Maddie POV
We were all sitting in the living room after dinner. My mother had gone up to her room, leaving us alone. Dereck and Stephen played a video game while Averie, as always, remained silent. She watched everything with a calculating look, as if she was waiting for something to happen. The tension I had felt since arriving seemed to finally dissipate. At least for a moment.
“Hey, Maddie,” Dereck began, without looking up from the screen, “now that we’re back in Detroit, what’s the plan?”
"The plan?" I asked, settling down on the couch. I knew exactly what he meant, but I needed to buy time.
“You know what I’m talking about.” He paused the game, giving me a serious look. Stephen also stopped and turned to me, as if expecting the same answer.
I sighed deeply. “I need to find the p
