I turn around, reaching for the knob and expecting Chasm to let me take it. Instead, he stays where he is, and my hand closes over his. I can even feel his breath stirring my hair against my neck, making me shudder and squeeze my hand even more tightly around his.
“You know I love Parrish, right?” he says, and I nod, because I do. He wouldn’t be doing all of this if he didn’t. Wouldn’t have moved a dead girl’s body. Wouldn’t have tackled a man with a gun. Wouldn’t have shot a rapist’s corpse. “If you were with any other guy—I mean really, any other guy except maybe Maxx—I would try to take you from him. Shit, it would be war. I would wage it, Dakota.”
He exhales, and my hair flutters again, teasing me, making me wish it were his lips instead.
I tell myself it’s because of all the trauma, like I’m leaning into Chasm because I miss Parrish. In reality, it’s because I realized yesterday that I liked them both the same. Parrish was simply first. If the world were different, if I could have a harem like an anime girl, then I would invite Chasm in.
“I would never betray Parrish,” I promise him, and I mean that, turning around abruptly and once again, expecting that Chasm will step back to make space. Instead, he stays right where he is, looking down at me, a boy who brought me sunflowers and ended up giving me condoms to use with his best friend. “Never.” This word, it’s a whisper.
“Do you want to know what I said to him that day?” he asks me, and I vaguely remember Chasm saying something to Parrish in Korean after giving us the condoms.
“I do,” I breathe back, but before he gets a chance to speak, the door to the classroom opens and there’s Mr. Volli, sweet, well-dressed, glasses-wearing Mr. Volli who loves Sylvia Plath and constantly quotes Emily Dickinson during his app development lessons.
“Ms. Banks, Mr. McKenna.” He moves into the room, closing the door behind him as Chasm steps to the side, pushing me behind him like he’s willing to die to protect me. I can’t think about that, so I just step up beside him and ignore the angry look he tosses my way. “If the two of you would like to search my office, go right ahead.” He opens the door for us and pushes it aside, holding his hand out in invitation.
I notice right away that there’s a walking stick in the corner. It reminds me of that day that I passed by the teacher’s lounge and got a glimpse of a walking stick then, too. Was it the same one? Is this the one that was used to attack Maxx during our hike?
Mr. Volli notices the direction of my stare and smiles pleasantly. Could he really be my father? Could he really be the Slayer? My gamer brain tells me there’s no way. You don’t fight the boss on the first level. It just doesn’t work that way. Another sub-boss. A dungeon boss. Not an endgame boss.
“Do you like the souvenir I took from Mr. Fosser? It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I’m fairly certain that the wood is blackthorn.”
“What the hell are you playing at?” Chasm snarls, squeezing his hands so hard around the keys that I worry he might be hurting himself. “What’s the point of all this?”
The teacher turns his head to look at me instead, studying me with those light brown eyes that I always thought held such kindness. Either I’m a terrible judge of character or Mr. Volli is a consummate actor. Maybe both. How could I have sat in his classroom for months and not picked up on anything? That other guy—Mr. Fosser—he just smelled wrong.
“If you’re looking for clues, you’ll have to be a bit cleverer,” Mr. Volli says, moving past us into the office and taking a seat at his desk. He rifles through some papers, and then turns to his computer, as if we aren’t even there. As if he didn’t catch us trying to break into his office. Not that it matters anyway. He can’t exactly report us, right? We’ve got dirt on him, too. “The Slayer is meticulous. I hope to learn from him as well.” He gives me another smile, one that feels too genuine to be fake. I start to wonder if he isn’t crazy, if he really means what he’s saying. “You’re lucky to have such an intelligent and careful man for a father.”
“I’m lucky to have a dad who kills people?” I query back, but Mr. Volli doesn’t have much of a reaction. He redirects his attention back to his computer and goes about studiously ignoring us. With another curse, Chasm grabs my wrist and drags me from the room, chucking the keys into a nearby potted plant. Huh.
