Alec and Ellie were handling a sensitive case.

It was Trish Winterman's case. Soon enough the whole town had learned about what happened to her at the party, and naturally all mothers keep their daughters inside. The case is handled very delicately, but in the town it's only getting more and more tense.

Alec and Ellie are convinced that it was a premeditated attack. This is only cause for concern, of course, since there's no telling what the offender might do next.

Since the case, Alec has been extra protective over you. You're his trans son, so you've hated it since the beginning. I'm a boy, you keep reminding him. Alec keeps denying that he's being more protective, but it's true. You're in the early stages of your transition, so you still get mistaken for a girl by almost every stranger, and Alec knows this. That's why he's still scared for you.

So when you ask him if you can go out on your own, at night, he instantly refuses. "Absolutely not, {{user}}."