Page 272 of Heart So Hollow

“It’d be pretty convenient for Bowen if he made it look like you butchered Evie’s hair before killing her,” I hold Aiden’s gaze, confirming his assumption without saying it.

“I’ll get them, one day,” he nods to himself, “I’ll get all of them. Every last one of them.”

And I believe him.

After jamming his head into his furry rabbit mask, Aiden turns to us with a shimmy, making his ears wag back and forth. On any other night, he’d look ridiculous, but given the circumstances, he looks downright deranged. Which is great, because tonight, we’re ratcheting up our game.

It’s Dire Ridge’s prom night, but we have other plans. We’re driving around, packed into Mason’s old Chevy Avalanche, except all of us look like we’re on our way to a horror movie convention. Half of us wear neck gaiters or balaclavas with black hoodies, but there’s a hockey mask, a Michael Myers, a Purge mask, and Aiden’s tall, lanky ass in his rabbit head. It’s a balmy evening, but the wind whipping around us keeps the sweat at bay.

We’ve already hit up two places, searching for Bowen, when Mason stops for gas. Rory and Josh almost get wasted by Al, who owns the Sunoco in Hellbranch, when they forget to take off their masks and he pulls a shotgun on them as soon as they walk through the door. But they want beer, and Al is notorious in three counties for selling to minors, so he gets over it pretty quickly.

Alex has been on his phone all night, distracted and texting a goddamn novel while sitting in the bed of the pickup.

This time, when he pulls out his phone, I glance over his shoulder, “Who the hell have you been talking to?”

He flinches, startling me in the process, and then turns it face down, “Uh, um…” he stammers, messing with his disheveled black hair. After a moment, he looks at me awkwardly, “Dallas.”

“Dallas?” I blurt out. “Since when do you talk to her?”

Alex shifts uncomfortably, swinging the strap of his Purge mask around his finger, “I saw her at lunch one day and she was really upset, so I started talking to her and she mentioned that she games, and I told her so do I, and then she asked if I wanted to play sometime. So, we started gaming together.”

“Gaming?” I arch my brow, “You’ve been gaming with Dallas?” I’m intrigued, “What do you play?”

“We started out playing Destiny and Dark Souls,” Alex hesitates for a moment, “now, it’s mostly just Tomb Raider,” he says flatly.

I furrow my brow in confusion, “Do they even have multiplayer for that anymore?”

“Not really,” he mutters, “Dallas just does single player. She likes the old games anyway.”

“So, then how do you play together?”

Alex just looks at me with the same uncomfortable look, leaning away slightly like he’s trying to avoid a rattlesnake.

“Wait,” I narrow my eyes, “you watch her play it?”

“It’s her favorite,” his eyes widen as he tries to justify himself, “and she’s really good!”

“I bet she is,” I say with a roll of my eyes, “do you have to ask for a turn?” I laugh, but then stop short. “But where?” I squint in confusion, “I don’t see you at my house.”

Alex tries to maintain eye contact, but they keep darting away.

I clench my jaw as the realization hits, “Your house?” I growl, “You live with your brothers! How the fuck does she get there, Alex? She can’t even drive, she’s only fifteen!” I’m about two seconds from lunging for his throat.

Aiden and Mason glance over from the pump, drawn to the commotion.

Alex is on the brink of panic, “No, dude, it’s not even like that!”

“Then why don’t you tell me what it is like?” I glower at him.

“She’s never been to my house, I swear!” he confesses with an exasperated huff, “I’ve only seen her at your house. Seriously, you just don’t know about it.”

I peer at him from the shadow of my hoodie, “So, you sneak into my house just to sit in Dallas’s room and watch her play Tomb Raider?”

Alex shrugs, “Yeah.”

“And that’s it?” I clarify with an edge in my voice.

“Yeah.”

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