ZANDER BACKED AWAY, LOOKING at me like I'd slapped him. "I don't believe it," he said, his face bone-white. "And why would you keep that to yourself this whole time? Why do you even think it?"I couldn't bear the pain in his face, and I scrambled to make it better. "Remember when Dante was so excited about handing over both of us to the Collector? That you were a bonus and that the Collector was going to be surprised."Zander nodded."Before you got there Dante tried to make me believe you were using me.""I wasn't using you!" he almost yelled."I know, I know now. But he called you and Peter the silly sons ... the Collector's silly sons ..." I let it sink in. Conrad swore in the background. "And he kept your father's identity secret from you because he wanted you and your dad to be surprised. He bragged about how funny it would be."Zander looked so betrayed as he stared at me with disbelief. "Don't you see? Your father must have collected my aunt and found out she could hea

MY THOUGHTS CIRCLED BACK to the present, as I zombie-stepped my way through the school walkways, wondering where Zander could be. I had expected him to meet me in the parking lot this morning. Was he avoiding me? Then again, what if he wasn't and something happened to him?I wanted to hit something, so I picked up my step, stomping around the closest building, hoping I could find a wall or tree to smack without anyone thinking I was going postal. I skidded to a stop when I saw Ruthie sitting on the ground crying."Ruthie! Oh my gosh! What happened?" I knelt down beside her.She rubbed her cheeks. "I don't know. That's the problem!" She held out her wrists. "I don't know how I got these bruises. And I don't know why my arm is bleeding."A red line ran down the inside of her arm, oozing blood. It didn't look like a scratch, more like a razor cut. My heart fluttered in alarm."My throat hurts, too." She said, swallowing with a grimace. I stared at her red and swollen neck with shock.

MY PHYSICS TEACHER WAS ancient. He had to be the oldest teacher in the school district, maybe in the whole state. He couldn't hear a thing, so kids got away with murder. The class was a joke. Every time he turned toward the board paper airplane notes flew across the room. I peeked around the edge of the door. It was business as usual. While I debated whether or not to skip it, someone squealed my name and all eyes spun my way. Well, all of the students' anyway. Mr. Gordon continued to talk and scrawl equations across the board.It was now or never, so I walked over to him, finally getting his attention as I approached from his side. I handed him my pass, to which he gave a cursory glance before tucking it into his shirt pocket and waving me to a seat. I usually grabbed a desk in the front to avoid as many classroom shenanigans as I could, but someone was already sitting in my favorite spot, a new face. She was small, with dark brown hair hanging straight to her shoulders and large coc

DAD WAITED IN THE car outside the entrance to the rec center while I dashed inside. Kids streamed into the building, goggles and swim caps in hand, their mothers toting large bags. The automatic doors slid open and the smell of chlorine washed over me like a friendly hello. I smiled in relief to see the very person I was looking for behind the front desk and called out a greeting. He looked up from the computer. "Well, if it isn't Tru Parker," he smiled as I walked up to the counter. "How's school?" Maverick was a cute mix of Irish and Filipino, with brown hair and gray eyes. A smattering of freckles dusted his cheeks and his eyes tilted just enough to make him look like he was smiling even when he wasn't. He was a little taller than me with wide, muscled shoulders."Homework sucks." He laughed, a quiet throaty chuckle that showed off his even white teeth. I leaned an elbow onto the counter. "I thought it would be quieter around here once school started." Over the summer, the plac

ALTHOUGH I STILL HADN'T heard from Zander, I knew he'd been in my room sometime today because his bag and laptop were gone. I'd left my window unlocked, hoping he'd come get his stuff after school. I didn't think he'd miss school. But the fact that he had snuck in to get his stuff made me believe that he was okay. I'd worried that he'd gone off half-cocked and done something stupid, like accuse Peter or his father of all the awful things we'd figured out about them.But my anxiety level rose again when he continued to ignore my text messages. Had I blown it by not telling Zander about his father earlier? Was he somewhere hurt, needing help? At some point, I realized it was the aramusatu doing its thing with me. He had to be feeling it, too. So what would keep him away? I decided to give him another day before tracking him down.I knew one thing that would cheer me up. I hadn't told Ruthie about Maverick yet. As expected, she was thrilled. Ruthie and I spent at least an hour fantasizi