Regret churned in Casey's stomach when he woke up on the couch at midnight. Sierra slept across from him, with her foot dangling in his face. He pushed it away and sat up, frantic to check his phone to see several missed calls and texts from his family.

"Shit." He repeated the word as he got his ass up, nudging August passed out on the recliner. "We gotta go now."

August yawned, covering his mouth as he stretched his arms. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"It's past midnight. I promised I'd be home already," Casey replied. "My family's freaking out."

"You're not a kid anymore. Why does that matter? You don't still have a curfew, do you?" August sneered.

Casey frowned. "When my mom didn't come home like she said she would, she ended up dead. They're probably assuming the worst."

"Just text them that you're fine." August peeled himself off the sofa, stifling another yawn. "Come on, I'll drive ya home."

Back in the car, Casey played one of the few voicemails Lani left behind for him. However, instead of his sister's voice, it was Wyatt's. Hearing his son ask him where he was and when he'd be coming home broke his heart. Tears welled in his eyes as he choked back a sob.

"I'm an awful father," Casey whimpered.

"What? No, you're not. You just took a night for yourself, and after everything that happened today, you deserved it," August replied.

Casey shook his head, desperately wiping the tears that rained down his cheeks with his hoodie sleeve. "I left him to go get high. What kind of parent does that? I'm just as bad as Veronica."

"You didn't intend to get high," August pointed out. "It was my fault for bringing you there, but this doesn't make you a horrible parent. You didn't leave Wyatt all alone to go get high or neglect him. Before leaving, you made sure someone would be taking care of him."

"You don't understand," Casey said, blotting a slimy wad of snot on his jacket. "This is what Veronica used to do to us."

"Still, you're not a bad parent, Casey."

Nothing could convince Casey otherwise, not after hearing that voicemail from his son, worried about where he'd gone. Wyatt already lost his mother and his grandmother. Casey wouldn't leave him too.

August hadn't even come to a complete stop when Casey climbed out of his truck and hurried up the driveway. The porch light had been left on for him, and when he approached the door, he heard voices from the other side. Nausea squirmed in his stomach as he foraged for his house key, slowly turning the knob, and closing the door behind him.

"Where the hell have you been?" Lani demanded, sitting up from the couch.

"I'm so sorry." Casey kicked his shoes off at the door.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" Lani asked. "I was about to report you missing, thinking someone might've got you like they did Mom."

"Time just got away from me. Thank you for watching Wyatt." Casey brushed by her, heading toward his room. He creaked the door open, expecting to find his son sound asleep.

A sliver of moonlight peeked in through the closed curtains, casting a soft light on his son's face. Wyatt laid in his own bed, gazing up at the ceiling. When Casey neared his bed, Wyatt's head shot up. Seeing his puffy eyes from crying broke his heart. Casey replayed the voicemail in his head, hearing the whimpers and desperation in his son's voice.

Wyatt outstretched his arms, wanting to be held. Casey lifted him out of bed with ease, cuddling him close to his chest as he sat at the end of his own bed. Gently rubbing circles against his back, Casey apologized profusely for coming home so late.

"Will you leave?" Wyatt whimpered. "Like Mommy?"

Casey tensed. "No, I'll never leave you, Wyatt. I promise. This was an accident. If I ever have to come home late again, I'll let you know."

Wyatt sniffled against his shirt. "Mommy's mad at me."

"Huh? Why would you say that?" Casey asked. "Your mommy's not mad at you. She just needed to go away. She did a very bad thing and almost got you hurt, remember?"

Casey wasn't ready for that conversation. Not tonight.

"Are you mad at me?" Wyatt asked. "That why you leaved me?"

"No, buddy. I'm not mad at you. This was my mistake. I got busy with some friends and lost track of time," Casey explained. "I would never, ever leave you."

To Casey's relief, Wyatt didn't ask anymore questions about his mom. He'd never known that Wyatt felt like his mom abandoned him because she got upset with him. The night of the accident, Veronica had gotten high and drove their son out on the highway, going only God knows where. Casey wasn't sure what happened during that day, as he'd been at work and never thought Veronica would put their son in harm's way.

How wrong he'd been. Veronica almost killed them both by swerving into another car. Just remembering that night sent waves of anxiety through him again. When he'd gotten the call about the crash, he thought he lost them both. But when he learned that Veronica had been high, driving their son out in the middle of the night, he lost it.

Casey stayed with his son until he fell asleep. After that, he changed out of his work clothes for something more comfortable and made his way downstairs. He noticed a rift between Lani and their father, who couldn't even stay in the same room as each other. Casey found his father downstairs, in the living room, watching the late night news.

"Casey-" Mr. Lockhart began, but he cut him off.

"I fucked up," Casey told him. "Learning about you and Freida... I just needed to get away. I didn't mean to leave you alone at the bakery, but I couldn't stand the sight of you together. All I could think about was Mom and what she would've done if she knew."

"Casey, I swear, I've never been unfaithful," Mr. Lockhart said. "I've never met that Freida woman until she came to the bakery today."

"Dad, please don't lie to me." Casey took a seat beside him. "Be honest with me. Lani found the messages you guys shared together. You made a freaking dating profile."

Mr. Lockhart shook his head. "I have no idea who made that profile, but it wasn't me. Casey, I swear I've never even used that site. Someone else must've created it. Maybe those gang members did it while they had my computer."

"Dad, seriously?" Casey groaned. "Is that the best you can come up with?"

"I found the site on my laptop after Lani told me about it." Mr. Lockhart reached over the coffee table for his laptop. "This profile is set up like it's me, but I didn't create it."

Casey accepted the computer, gazing at the familiar messages exchanged between them and Freida. Out of curiosity, Casey scrolled up into the account information to see more about his profile. Something strange caught his eye. The email used to create the profile.

His dad used the same email for everything, as far as Casey knew. Not only that, but shouldn't his computer show a new email logged in if he created it for the sake of the profile? It wasn't like his dad was tech savvy, and judging from his browser history, it seemed like he'd never deleted any of it.

Which made no sense if he'd been communicating with Fredia the entire time. His dad's excuse of those gang members creating it started to make more sense as Casey scrolled more through the profile, realizing that the photos he'd used were all from his Facebook profile. Anyone could've easily saved them and created the profile.

"Dad, I believe you," Casey told him.

Mr. Lockhart's sullen expression lit up. "I swear, I'd never met that woman until today."

"I know. I checked the email registered with this account, and it's not yours. Honestly, it looks fake. Just a bunch of randomized numbers and letters," Casey replied. "And, if you created an email for this profile, I feel like that email would be logged on here too."

"Thank you for believing me. I know Lani's still upset, she won't listen to a word I've got to say. I'm sorry to put you guys through this. I just don't know who made that account or who's been messaging that woman."

Casey rubbed his chin. "Well, you mentioned how those gang members took your computer for a bit, right? Maybe they set that profile up to frame you. They expected the cops to find it and assume you killed Mom to be with this other woman."

"You might be right," Mr. Lockhart replied. "Should we delete the account then?"

"That's probably the best idea. Just make sure there's no trace of it left on your computer," Casey said. "I'll make sure Lani deletes all those photos too. I'm sure she'll understand what's going on when we explain it to her."

"You were both so certain I'd cheated on your mom." Mr. Lockhart frowned.

"Only because of the profile on your laptop," Casey explained. "I mean, it's really suspicious. Whoever's trying to frame you is doing a pretty damn good job at it." Casey placed the laptop back on the table. "You've never told us much about that day. What exactly did those gang members make you do? Aside from burying that gun."

"Just weird stuff, I guess." Mr. Lockhart shrugged. "Like giving them my computer and getting that money for them. I was surprised when they returned my laptop. I expected them to keep it and pawn it."

"Yeah, that is weird. But after we found that profile, I think it plays a role in them trying to set you up," Casey replied. "I know I said we should delete it, but now I think it might be a better idea to hand this over to the police."

Mr. Lockhart frowned. "Are you sure? Won't this just make me look guilty?"

"Why would a guilty man hand over incriminating evidence like this?" Casey countered. "I'll go down to the station with you and help explain everything. Even how we set up a fake meeting with Freida. I'm sure the police have forensics who can see where the profile originated from and has continued being used, aside from yours."

"Alright, I'll consider it."

"Consider it? Dad! The cops already suspect you killed Mom. If they find this, which they likely will, then it'll be worse on you. By handing it over now, you can explain that you've never seen it before, until we showed you."

"I'll be sure to hand it over. Don't worry," Mr. Lockhart assured him. "Now that we've got this out of the way, I wanted to talk to you about that August guy."

Casey cringed. "Uh, maybe we ought to put this conversation on pause until tomorrow? I really should get some sleep." He faked a yawn.

"You're an awful liar. Maybe worse than I am." Mr. Lockhart chuckled. "Your mom always said I had a tale, but she wouldn't tell me what it was."

"August just wanted to help me." Casey fiddled with a loose string on his nightshirt. "He's not actually a terrible guy. We hung out with some old friends of mine. I just needed to clear my head. I'm sorry about leaving you and Xavier at the bakery earlier. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"It's fine, I understand why you left. I just want to make sure you're okay," Mr. Lockhart said. "That August guy is bad news and I know you tend to try seeing the best of people."

Casey folded his arms across his chest. "August's a pretty chill guy. The night at the bakery was a misunderstanding. And yeah, he might work with the Black Vipers and know Veronica, but I think he really wants to help us."

Mr. Lockhart sighed as he rose from the couch. "Just be careful. Don't get yourself swept up in that gang again."

An infomercial played on low volume as Casey hung his head down, contemplating everything after his dad went to his own room. He'd missed those guys in the Black Vipers. There was no denying that, and how much fun it had been to bake those cupcakes for them. Gazing back toward his bedroom, he realized where his priorities lay.

Casey wouldn't be like Veronica. He would choose his family over that gang.