Page 16 of The Glittering Edge

“Say you love me. And look at me while you say it.”

Corey’s hands tighten into fists, but he does it. He makes eye contact, and he says, “I love you.”

The words ring hollow, and he wants to open the door and run.

Corey has spent years perfecting his ability to be a solid boyfriend, because it’s the only way for him to have a stable relationship that won’t end in tragedy. The curse took his mom ten years ago, and Corey won’t let it take anyone else.

But that doesn’t mean he can’t be in a relationship. Plenty of people live their lives together without being in love, and it works out. As long as Corey treats Dylan well, everything is fine. They go to parties and her family’s bonfires. They walk down the hallway at school holding hands.

And Dylan keeps other girls away from him. Girls Corey might actually love if he let himself.

Nobody outside of the Barrion family knows this is the real reason Corey is with Dylan. It’s cruel, but this way, Corey will never make the same mistakes his dad did. He’ll never love anyone as much as James Barrion loved Tanya Otou.

The wordsI love youhang in the air between them, barely a whisper, empty of truth. Dylan stares at him, her expression dark.

Corey needs to beg. He’s done it before, and he’ll do it now. But before he can get the words out, something in the road catches his eye.

Standing in the middle of the street is a shadow, stark in the light of midday. It’s not lying on the pavement like a normal shadow; instead, it stands on its own blurred limbs. It’s the shape of a human being, but it has no face.

And yet Corey feels it staring right at him.

Oh no. No, no, no—

“Hello?” Dylan’s voice breaks through his panic. “Are you listening?”

Corey can’t answer her. He’s already pulling out his phone and sending a text to the family chat.

Saw the Shadow. Coming home.

There’s a flurry of reactions and responses, but Corey can’t look at them. He nods at the road, where the Shadow has disappeared.

“I need to go,” he says. “There’s a family emergency.”

Dylan doesn’t move.

“Dylan, I need to gonow.”

For a second, Corey is convinced she’s going to kick him out of her truck. But she pulls onto the road, not bothering to check if another car is coming.

Corey never uses the front door. After Dylan drops him off, he runs to the back door, which is closer to the detached garage. His family is probably gathered in the dining room, or in the kitchen.

But when he gets inside, there’s nobody around.

“Hello?” he calls.

No answer.

Corey runs through the house, past the dining room, the family room littered with books and magazines and PlayStation controllers, and the spotless formal living room. All empty.

“Dad?” he calls.

“In here,” comes his father’s voice.

When Corey reaches the library, he loses all momentum.

Corey’s dad stands in the middle of the room, his hands on his hips. Aunt Helen sits on the clean white love seat, her face buried in her hands, while Warren watches the scene with an impassive expression. Sofía sits at the desk with her hands pressed to her mouth. Allher gala-planning binders are splayed in front of her, forgotten. Only Corey’s grandfather and Julian are missing.

The only person making a sound is Aunt Helen. She’s sobbing.

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