Evelyn was in the passenger seat of her new car, her face newly done up, her hair far more curled and hair sprayed. She was replying to her happy birthday messages on social media, feeling a little better about herself.

“How’s Princess Clarissa?” Nick asked as they pulled out of the driveway.

Evelyn paused, glancing up at her phone. “Um… fine. I think.” Something nagged at the back of her mind. “She’s back at the house. But I never saw her. I guess they’re all at the house, aren’t they?” She shook her head. “They must’ve been on some sort of hunting trip. I don’t even know what they do while we’re away.”

Nick nodded absently, glancing behind his shoulder before shifting gears. “This is such a nice upgrade.”

Evelyn scrolled, her mind wandering. “So… what are your plans in April? When you move out?”

“Dad told me I can only take what’s mine. I bought my bike, so I’m taking it. That’ll get me where I need to go,” Nick said.

“But… what if you live in a place far away from school? From your work? Do you need me to help transport you?”

“No. I’ve got my eye on a place that’s pretty close to school and work.”

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. “Oh. Already?”

“Yeah. As long as there’s an opening in April.”

Evelyn was silent at that. She didn’t expect Nick to say everything about his life. She also never asked. But it was getting closer to April and Nick had found a place already. Things would change fast in a short amount of time. His birthday was five months away. Five months didn’t seem like too long. Especially with something as big as Nick moving out. Of him avoiding his parents. Her parents.

“You’ll still visit me, right?” Evelyn asked.

“Yeah. You can visit me at my apartment all you want.”

Evelyn nodded. “Yeah. Cool. That’ll be—” A picture on Instagram nabbed her attention. Tyler was in the picture, holding a woman’s hand at a college Halloween party. Evelyn froze, then swiped over to see the other pictures. Hand holding in one and an arm around the shoulder in the other. The last picture was of them kissing.

Finally making it official! I’m glad he’s mine! Said the post of a woman Evelyn had never met before.

“Oh, my god. Oh my god, Tyler’s got a girlfriend,” Evelyn said.

“What?”

Even though Nick was driving, she turned her phone. “Who even is that?” Evelyn asked.

Nick glanced at it before focusing on the road again. “You’re asking someone with limited access to the outside world a question about someone’s social life?”

“God, sorry. I’m… surprised. That’s all.” Evelyn clicked on Tyler’s profile and searched for more pictures.

Nick chuckled. “I mean, he has more of a life than CCNC right now. It’s kind of taking up everyone’s lives, but we squeak out some sort of existence outside it. Tyler only sees us on the weekends, after all.”

“You’re treating him like a divorced dad.” Evelyn scrolled through Tyler’s pictures. There were pictures of his new girlfriend on his page, interspersed with pics of CCNC and college life.

Evelyn swallowed, not sure how to pin down how she felt about this. She tapped on a picture of them together on one of their dates. Evelyn remembered scrolling through this picture before, but she hadn’t stopped to consider it. Didn’t think about the implications. There was something else warring inside her, but it was stupid. This couldn’t be jealousy, because there’s no way she had a crush on Tyler. Especially because she refused to be the girl who caught feelings for a guy after he was taken off the market.

God, no. She didn’t have feelings. Not at all. Tyler was a good friend. Nothing more.

“Charlette Thomas.” Evelyn squinted at the name. “She’s… gorgeous.”

Nick snorted. “You don’t think Tyler can get a gorgeous girl?”

“No, I’m just… surprised.”

Nick chuckled again as Evelyn kept searching. Charlotte had short brown hair and hazel eyes. She had a far more laid-back appearance in many of their casual pictures, but she also had great style in the pictures of them attending a ballet. Did Tyler even like ballet? What did it matter? He was going with her. He’d always try out something if the girl he liked was interested. Tyler was a great guy like that.

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She wasn’t jealous, though. Right? There’s no way this was jealousy. She’d always seen Tyler as more of an older brother figure. Besides, she was fifteen years old. Newly sixteen. There was no way in hell Tyler would ever see Evelyn as a girlfriend. It was almost laughable even thinking about it. It’s why he was such a great guy. He helped her, supported her, and didn’t look for anything in return. Tyler was that great of a person, making sure everyone respected her boundaries. No doubt he saw her as a little sister. Which was totally fine, because she saw him as an older brother. Absolutely nothing else.

She’d stumbled back on the picture of Tyler kissing Charlotte. A girl dressed as some sort of medieval lady, and him as a medieval lord. What was happening to her? Why was it getting so warm in this car? Hot, almost. Evelyn furrowed her brow, getting annoyed at herself. She was not attracted to Tyler. Not at all. This was weird. She had no idea what to make of this. It wasn’t any different than Nick kissing Alejandra.

She never felt this warm when she saw Nick kiss Alejandra, though. And for that reason alone, she had to admit that maybe she hadn’t seen Tyler as an older brother figure. But there was no way she’d seen him as boyfriend material. That was stupid.

Why was she still on this? She should be thrilled for Tyler. Charlotte looked like an adorable girl, and they looked so happy together. That was what was important. They were happy.

“Shit,” Nick mumbled.

Evelyn glanced up, wondering what the last thing she said to him was. How lost had she been in her own thoughts? This had thrown her for a loop. One she wasn’t sure she understood. Nick slowed down, and Evelyn was worried about some mythical creature popping onto the road when she noticed the red and blue lights.

She glanced behind her and saw a police car. “You weren’t speeding, were you?”

“No.” The word was short and clipped. Evelyn winced, seeing the glare she expected on her brother’s face as he pulled over. “Some policemen enjoy making my life hell.”

A policeman walked out of the cop car, and she squinted, recognizing him. “Isn’t that Officer Hendricks?”

“Yes.” The word was dark as it escaped him. Nick kept his hands on the steering wheel, closing his eyes as he rolled his head around his neck. Evelyn clutched her phone, trying to keep her breathing steady. That officer seemed to follow Nick around a lot. Almost like he was waiting for the opportunity to nab Elmwood’s most notorious criminal, which this officer thought was Nick.

“Say nothing. Officer Hendricks needs his power trip and then he’ll be done,” Nick said as footsteps approached the car.

Evelyn nodded as Officer Hendricks rapped on the window. Nick rolled it down, the glare on his face as dark as when he was looking at Walt. “Morning, Officer Hendricks.”

“Well, if it isn’t Nick Larsen.” The officer barely glanced in Evelyn’s direction before focusing back on her brother. “It’s school time, Nick. Why aren’t you there?”

“My dad already called and excused us for being a little late.” Nick’s glare really did not help the situation. “It’s where we’re headed right now.”

“Your dad?” Officer Hendricks asked. “Really? Why would he call and excuse you for anything?”

Nick’s fingers curled around the steering wheel. “It’s Evelyn’s birthday today. She was running late getting ready. I stayed behind to drive her to school.”

Officer Hendricks gave the car another look. “This seems new. Did you steal it?”

Nick was practically strangling the steering wheel. “It’s Evelyn’s sixteenth birthday.”

“Ah.” Officer Hendricks finally rested his gaze on Evelyn. “Happy birthday.”

She said nothing. Maybe she smiled and nodded, but her focus was mostly on Nick. His glare he only gave Walt was now focused on Officer Hendricks. Officer Hendricks glanced back at Nick, a slight smile on his face at the glare.

“It’s important to get to school, Nick. You need an education to make good choices in your life.” Again, Nick did nothing but glare at Officer Hendricks. “Do you have anything you’d like to say?”

“Only that if you weren’t such a giant prick, we’d already been at school by now, getting that education to make the right choices,” Nick sneered.

Evelyn gasped, even as she tried not to. Officer Hendricks’ smirk dropped, and he narrowed his eyes. Nick kept his glare, and Evelyn wasn’t sure what to do.

Officer Hendricks opened Nick’s door. “Get out slow and careful, kid.”

Evelyn’s jaw slackened as Nick slammed his hand down on his seat belt to unbuckle himself. The glare was present as he moved out of the car. Officer Hendricks had him against the hood of the car as he patted him down, and Evelyn felt her heart in her throat as Nick took it with a deadly glare.

She rolled down her window. “He doesn’t have anything! Just let us go to school!”

“Stay in the car, Evelyn. This will only take a moment,” Officer Hendricks said.

“It’s unnecessary!”

“He’s got a known criminal record. It’s always necessary.”

What hurt the most was the glare Nick had on his face, staring at the hood as Officer Hendricks patted him down.

“What’s in the car, Nick?” Officer Hendricks asked.

“Nothing. Evelyn literally just got it this morning.” Nick spoke to the hood. “You can’t search it without probable cause, and I don’t give permission.”

“I’ve got my eye on you, Nick Larsen,” Officer Hendricks said.

“You can do all your research while we’re at school. Go ahead. Figure out that Evelyn just got this car today. Even call my dad if you want to. We’re not doing anything illegal.”

Officer Hendricks finished his search, straightening. “You get in the car, and you get to school. If I see anything out of the ordinary in your story, I will ask you personally. If you’ve fled the school, we will hunt you down and question you. Are we perfectly clear?”

Nick said nothing. He brushed himself off before throwing the door open, sliding back in. Officer Hendricks headed back to his patrol car as Nick shoved the seat belt over him. Evelyn was terrified to talk to him. She hadn’t seen him like this in a long time. Nick started up the car, moving onto the road, giving the road a death glare.

“Nick?” she asked, terrified to break the silence. Afraid he might snap at her. Nick closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again as they kept heading toward school, Officer Hendricks right behind them. “I’m… sorry.”

“Don’t.” Nick sounded surprisingly gentle for how dark his glare was. “It’s Officer Hendricks’ fault. All of it.”

She didn’t want to say anything more. They made the short drive to school, Nick shifting into park a lot harder than necessary before getting out. Officer Hendricks’ car kept going, pulling off to the side of the road. Nick rolled his eyes as he and Evelyn headed to school.