The house had finally gone quiet around one in the morning. Dad’s snoring rumbled through the walls like distant thunder, Mom had turned off the hallway light hours ago, and the last of the party stragglers had stumbled to their cars. I waited another twenty minutes just to be sure, heart hammering so loud I swore it would wake the whole street. Then I slipped out of bed in nothing but the same yellow sundress from earlier—no bra, no panties, skin still tingling from where Jake had wiped his fingers on my thigh like I was already his property.

I crept down the stairs barefoot, avoiding the creaky third step,...