Make the Devil Cry

People think home is a place. They're wrong. Home is a feeling. It's the laugh you can recognize from across a crowded room. It's the smell of your favorite diner before you even push open the door. It's the tree you climbed until your knees were scraped raw, the lake that held your worst cannonball, the streets that know the sound of your bicycle tires. Home is the people waiting for you. Or at least... That's what I believed. The welcome sign came into view just as the afternoon sun slipped through the windshield. WELCOME TO BLACKRIDGE Population: 18,642 I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt. "There it is," I whispered. Dad glanced over before returning his eyes to the road. "There it is." His voice carried a warmth I hadn't heard in years. I rested my forehead against the cool window as familiar streets rolled past us. The old bakery was still standing, though someone had painted it a cheerful shade of blue. Mrs. Nolan's flower shop looked the same, flowers spilling from wooden barrels onto the sidewalk. Everything looked smaller than I remembered. Maybe that's what growing up does. Or maybe memories always make places seem bigger. Dad chuckled. "I know that look." "What look?" "The one that says you're already planning which friends you're visiting first." I laughed. "Is it that obvious?" "You've been talking about Blackridge for six hours." "I have not." "You absolutely have." I folded my arms dramatically. "I only talked about it for... maybe five." He laughed, shaking his head. The sound filled the truck, and for a moment, everything felt right. It had been years since we'd lived anywhere long enough to unpack every box. Dad's job moved us from state to state like we were pieces on a giant chessboard. New schools. New classmates. New houses. Just when I learned where the best pizza place was... We moved. Just when I made a best friend... We moved. I stopped decorating my bedroom after the fourth move. It didn't seem worth it. But Blackridge had always been different. Blackridge wasn't just another town. It was the place I measured every other town against. Dad cleared his throat. "So." "So?" "You've asked me the same question every week for the past two months." I grinned. "Ask it anyway." He smiled. "No more moving." I blinked. "No more moving?" He nodded. "I mean it this time, Bug." Bug. He hadn't called me that in a while. "We're staying." I stared at him. "Really?" "Really." "What about work?" "I'll commute if I have to." "You hate commuting." "I hate disappointing my daughter more." The words caught somewhere behind my ribs. I looked away before he could see my eyes watering. "You're getting sentimental in your old age." "I'm forty-three." "Exactly." He snorted. "I created a monster." "You created a comedian." "I distinctly remember ordering a daughter." I laughed so hard I nearly dropped my phone. Maybe this was it. Maybe all the moving was finally over. Maybe I could have a life that lasted longer than a lease agreement. I unlocked my phone and opened the group photo I'd kept all these years. Seven kids. Sunburned. Covered in mud. Grinning like we owned the world. Celeste stood beside me with one arm wrapped around my shoulders. Maddox had rabbit ears behind my head. Cassian looked annoyed because he'd been dragged into the picture. I smiled. "I can't wait to see them." Dad glanced at the photo. "You really missed them." "I talked to them every day after we moved." "Until you didn't." I looked down. "People get busy." "Do they?" "They do." He didn't answer. I knew he hadn't liked how our conversations slowly disappeared. First, the daily texts became weekly. Weekly became monthly. Birthdays became forgotten. Calls became silence. Still... That didn't mean they stopped caring. Right? I refused to believe childhood friendships could disappear that easily. Not ours. Never ours. The football field appeared on the left. The bleachers looked the same. Friday nights used to feel magical. The whole town would show up wearing school colors. We'd buy terrible hot dogs, scream until our throats hurt, and swear we'd remember those nights forever. I smiled. "I bet Maddox is still obsessed with football." Dad glanced at me. "You remember everyone." "I remember everything." The words slipped out before I realized how true they were. We drove over the old bridge. The river sparkled beneath us. I remembered jumping from those rocks one summer after Cassian insisted the water was deep enough. It wasn't. Maddox twisted his ankle. Celeste laughed so hard she fell into the water herself. I laughed just thinking about it. God... I missed them. "You okay?" I nodded. "I'm just happy." "I know." "I finally get to go home." Dad's smile lingered for only a second before something unreadable crossed his face. It vanished so quickly I wondered if I'd imagined it. "You deserve to be happy, Sloane." "I know I do." Neither of us realized how cruel those words would become. The truck turned onto Maple Street. Our old neighborhood looked almost untouched. Kids rode bicycles. A golden retriever chased a tennis ball across someone's front yard. Wind chimes sang softly from a nearby porch. It felt like time had waited for me. When we pulled into the driveway, I jumped out before Dad had even switched off the engine. The house looked perfect. White shutters. Blue front door. The old oak tree still stretching across the yard. I spun in a slow circle. "I'm really here." Dad carried in the first box. "You are." I closed my eyes and breathed in. Fresh-cut grass. Warm pavement. The faint scent of someone's barbecue. Home. Or at least... What I still believed was home. I didn't know that somewhere in this town, people had already decided who I was. They knew my name. They knew stories about me. They knew things I'd supposedly done. The only problem... None of them were true. But I didn't know that yet. All I knew was that tomorrow was my first day back. Tomorrow, I'd see my friends again. Tomorrow, I'd finally stop saying goodbye. If I could go back and speak to that version of myself—the girl standing barefoot in the driveway with hope stitched into every heartbeat—I wouldn't tell her to run. She wouldn't have believed me. Instead... I'd simply hug her. Because it was the last day she'd ever believe that coming home was the beginning of a happy ending.