Prologue

The moon glinted behind the wispy clouds as Jade ambled back to her house. She squinted her eyes, staring at the moonlit road beside her. It was the dead of night, but there should have been at least some cars, right?

She shook her head. It was nothing big. And yet, she still couldn’t rest her unease as she continued to hear her footsteps echo across the alleyway. All the lights in the surrounding buildings were off.

Twirling her long, silky black hair with one finger, she hummed lightly to herself, desperate to break the silence. She didn’t even realize that her pace had been quickening until she had broken into a run, even though she knew nothing bad would happen. Though the stories of young women like her being kidnapped filled her mind, she knew that would never happen to her. This road was safe.

Yet, if that was true, then what was that shadow looming in a corner ahead of her? No, it’s just a trashcan or something. But maybe it wasn’t. Even at her sprint, she accelerated, feeling the hair on the back of her neck rise. Nothing bad is going to happen! I’ve taken this route a million times before. But not this late, she knew.

And as the hand seized her, no one heard her scream echo around the block.

Chapter One ~ Adelaide

I swung my pencil around in a big arc, drawing flames devouring a forest. I had to draw a forest fire awareness poster for my school environmental club. Alice, my best friend, who was also in the club, had helped write the text, but I was in charge of the drawing; being the best one in the group, it had been a unanimous decision.

“Addy? Hello?”

I jerked my head up. I had forgotten I was on FaceTime with Alice. “Sorry, what?”

“I was saying, Evan is cute. And he asked me out. What do I say?”

“Dude, you’re in sixth grade.”

I could almost hear the grin in her voice. “Almost seventh. Plus, he was the one that asked me. How can I just turn down an opportunity like that?”

“I—I mean okay, I guess?” I was little jealous, but I tried not to let it show. I had to agree. Evan was hot—curly blond hair that tumbled over his blue eyes, a perfect jawline, and 5’7, which was tall for our age. Not that I thought about it, but I was pretty sure he had abs, too.

“But, Addy, get this: Jonathan asked Sydney out, and she turned him down. What a brat, am I right?”

Now I was even more jealous. Jonathan was hot too. He was 5’5, part Filipino, with glasses and black hair that sat neatly over his head. His skin was perfectly smooth—not that I looked at him much—and his lips were never chapped, unlike mine, which had to be drenched in chapstick all year round to stay smooth. Not only was Jonathan hot, he was super smart—the smartest in my math class.

“Addy?” Alice repeated.

“Sorry. I zoned out.”

“Every time I talk about a boy, you just stop talking. What is it? Do you like Jonathan?”

I felt blood rush to my cheeks. “Of course not! What were you saying about Sydney?”

“She rejected Jonathan. I can’t believe it, honestly. So many of us would kill to have Jonathan be interested in us.”

“But that’s fine with you, right? I mean, Evan already asked you out.”

“Yeah, over freaking text.”

“I wouldn’t complain if I were you. So many of us would kill to have him like us.”

“Guess that’s true. I can’t believe he asked me, though. Like Sydney, Sydney’s pretty. I get that. But me?”

I smiled. Alice never realized how genuinely pretty she was. She had long, silky auburn hair, way prettier than my black, stringy hair.

The door slammed open as Liam strutted in. I whipped around to face him, pretending that never happened. “Dude, what is it?”

“When did Jade leave last night? Do you know?”

“She was here? Why so late at night?” I scrunched my nose. “Ew!”

“What? ...Adelaide!” he snapped as realization struck him, but I could see the red tinged on his cheeks. He sighed. “Well, the point is, Addy, she’s not answering any of my texts. I know she left sometime after two, but it’s fu—fricking two p.m. and she hasn’t said anything to me.”

I felt a little nervous at the tone in his voice. Jade was Liam’s girlfriend, but she was like an older sister to me and Dennis. She spent more time with us than with her own family, because her parents weren’t exactly the nicest.

“Are you sure maybe she's not just, I don’t know. Maybe she’s just sleeping since she got home so late?” I tried to assure him.

He shook his head. “She never sleeps in, especially not until two p.m. Even when she’s tired, she wakes up at the crack of dawn.”

“Would you two just shut up?!” Dennis’s irritated voice came from the hallway.

Liam turned his head to look over his shoulder. “Sorry that I’m concerned about my girlfriend, Dennis.”

“Sorry that your girlfriend is sleeping in and you’re so worried! Idiot…” Dennis shot back, appearing in my room’s doorway.

Liam rolled his eyes. Before either of them could say anything, I butted in. “Just give it a day or two. She’s probably just busy.”

“Yeah, too busy for her boyfriend,” Liam mumbled

“Oh shut up,” I said as he walked out of the room. Dennis got one good kick at my door frame before walking off.

Despite my reassurance to Liam, I couldn’t shake the worried feeling that maybe Jade wasn’t okay. Jade was like an older sister to me, almost part of the family. But it was probably fine. Twelve hours wasn’t that long.

“Um, should I go?” Alice’s voice came from the FaceTime, making me jump.

“No, it’s fine. Sometimes siblings can be annoying, y’know? Also, don’t worry Liam’s girlfriend sometimes just sleeps in and Liam won’t accept the fact she is fine. Same thing if she just needs a day away.” But as I said that, I knew Jade never went longer than overnight or a few hours without texting Liam, especially if he texted first.

“Anyways…”

I wrapped myself tighter in my blanket. The thunderstorm outside continued to rage on. Rain splattered against the window so violently I thought it might shatter. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to get to sleep, but I just couldn’t. The rain was too loud.

Silently, I slipped out of bed and went over to turn my light on, but when I flipped the switch, nothing happened. Great, the lightbulb burnt out again. I didn’t want to bug anyone, so I just sighed and went to turn on the hall light, when I saw a tall, dark figure walk down the hallway towards me. I screamed and leapt backwards, only to realize it was Liam.

He chuckled. “Is your power out too?”

“Yeah.”

Dennis’s yell came from his room. “Can you two just shut up?! I’m trying to sleep! You’re—” I didn’t hear the last part, because as he spoke, a gust of wind shook the house, drowning him out.

“I don’t think we’re much louder than the storm,” Liam grumbled. There was no response from Dennis.

He turned back to me. “I’m just worried about Jade. What if she didn’t make it home, and now she has to deal with this awful storm?”

“She definitely made it home. It’s been almost twenty-four hours. If she didn’t, we’d have bigger problems to worry about than her getting a little wet,” I told him. “Anyways, I’m going to turn on the fire so we have some light. I don’t think there’s a chance of getting back to sleep.”

I went downstairs and made my way over to the fireplace. As I flicked on the switch, the fire spluttered to life, burning a bright orange. I had always thought fire was beautiful, even if it could be so dangerous. It was mesmerizing to watch,‌ like a bright, dancing kindle of life.

“Addy?”

I jumped, startled by the noise, and accidentally bumped a shelf next to me. An old book sailed down from the top shelf - straight towards the fire. As quickly as I could, I shot my hand out and seized the book right before it reached the flames. But as I curled my fingers around it, a flame shot up and surrounded my hand for a split second. I shrieked and jerked my hand backward.

“Adelaide!” Liam screamed. Thunder shook the house. His footsteps thrummed behind me. “What the hell do you think you were doing?!”

Shaking, I looked down at my hand and opened it, surprised at how little it hurt. The book was clearly burned, the corners black and curled. The pages were now stiff, and a few were missing. But my hand was unchanged. Not even red. It had been even closer to the fire than the book had been.

Liam stared at my hand. I glanced at him. He looked confused, but then shook his head. “You got lucky. Don’t do something stupid like that again. It’s still two weeks until Mom and Dad are back, I don’t need you getting hurt under my care! You know they would kill me!”

“I didn’t mean to! You were the one who scared me!”

He narrowed his eyes. “I meant when you tried to grab the book.”

I looked down. “Sorry, it was just reflexes.”

“Well learn to control them. Now go back to your room. I’m not letting you do anything with fire on your own for a while,” he said, glaring at me.

I knew there was no arguing with him. He flicked off the switch for the fireplace, and I went back up to my room. As the storm continued to rage on, I buried myself under the covers and tried my best to go to sleep.

Chapter Two ~ Liam

“Addy! Evan was so cool at our date last night. He even ordered food I liked!”

I smiled. Twelve-year-old drama was so entertaining. I knew they would break up within a matter of weeks. Did Addy know how loud her FaceTime was? “So Evan is hot, but you know who is hotter?” Alice continued. “Liam!”

Addy stayed silent for a moment before saying, “Like my brother Liam?”

“Duh!” My face lit up red. To embarrass Addy, (like big brothers are supposed to), I got up from my chair, went out into the hallway, and knocked on Addy’s door.

The only response was hysteric giggles from Addy, and a whispered, “I think he heard you!” Before she bursted into laughter.

“WHAT?!” The dial tone of an ending call sounded. I chuckled. Twelve year olds.

I walked away from her room and went downstairs, only to freeze as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I whipped it out and checked my texts.

I felt a rush of adrenaline as I saw that Jade had texted me. It said:

Jade <3 - 9:47 a.m.

Hey, Liam. Sorry about that. Parents grounded me—you know how they are. I snuck my phone out to text this, so I won’t be able to say much else. I’m fine.

Something seemed a little off. Jade rarely texted with capitalization, especially not if she was in a rush. But it’s fine. She’s okay, and that’s all that matters. I responded with:

Me - 9:48 a.m.

okay then, do you know when youre gonna be allowed to get out of the house?

Jade <3 - 9:49 a.m.

Idk. I’m fine tho. Mom said it would be a while.

“Mom”? I thought, slightly concerned. Jade never called her mother “Mom”. It was always by her first name, Sheri. She didn’t have enough respect for her parents to call them “Mom” or “Dad”. But it was fine. She was in a rush, and the word “Mom” was shorter than “Sheri”. Just to be safe, I added:

Me - 9:51 a.m.

you sure youre okay? you never text with caps

Jade <3 - 9:51 a.m.

one sec, I’ll facetime you.

A few minutes later, she FaceTimed me, and I accepted. “Hey, Jade! Where are you?”

She smiled, showing her white, perfectly-straight teeth. “At the park. Don’t come over, though, Sheri’s with me and she’ll freak out. Anyways, I’m fine. I have to go now, bye!” She blinked a few times, then hung up.

“Boo!”

I spun around to see Addy laughing behind me. “Addy! What are you doing?” I didn’t hide my irritation.

“Oh, nothing, one of my friends just asked me to scare you and send proof.”

“As a test to see if my looks match my personality?”

She smiled sheepishly. “Well, it is Alice, but no.”

“Doesn’t she have a boyfriend?”

“Well, I mean, she does, but she’s one of, well, those girls, y’know?”

I grinned. “Ah. I take it you’re not like other girls because you’re not boy-crazy, then?”

“Exactly!” She giggled.

Twelve-year-olds are so oblivious. “Well can you delete the recording, or at least let me see it?”

“Sure.” She pulled up the photos app and selected the most recent video. It was a recording right over my shoulder of Jade on FaceTime. Addy frowned. “Don’t you think she’s blinking weirdly? I mean, who closes their eyes for that long three times in a row?”

“Wait, replay it one more time. Slower.” As she did, I noticed Jade was blinking in…a sort of pattern? And…sending an S.O.S message!

“Addy…that’s morse code. That’s an S.O.S message. Jade is in trouble.” I tried to keep my voice calm, but my mind was racing.

Her eyebrows shot up. “Really? Let’s go to her house!” With that, she flung open the front door and sprinted out.

“Addy, wait!” I charged after her, closing the door behind me, and raced along the sidewalk.

Naturally, since I was faster, I caught up and grabbed her arm, slowing her down. She pulled away, but, being five years older than her, I won the wrestle.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I demanded, releasing her. As if on cue, a fat raindrop landed on my nose, followed by a few more. “You think you can walk all the way to her house in this weather?”

“We have to help her, Liam! She’s in danger!”

I took a deep breath so I wouldn’t explode on her. “Adelaide, you don’t know that. You can’t just run out of the house without warning. I don’t know what happened to her, but if something's out there, I can’t have it doing something to you, okay?”

She rolled her eyes. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m fine. You—”

“If Jade really is in danger, something must’ve happened to her on the way back to her house. If something could kidnap Jade, what do you think it could do to a little twelve-year-old like you?”

“I’m not little!”

Tween girls and their lack of respect! “I’ll drive, okay? But you’re not coming with me.”

Her jaw dropped. “What?! I have to come! Jade’s not just your girlfriend, you know, she’s like a sister to me.”

“Fine,” I hissed, turning around and stalking back to my car, though making sure I heard her footsteps following me.

By the time we reached our driveway, my hair was plastered to my forehead and my clothes were soaked in the hammering rain. I swung open the car door and got in. Addy got in the passenger’s seat.

“Get out,” I ordered. “You’re too young to sit in the front seat.”

“I’m 5’3! That’s well over the minimum!”

“Well, maybe I just don’t want to talk to you right now. Get in the back.” Grumbling, she obeyed. She’s lucky I’m even letting her come with me.

Gritting my teeth, I drove to Jade’s house, closer to the center of the city. The godawful noise of the windshield wipers and thundering rain only infuriated me further. Eventually, we pulled up to Jade’s apartment.

I parked the car, while Addy tried to run inside. “Walk! Don’t be suspicious!” I hissed.

She reluctantly slowed down for me to catch up. We walked inside the sliding doors into a small lobby. I only knew this was Jade’s apartment building when she would point it out while driving by and from picking her up for dates. Jade and I go back to seventh grade together. We became friends after she defended me from some bullies, (little do they know, I’m getting all the girls in high school), then towards the end of tenth grade we got together. It was crazy to think we were already going into senior year.

It seemed like the elevator was taking forever to arrive, so we ended up just running up the stairs. When we reached Jade’s floor, I forced myself to slow down as I searched for her apartment number. When I finally found it, I noticed an eviction notice taped on the front as well.

“What’s that?” Addy asked, pushing past me and standing on her tip-toes to get a good look at the sign.

“It’s an eviction notice. It means they didn’t pay their rent. They’re getting kicked out soon if they don’t pay up.” I pulled out my phone and texted Jade.

Me 10:27 a.m.

there's an eviction notice on your front door. are you okay??

Jade <3 10:28 a.m.

why are you at my apartment?!? mom’s gonna kill me if she sees you there >:(

Me 10:28 a.m.

bc i care abt u and u weren’t acting right earlier?

Jade <3 10:28 a.m.

i mean like i said earlier im at the park. don’t come.

“What did she say?”

“Geez, Addy!” She was hovering over my shoulder, and she practically screamed right into my ear. “She didn’t really answer the question, just got mad at me for coming here, which,” I added, with a meaningful look at Addy, “was your idea.”

She rolled her eyes. “You went along with it. I’m just an innocent minor, ya know. I’m not even old enough to watch Ironman. You’re almost an adult—you’re the one in charge.”

“And you still do—behind Mom’s back, I might add.”

“Well you let me watch it, so if you rat me out, you’re getting in trouble too.”

I laughed. “Touché.”

“Okay, well let’s meet her at the park.”

“God, Addy, she said not to. I don’t want our actions to make Sheri punish Jade further.”

She grabbed my arm and unsuccessfully pulled on it. “She sent an S.O.S.! That’s really bad! If you were so worried about her not responding, maybe you should be a little worried now that she's told you she's actually in danger?!” Addy made a good point. If I was so worried about her not responding, I should be more worried now than ever.

“But what if she didn’t want us to go wherever she is because maybe someone has her and they would hurt her if we arrive?”

Addy took a moment to think. “You’re right, but we should still go. We just need to figure out a way to do it carefully.”

“If someone does have her, what if she isn’t actually at the park?” I panicked.

Addy pulled out her phone and we watched the video again, she definitely wasn’t at the park—our public park didn’t have as many trees and it didn’t have nobody else around? It was always completely packed!

“Then we need to go. Come on!”

Addy dashed down the hallway and into the elevator. Cursing, I followed her. Why did she always have to do things without thinking twice? She stepped out on the first floor and sprinted towards where our car was parked.

Normally, I wouldn’t run after her if I knew she was just going to the car. But this was a city. And cities were no place for a little girl to run around alone in. I begrudgingly jogged after her. Not super close—no point in spending extra energy—but close enough to make sure she didn’t get kidnapped or something.

“Unlock the car!” she yelled at me. I grinned, purposely not unlocking the car until I meandered over, as a sort of “payback” for Addy’s reckless running.

I opened the front door and hopped in as Addy got in the back, then drove away back to the house.

As we passed the park on the way, Addy yelled, “Hey, what are you doing? You missed it!”

“We’re going home,” I growled through gritted teeth.

She dug her heels into the back of my seat. “Stop the car! Stop it! Stop!”

“Shut up!” I yelled, gripping the wheel as she continued to kick my seat. “Do you want me to crash this car?!”

“I want you to go to the park! Jade could get murdered and it’ll be all you fault! If she dies because we don’t save her I’ll never forgive you!”

The rain suddenly pounded harder against the glass. “I’m supposed to be watching you—protecting you—while our parents are gone. If someone dies, don’t you dare blame someone else, okay? If someone is going through a loss, you do not blame them. That makes you an asshole.”

She muttered something under her breath, but I couldn’t distinguish what she said over the thundering rain. Why can’t tweens, especially the one that I got landed with as a sister, understand basic things?!

It was getting hard to see through the dense rain, and the second the windshield wipers got rid of it, raindrops instantly replaced it and blurred the windshield. I slowed the car, not wanting to crash.

“Go faster!” Addy screamed. “The sooner we get home, the sooner we investigate, and the sooner we can call the fricking police!”

If it was even possible, the rain got louder. “Addy, I can’t see twenty feet in front of me, and you want me to go faster?!”

“You’re so selfish! You want to save yourself instead of saving Jade!”

“Technically, I’m also saving you! Brat!”

“I don’t care, because I’m not selfish like you! I actually care about Jade!”

“I’m selfish for not wanting to crash?!” My voice rose and went high pitched. “Sorry for caring about myself and my own sister. Plus, if we do crash, we won’t be able to save Jade!”

“Are you crying?”

I jumped as I heard the voice coming from my right, and glanced over to see Addy’s head peering past my seat. “Sit back. It’s not safe to lean so far forward. Also, no I’m not i—it’s raining, that’s why.”

Addy glared at me. “Yeah, raining in the car, no shit.”

I audibly gasped a joke. “Addy! Language!”

“I’m in fucking middle school, for fuck’s sake. People my age try to see how many damn cuss words they can fit in a single fucking sentence!”

“Don’t you dare say that in front of Mom and Dad. They’ll kill you. And me. They’ll think I’m cursing in front of you.”

“First of all, it’s not think. You do cuss in front of me—or at least today you have—and I’m not stupid, stupid. I hear worse walking through the hallway in school, anyway.”

“Okay, whatever. Just shut up so I can focus on driving.”

She started humming, then sang, “We’re no strangers to love… You know the rules, and so do I…”

“You little shit.”