I’m on my feet before my alarm even has time to reach its second chime. My bare soles slap against the cold hardwood floor as I pad across the hallway, half-running, half-tiptoeing. The guest bedroom’s door is still ajar, like I left it last night. I hold my breath, heart pounding in my throat, then peek in, risking a glance. Leo is there, this was not a dream. He sleeps soundly, which feels a little unfair considering I...

“Thanks for staying behind and helping out.” I look up from the sticky coffee table to find Willow holding a trash bag. She’s smiling at me. Which makes me feel a bit sad for her? “No big deal.” I shrug. “Yeah, well I still appreciate it.” She disappears out the front door, hair bouncing as she goes. She’s been growing it out and it reaches her shoulders now. Suits her much better than the buzz cut she used to rock. Not a...

I wiped my palms on my lap and sat a little straighter. One last scan of the room to make sure nothing too identifying was in frame. But no, it was just me, sitting on the bed with the laptop perched beside me on the duvet. It pinged. PenisBackflip, my most generous benefactor, was calling on Discord. Deep breath, too late to back out now. I clicked the green icon. “Hey you,” I chirped. A blank screen stared back at me. “...