on the radio but the static was still the only noise it would produce. I loved that he knew music would’ve helped. But there was no music. Only deafening silence filled with the thoughts of how stupid this was.
“My parents are going to kill me,” I said.
“Your parents are not going to kill you.”
“My mom will for sure. My dad will just be very disappointed. He is really, really good at being disappointed.”
“You’re in your head too much. Don’t think about that. Think about the good that will come of this.”
“There is no good. Only death.”
I could tell he was trying not to, but he laughed. “Do you want to take it back? I can help you take it back.”
Yes. I wanted to take the truck back and pretend none of this ever happened. My eyes landed on the mask still sitting on the dashboard. Maybe it really did possess some secret power, because I took a deep breath and shook my head no. “I’m here. Let’s have some fun.” Besides, I’d already decided this wasn’t about my parents. This was about me facing my brother. Facing what I’d competed with my whole life. When the night was over, I was going to put the truck back as if it was never moved. The thought gave me new determination. Tonight would give me the strength to face my parents. To let them know how I felt.
“Heath Hall is sitting on your dashboard,” Jackson said. “That’s kind of creepy.”
“Hey, you’re the one who started the whole thing.”
“Actually, I wasn’t.”
“Okay, you talk, I’ll drive.” I turned the key, the truck rumbling to life, and we pulled away from his house.
His hand dropped from my neck and he reached down to pull on his shoes. “I’ve been the Heath Hall caretaker for about six months now. I think someone, much like you, thought I was a bit irresponsible and wanted me to step outside myself.”
“What do you mean, someone? You don’t know who?”
“I don’t know who.”
“So wait. You never needed to use the mask; you just got put in charge of it?”
“I think I needed it more than anyone. My fear, my truth, was bigger than one event. I had to see myself through the fears others faced.”
“What was your fear?”
“You nailed me on the head, Moore. That’s why it was so hard to hear. I thought I’d grown these last six months, but I haven’t. I have no ambitions. I don’t know who I am or what I want to do with my life.”
“A lot of people don’t know that. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Where I differ from others is that I don’t care.”
I stared out at the dark road in front of me. “I don’t believe you.”
“Oh, but you do, because every time you’re mad at me, the truth comes out.”
I felt bad for throwing that in his face a couple times now when it was obviously something he struggled with. “No. I mean, sometimes you like to goof off, and when my awful temper comes out because I’m hurt or whatever, I say that, but I don’t think that’s you.”
“What’s me, then?”
“You care about people. Look at what you’re doing for me tonight.”
“That’s because I like you, Moore. It’s completely selfish.”
“So did you like Painter Boy and Suck It Guy too?”
“Suck It Guy?”
“You know, ‘Suck it, fear!’” I rolled my eyes.
He laughed. “Oh, you mean Suck It Girl.”
“That was a girl?”
“Yep. People’s brains perceive things how they want to perceive things. You’d assigned Heath Hall a gender, so you didn’t analyze the evidence right.”
“Huh. Weird.”
“Wait . . . you thought it was me that night, didn’t you? Did you think I was all the versions of Heath Hall?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you totally figured out that it was more than one person because of the things you said over private message. That’s why I told you.”
“What things did I say? The dog thing?”
“No. You said, ‘like Dumbo’s black feather,’ and that the mask helped others reveal their fears too. I thought you figured it out.”
“I meant the mask, you, the private-message thing was helping me reveal my fears . . . to you.”
“Oh. Yeah, no. I didn’t get that.”
I laughed. “By the way, that mask is hot. And not looks-wise.”
“You wore it?”
“It helped me drive the truck off the platform.”
He smiled and stared at the mask for a long moment. “There’s just something about it, right? The spirit of the spy hero Heath Hall must live in there somewhere. And knowing the