He pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to Wendy. “If you think of anything that could help, see anyone suspicious, see Alex or Peter, or need help, call me.”

Wendy took his card. The corner was sharp and poked into her finger. She took a deep breath and nodded. “I will.”

CHAPTER 13

Bubblegum

The police station was only a few blocks from the hospital, but Wendy’s dad still insisted on driving her there. He kept looking over but didn’t say anything until they pulled up to the entrance.

He turned to face her, expression stern. “No more leaving the house alone,” he told her.

Wendy nodded. She knew it was best not to try arguing with him, especially about this. All the missing kids, cops, detectives, and mentions of her brothers were making him even more intense than usual, and she couldn’t blame him. Honestly, she thought he would be drinking more, but she’d noticed that the recycling bin was noticeably less full.

“No more staying out past dark, lock the house up when your mom and I aren’t there, and keep your phone on you at all times. If we call, I expect you to pick up immediately,” her father ordered. He held up a finger and pointed it at her. “Do you understand me?”

Wendy nodded and wiped her sweaty palms on her shorts. “Yeah, Dad,” she said, not wanting to say anything to anger him further.

Great. Now she would need to be more careful sneaking around with Peter. Her father would be on alert, noticing more and asking questions. She was surrounded by interrogators. Her parents had only her best interests at heart, but still, there were things she needed to do without them.

For a moment, her father stared at her, his face still etched with a deep frown. Wendy thought he was going to say something more, but then he let out a huff of air, sat back, and gave her a curt nod.

Taking that as her cue to leave, Wendy climbed out of the car. She walked to the glass doors of the back entrance, as if she were going to go inside. She turned and waved to her dad.

Satisfied, he gave her another nod and drove off.

What a day. She hadn’t even been awake for two hours and she was already exhausted. She felt guilty for not telling Detective James everything that she knew, but how could she? There was no way he would believe her. He would probably think she was having a mental breakdown, reliving the trauma of losing her memory and her brothers. They would probably lock her up and throw away the key if she started talking about magic boys, evil shadows, and other worlds.