is easy to talk to. Sally and Nevaeh, too. The rest of the people on my list are so emotionally draining that by the time I’m done, I’m going to need a nap.
Danyella spends nearly thirty minutes sobbing on video chat while I sit there and cry with her, apologizing over and over and over again.
“Don’t be sorry,” is what she says to me. “You didn’t do anything wrong. But when I catch the bastards who did this …” The sharp sound of her laugh will haunt me for years to come. Apparently, word has gotten around that the fire was, in fact, arson. I’m not sure if the authorities leaked something or if it’s just Whitehall gossip. Either way, it’s not a good sign for me or Chasm.
Reluctantly, she lets me go so that I can call my sister next.
“Oh my god, Dakota, are you okay?” Maxine breathes, leaning in toward her computer screen like she can hug me right through it. And oh, how I wish she could. “I’ve been calling and texting for days, but I wasn’t sure if that woman …”
“She’s on a warpath,” I agree, glancing away toward the wall of windows and the lake. “Was on a warpath, I should say. She’s too worried about Parrish right now to pay much attention to me.”
“What do you think happened to him?” Maxine asks as I look back at the screen, wishing I could tell my sister everything and knowing that I’d do anything to keep her from getting involved in this. Parrish’s pleas for me to walk away, to give up on him, they make a lot more sense when I think of them in the context of Maxine. He really cares about you, Dakota, I tell myself, but it’s not much of a revelation.