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After all, he tormented me for weeks at school before basically siccing Zach on me. He deserves whatever punishment is coming his way.

Mom comes up behind me and puts her hands on my shoulders. “You could talk about it with Mary at your appointment next week.”

I nod. Luke puts his hand on my knee, and I slide my hand over his. We’ve all been seeing Mary, our therapist, together and separately. There’s a lot to unpack from what happened with Zach and Tanner, plus how things are shaking out.

We don’t think I’ll ever remember for myself what happened that night. Every now and then, I think I remember something. But I’m pretty sure Jack’s just told me the story so many times I’m creating my own memories of it.

It doesn’t matter. Things are safe at school now. No one really bothers us. The mystery of my dad’s disappearance isn’t going anywhere without a new lead. Our friend hasn’t been able to break my father’s encryption, and we have no idea where to look for the key. And I also assume our friend has a day job.

William seems to have forgotten we all exist. Including Luke. I don’t want back on that man’s radar. Maybe Penny is good at pretending to be the daughter he always wanted, or he realized Luke was never going to be who William wanted him to be. But I’m grateful for whatever did it.

Maybe this newfound freedom for Luke is to keep us from digging too deep. I’ll happily let my father’s potential murder go unsolved if it keeps the ones I love safe.

“Do you have plans for dinner tonight?” Cameron is talking to my mom. “I feel like I should take you all out if you’re going to make me food tomorrow.”

“We could go to Krusty’s,” Mom suggests and looks at me with... hope. Maybe excitement.

I’m not going to read too much into that. Maybe she’s just excited about pizza. Even I don’t believe that. “Yeah, I could use some pizza.”

Caden

The apartment I found to rent for the weekend is in Harvard Square. Close to MIT, Harvard, and Boston University. It’s a good spread for all of us, and I can’t wait to show Harper around Boston. The flight had us arriving early in the day, so I made sure to rent the place the night before so we wouldn’t have to wait to get in.

I enter the code on the door, and we roll our suitcases into the apartment’s living room. I considered a suite in a hotel, but I wanted Harper to experience what it would be like living here with all of us.

We abandon our suitcases at the door and walk into the space. It’s a top floor with views of the city from its floor-to-ceiling windows. There’s enough space for all of us to crash and study. The main bedroom is the best part.

I haven’t told them that this could be ours if we wanted for next year. If Boston is where we end up.

“What could be down here?” Nico says with a playful tone.

Harper lets out a little shriek as Nico lifts her off her feet, throws her over his shoulder, and carries her past the living room and down the hallway.

“You shouldn’t be carrying me,” she complains weakly as her laughter trails behind them.

“It helps with strengthening.” Nico glances back at me as I follow them. He winks as he pushes open the bedroom door. It’s the primary bedroom with a bed a little bigger than mine.

Her mouth opens in an O. He tosses her onto the bed before climbing over her.

She giggles and squirms as he leans down and nuzzles her neck.

“I don’t think I’m seeing much of the apartment like this,” she says.

“We have hours to see the apartment.” Nico latches onto her neck as she threads her hands into his hair, tipping her head back to give him better access.

My heart swells because this is what I want for next year and every year after. To be surrounded by my friends and the love of our life. To work together and play together. To grow old together.

“We have tours tomorrow.” Jack comes in and sits on the edge of the bed next to Nico and Harper. He rests his hand on Harper’s thigh where her skirt has ridden up. “We should explore the city some today.”

“I vote we explore Harper.” Nico kisses her, and she sighs into his mouth, gripping his hair.

“We’ll have time for that later.” Jack shakes his head but smirks when he lifts his eyes to mine. His eyes are finally lighter. The weight he’s been carrying since Homecoming is lifting. Harper is safe and happy. We’ve been getting therapy, and the guilt we all felt is becoming more manageable.

We haven’t stopped looking into the files, but we’ve had to shift our priorities, especially since William loosened his hold on Luke. Since Luke is free to live at Harper’s and has a college fund, the urgency isn’t there. For all we know, William is trying to bury his connections to the drugs and trafficking. We don’t know if William is just regrouping before coming hard at Luke, so we’ll keep trying to crack the files Sean left.

But it’s our senior year. No one is coming for us right now.

Jack needs sleep and fun. And we deserve to breathe a little and enjoy our lives.