Last night I tucked Violet into her bed and lay down beside her until she fell asleep. I dozed a bit but kept waking up, worried about Violet, worried about Max and worried about the attacker. What if he knew where we lived? What if he was outside our house watching, waiting?

Below me I hear a voice. Then nothing. As I move down the steps, careful not to make a sound, I hear another voice coming from Max’s room. A girl’s voice. Nikki. How could Max sneak his girlfriend into the house at a time like this? So selfish, I think angrily. I want to bang on the door, order her out of my home, forbid Max from seeing her anymore, but instead I lower myself to sitting position on the stairs and try to force myself to take a breath before I say something I regret.

The bedroom door opens and Nikki and Max come out holding hands, Boomer following on his stubby legs, and my anger immediately disappears. They don’t look like two teenagers trying to get away with something; they both just look sad, worried and very tired—exactly how I feel. They look at me at the same time and drop hands as if burned. “Mom,” Max begins. “We were just talking, I promise.”

I believe him and suddenly I’m grateful to this girl with smudged eye makeup and badly dyed hair who was willing to face the wrath of two mothers to come and see my son in the middle of the night. The weight of what’s happening with Violet has to be hard for Max. He’s already lost his best friend in the whole mess, though I know I’m not going to shed any tears over having Clint out of our lives. I nod wearily. “You guys want something to eat?” I ask. “I can throw a pizza in the oven.”

Max’s face relaxes and Nikki lets out a long stream of breath in relief. “No thanks,” she says. “I should get home.”

“You’re driving her, right?” I ask Max.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind me taking the car,” he says.

“The keys are on the kitchen counter,” I say and he hurries to the kitchen to grab them. To Nikki I ask, “Will you get in a lot of trouble for being out so late?”

She wrinkles her nose and shrugs. “I might be able to get back inside without my mom knowing. She can sleep through just about anything.”

“I’m sure she just worries about you, Nikki, the way I worry about Max and Violet,” I tell her as Max comes back, keys in hand.

“Ready?” he says, opening the front door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, Mom.”

“Nikki, please come back during the daylight hours,” I say and she gives me an embarrassed smile before the two step out into the dark.