Page 73 of The Games We Play

Shoving past him, I slam the door closed and lock it back. “I need you to get dressed. We have to go now. Before my dad shows up.” I walk through the lower level of his house and pull all the blinds closed.

“What? Your dad? It’s fucking midnight, Tess. What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you have a gun? What are you wearing? What happened to your face?”

I flick the deadbolt of the back door closed and huff. “We don’t have the time to dive into any of that. Please go get dressed, and I’ll explain everything.”

He crosses his arms instead of listening to me and stands there. “I’m not going anywhere until you explain what is going on. Are you off your meds? On a bad trip?”

I roll my eyes and shove him back. “No, you fucker! I just—” I can’t cry. Not now. I left all that on the highway. “Please, Ryan. I can’t lose you too.”

His stance softens, and he takes my hand without the gun. “You’re not losing me, Tess. What is this all about? Is it Katie? Tell me. I can help you.”

Those words have me shattering all over again. Here, with Ryan, I’m not the Serial Killer of Whispering Pines or the fiery person whom X brings out. I’m just Tess. Vulnerable and broken.

X—Ryan’s dad.

“I have to tell you something,” I say, my voice cracking. “Your dad—”

There’s a knock at the door, and Ryan stands straight, angling his body toward it.

“No, don’t,” I say, grabbing his arm.

“I’m going to see who is at the door, Tess. Why don’t you go get a glass of water?”

Yanking him back, I aim the gun at the door.

“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”

I don’t waiver from my position. “They’re here to kill you and me. I don’t have time to explain, but whoever is on the other side of that door isn’t friendly.”

There’s another knock. “Ryan? Tess?”

There’s no way.

“It’s just Dad. Give me that so you don’t scare him.” Ryan takes the gun and places it on the table. I stare after him in disbelief. I heard the gunshot as he fell. He’s—Ryan pulls the door open, and Mr. Collins stands there, blood staining his button-down, and his face is pale. My heart stutters in my chest, and I choke out a sigh of relief.

“You’re alive,” I whisper, but Ryan’s shouting overshadows it. “What the hell is going on? Is that blood?”

Mr. Collins leans on the doorway, looking beyond exhausted, and Ryan rushes forward to lift his dad’s arm around his neck.

“Tess! Call 911! Hurry!” Terror fills Ryan’s tone, but I can’t take my eyes off Mr. Collins. It’s like I’m seeing him for the first time. Instead of the mask staring back at me in my fantasy, it’s his face. His hunter,dark green eyes were watching me all those times in my room from the cameras. He was this man who I fought to find in the Haunted Nights. Those lips that I’ve kissed a hundred times. His hands have explored every inch of my body and mine his.

This is the man who taught me how to live.

“No cops,” he says with a wince.

Ryan lays him back on the couch. “What do you mean, no cops? What is going on?”

“I was wondering the same thing.”

That voice. I grab the gun off the nightstand, and I whirl toward the doorway. Dad stands with his gun raised, aimed at my best friend, but his eyes stare at the man propped up on the couch.

“You were supposed to be dead. I watched you die. How is this possible?” Dad says in disbelief.

“The same way I watched you die,” Mr. Collins says with effort as he pushes up to his feet. I have no idea how he's standing.

“Mr. Wallace? What are you—?” Ryan asks, glancing between his dad and mine.

“Doesn’t matter, now,” Dad says, talking over Ryan. “It’s over.” His eyes leave Mr. Collins and land on Ryan. He’s too far away. Ryan doesn’t know who the man staring at him will kill him. And it’s all my fucking fault.

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