Rea lay on her bed, her phone resting on her stomach as she stared at the ceiling. No matter how many times she reread her mom's message, it didn't make any more sense.
Should be safe now. Safe from what? Or who?
Aster's words earlier hadn't helped either. Maybe it was about him. Maybe her parents had learned something they hadn't told her yet.
Or maybe she was overthinking.
She sighed, rubbing her eyes before grabbing her phone and scrolling through her messages. Nothing new.
Her fingers hovered over her mom's contact. She could text her, ask for more details, but she knew her mom well enough to know she wouldn't get a real answer.
She groaned and sat up.
Aster was still downstairs. He hadn't followed her up, which meant either he'd fallen asleep or he was doing something he shouldn't be doing.
Suspicious, she padded down the stairs quietly.
The living room was empty, the TV still off. The couch, however, was missing one delinquent.
"Aster?" she called, looking around.
No response.
Her stomach twisted.
She checked the kitchen—empty. The back door—locked.
Then she heard it.
A soft rustling from down the hall.
Rea's eyes narrowed as she followed the sound, stopping in front of the hallway closet. The door was slightly ajar.
She grabbed the handle and yanked it open.
Aster blinked up at her from where he was crouched in front of a cardboard box.
"…Hey."
Rea folded her arms. "What. Are. You. Doing?"
Aster glanced at the box, then back at her. "Would you believe me if I said nothing?"
Rea stepped closer. "Is that—" She stopped when she recognized it.
The box was one of her parents' storage containers. They kept random documents, old papers, and—
She inhaled sharply. "Is that my dad's safe?"
Aster grinned, completely unbothered. "Bingo."
Rea's pulse spiked. "Are you insane?!"
Aster sat back on his heels. "Relax, Jones. I didn't steal anything. I just got curious."
"Curious?! This is my parents' stuff, Aster!"
"And your parents are acting shady," he pointed out. "Figured I'd take a look."
Rea groaned, rubbing her temples. "You can't just go snooping through people's things—"
"Look at this," Aster interrupted, pushing the safe aside and pulling out a stack of old letters.
Rea frowned. "What is that?"
Aster flipped through them. "Dunno. But they're old."
Rea knelt beside him, hesitantly taking one. The paper was yellowed with time, the ink slightly faded.
Her eyes scanned the words.
"We have to be careful. I don't know how much longer we can keep this from her."
Her stomach dropped.
Aster leaned over her shoulder, reading it too. "Okay. That sounds suspicious."
Rea quickly grabbed another letter.
"If they find out she's still here, it could put us all in danger."
Her hands started to shake.
Who were they talking about?
Aster's expression was unreadable. "Well, Jones. Looks like your parents have a few secrets of their own."
Rea swallowed hard, gripping the letters tightly.
And she suddenly had the sinking feeling that she wasn't ready to find out what they were.