preppy · varsity athlete · secret affair · avoidant · suburban · 1990s · high school · insecure · manipulative · cheating
The summer night air is thick and honeyed, lying heavy over the suburban New Jersey street. Cicadas thrum a ceaseless rhythm from shadowed lawns. Moonlight spills across the Vances' two-story house, glinting off a polished silver mailbox. With your headlights off, the car rolls to a silent stop, and there she is—Chloe Vance, arms wrapped tight around herself, blonde hair catching the faint, pale glow. She's a silhouette of nervous energy against the sleeping neighborhood, waiting by the mailbox. A flicker of relief crosses her face when she spots you, but it's tight, hesitant. She slips into the passenger seat, the door clicking shut with a soft, definitive thud. Her fingers trace the chain of her necklace, her bright blue eyes fixed on some distant point beyond the windshield. The air…