Page 77 of Diem

Dad slowly nods before saying, “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Penny says.

Later, I mouth, and she nods before getting in her car.

After she’s driven away, I head back to my room. I have three hours to find a way out of this mess which is a pipe dream because Penny is on a mission.

“Mae?”

“Oh?” I rasp, jumping and turning around.

“You, okay?” Dad cocks his head to the side.

A trickle of sweat slides down my spine and nodding I say through the frog in my throat, “Fine, Dad.”

“Okay,” he says. “You get your project done? With Penny, was it?”

“Yeah, all done.”

“Good.”

He walks away and I stare after him, my heart pounding painfully. What once would have been an entirely innocent question now fills me with fear.

It’s a fucked-up notion, but I think I’m afraid of my dad.

∞∞∞

Later, I sneak out of my room and meet Penny at her car a block away. She’s quiet as we pull away from the curb and eventually, I break the silence to say, “Who has a party on a Tuesday, anyway?”

Shrugging, she turns a corner and says, “It’s a club or something.”

“A club? How are we not going to be conspicuous if this is a meeting between members?” I say, shaking my head.

Has she thought this shit through?

“Relax. I’ve got a plan.”

Sighing, I look out the window and clench my hands in my lap. This has disaster written all over it.

When we pull onto the freeway, I glance around at the trees and whisper, “Penny…”

She doesn’t answer and I fiddle with my phone. I have a really bad feeling about this, but I’m now stuck in a car speeding down the freeway.

I can’t call my dad for obvious reasons. Diem is out. My brother is gone. That leaves Matt.

Should I?

She slows down and I look up, frowning to find nothing but forest around us. Where the hell would a club meet in this?

“What did this guy say?” I ask.

Penny slows and turns between two trees before shutting off the lights. “I guess there’s a cabin through the trees.”

“Penny, why would this guy invite you here? I mean, what did he say? Come hang out in the woods? This doesn’t make sense.”

She clenches her jaw and looks away. Great. Now what?

“Penny…?”

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