Adam directed the remote at the TV. "Is this about last night again? I said I'm sorry, Mom. Seriously, I am."
"Don't go on the defense."
"Well, I thought we finished the talk last night."
"I just want to make two things clear. One, you can't be drinking it up like some out-of-control frat boy."
"I wasn't!"
"And two, you better be using protection when you have sex. You don't need another pregnancy to throw your plans off course."
"I know, Mom. Gimme some credit."
"I'm just saying, you're going to college next year. Don't screw it up by making dumb, reckless mistakes before you have the chance to succeed."
"I understand, Mom. Trust me, college will be much different."
"Your father and I never made you suffer the consequences," she continued. "I think that was a big mistake on our part."
This was a confession that neither of his parents had ever shared with him. He thought it might be his mother's way of expressing her regret about their laidback parenting tactics. Maybe his view that they'd been neglectful was incorrect. Maybe his lack of experience with consequences was simply because he was spoiled.
"I know you're eighteen years old," she said. "But you'll always be my little boy."
He wanted to curb the sappy talk before she totally embarrassed him. "Jeez, Mom, really?"
She smiled as she rose to her feet. "Yes. I'll always want the best for you. But I'm going to worry from time to time. It's my job."
"Don't stress, Mom. Like I said, college will be different."
Passing the sofa, she ruffled his hair on her way to the kitchen. "Love you, honey. Enjoy your movie."
"Love you too, Mom."
* * *
Conner thought Hailey was a good sport, hanging out with him and his brother. She endured the raunchy humor of White Chicks, which Conner and Mason thought was a hilarious movie. She briefly chatted with his parents before they went upstairs to bed at ten o'clock. Not long after, Mason followed.
Alone in the living room, they paid no attention to the television as they remained seated on the sofa. Talk of Thanksgiving plans segued to the topic of her parents.
"I'm surprised they let you stay out this late," he said.
"I'm not under lock and key."
He chuckled. "They must not know you're with me, then."
Rolling her eyes, she smiled. "They know."
"Don't they, like, think I'm a bad boy or something?"
"No." She laughed. "They really don't know a lot about you."
"That's good." He grinned and nudged his shoulder into hers. "I'm not a bad boy."
She teased, "You can be."
"What! Me?"
"I've heard stories."
"Uh, oh." He playfully swatted her knee. "Trust me, don't believe everything you hear."
The smile disappeared from her face and she lowered her head, seemingly upset.
"What? What did you hear?"
Shaking her head, she replied, "Nothing. I was just thinking about Jared."
"Oh."
"When you first heard the stories about him, did you ever think it could be true?"
He shrugged. They'd managed not to talk about Jared during the entire date. Now she'd asked about a topic he wished he could forget but knew he couldn't ignore. "Not really. Maybe a little. You never know what's really going on with someone when you're not friends anymore." He sensed his words about to drop out of his mouth in a jumbled mess. "Um. I can't . . . is there a reason . . . does it matter?"
"I was curious."
"Why?"
"I didn't believe it when I first heard the rumor. But then I thought about the way he acted and the way he looked. When we went to his house, I didn't like the way it felt in there. And then when we saw his bedroom"—she gently shook her head—it scared me."
"There's nothing to be scared of."
"Last night," she said, "you know, at Adam's."
He shied away from a full smile. "Uh, huh."
"I saw something in the corner. I know it sounds stupid. And you don't have to believe me. But I swear, I saw something that looked like a man. Like, human shaped but just a shadow."
"It was kinda dark in there. It was probably just your eyes playing tricks on you."
"I don't think so."
"Maybe you were just nervous," he said, echoing his conversation with Trevor and Adam. "Having second thoughts about what we were doing. Maybe that made you paranoid."
"I'm worried that the bad energy in Jared's house followed us."
"What? Like the devil or whatever that possessed him was still in the house?"
"I don't know." She swept strands of blonde hair from her eyes to behind her ear. "What if it did?"
"But what if it didn't?"
She inhaled deeply. "Okay. Maybe I'm being stupid. And paranoid, like you said."
"You're not stupid. Seriously, you're going to be the valedictorian."
"Yeah, we'll see."
He tilted her face toward his. "Nothing bad is going to happen. The evil was gone before we walked into that house."
"You're right. Good conquers evil."
"Yep. It does." He didn't want to talk about demons and evil, so he pressed his lips against hers.
Seconds later, she pushed against his chest. "Wait. Not here. I don't want to get caught by your parents."
Smiling, he nodded. "Two nights in a row. That would be a bad sign, huh?"
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. You want to watch something? Or do you need to go home now?"
She glanced at her phone. "It's eleven. I should probably get home. My curfew's at midnight. I might get bonus points if I show up early."
"All right."
"You're not mad, are you?"
"No. I'm not mad. Really."
Sitting upright, she said, "I don't want you to think I'm leading you on. Like, being a tease or something. I'm not like that."
"I know you're not." He pulled her to her feet. "It's time to get you home so you can earn those bonus points."
After dropping Hailey off, Conner drove through the neighborhood, taking random lefts and rights with no destination in mind. Nearly midnight, there was little traffic on the streets. Most of the homes were dark. The trees were dark, their naked limbs and branches stretching in all directions. The lack of foliage exposed most of the houses
