I didn't even get a frown. He was all smiles. After all, he was driving Cameron's truck, and nothing could ruin his sunny mood. "I can't believe I'm driving Cameron's truck," he whispered. "Really? I wouldn't have thought that in a million years." But when he turned to me with another big smile and a playful shoulder shake, I couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, you big goof. Start the truck." "Wait, take a picture of me first. For evidence. I'll send it to Caleb. He'd shit his pants that Cameron let me drive it." After several minutes and a hundred photos, we were on our way to my place. Funny how just a few minutes ago the sky was clear and blue, and now dark clouds had started to cover it, with the threat of rain. It's an omen. Shut it, stupid. It's just rain. The house is safe now. I clutched my backpack in front of me, shaking off the feeling of helpless rage and fear at having my privacy violated on the hands of some stranger. It was a senseless, selfish disregard of someone's safe place. The police said it might be the same gang targeting businesses around my dad's area, and now they were on mine. They said there would be someone cruising by day and night in my area just to be safe, and if I found anything suspicious to give them a call right away. When Dylan parked on the street, I felt my heart jumped in my throat. The sight of the porch, bare of flowers that Cameron and I had arranged before, brought back all the dark emotions inside me. "It's okay, Kar. You got me," Dylan said, patting my shoulder. "I've been working out, you know. They have to get through me first." I gave him a tight smile. "You're the man. Let's go, Dyl." I took a big breath before I opened the front door. Everything seemed to be in place. It was so weird that they didn't take anything. Or maybe they did, and I just hadn't discovered what was missing yet. But as I looked at every nook and cranny, I couldn't find anything stolen. It was also weird that they just opened both front and back doors and the basement windows. Was it just a stupid prank? Last night, I argued with myself whether to tell Cameron about the basement windows, worried that it might be a trigger for him. His mother used to lock him in the basement when he was a kid. Because of that, Cameron had always opened one basement window in his house. I walked to the hallway and back to my bedroom, looking inside my closet again. How was I going to tell Tala what happened here? I knew it was stupid, but I felt somehow responsible. Mrs. B and Tala had entrusted their house to me and look what happened. "Kar?" "Here." Dylan poked his head through the door. "You done?" "Yeah. Just taking another look." "Nothing was stolen? Destroyed?" "No." "Weird." "Right?" He came in, sat on my bed and looked around. "Can you still sleep here after what happened?" "I'm not letting those fuckers scare me, Dyl. I'm sure they won't be back. I mean there's nothing here to steal. Besides, what's the statistics of breaking and entering a home twice?" He tumbled on my bed, looked at the ceiling. "What if this place is haunted?" I shot him a glare. He lifted his neck to look at me. "I'm just saying, Kar. Tala's psychic, right? What if she was somehow repressing the powers of the evil spirit here? And now that Tala's gone—" "Shut your mouth right now—" "—the evil spirit is once again free to haunt whoever lives here? What if one night you see a little girl on the ceiling, staring at you in your sleep—" "—or you're going be the ghost haunting this place!" He started laughing maniacally as I slapped his arms and legs. I was going to reach for his neck when he yelled mercy. "You little shit. You scared the crap out of me. Stop spending too much time with Lockhart." "Yeah, yeah, sorry, sorry." He laughed, sat up and rubbed his arms. "Ouch." I turned my nose up at him, wheeled around to check my closet. All my clothes were here, my jewelry, the fifty bucks I stored under my scarf. "You saw the cameras Cameron installed outside?" Dylan asked. "What?" "You didn't?" "I told him not to." But deep inside, I was grateful. I was against them in the beginning. I just didn't feel comfortable having them around. Going back here the second time had put the fear back inside me and I hated it. So the cameras can stay for now. Once I felt safe again, I'd just remove them myself. "Kar, don't be stubborn. They're just outdoor cameras." "Okay, fine. I'll leave them for now." "There's an app you can download. Cameron probably has the password. Just ask him when you see him later." I looked at him over my shoulder. "Did he say he'll come again later?" His brows drew together. "You're asking me? He's your boyfriend, right?"