Her mother wasn’t on the couch anymore. The TV was off and the room silent. It was a small comfort to know her mother must have gone to bed. She needed to sleep, not spend the night on the cramped couch with the news looming over her.

Wendy went into the kitchen and to the small side room where the washing machine and dryer were kept. She threw in Peter’s clothes and added a generous amount of detergent. Next, she raided the fridge and loaded her arms up with whatever she could find: an array of leftover Chinese food, two apples, and an orange. She doubted Peter would mind. What had he even been eating in the woods, anyway? That was probably a question better left unanswered.

When she went back upstairs, she dropped the food and some paper towels onto her bed. Now that there was food in front of her, she realized how starved she was, so Wendy dove into the cold noodles. She ate so much so fast, she quickly gave herself a stomachache. Brushing off her hands, Wendy stood up, staring down at her bed for a moment.

Where was Peter going to sleep?

She blinked. It wasn’t like he was going to sleep in her bed with her. No. Certainly not. The closet wasn’t big enough, nor under her bed. She wouldn’t make him sleep in the bathroom, even though it was less likely that her parents would walk in on him if he were curled up in the tub. He was too tall to fit, and her parents never barged into her room, anyway. Her mother always knocked lightly on the door, and her dad just yelled at her from downstairs if he wanted her.

The floor seemed like the best option—on the side of her bed farthest from the door, just in case.

The shower water turned off. Wendy angled herself away from the bathroom door and hurried over to the closet. She reached up to the shelf and took down her sleeping bag. It hadn’t been used in a month, but it still smelled like campfire smoke. Wendy rolled it out on the floor and was smoothing out the slick material when the bathroom door opened.

“I set my sleeping bag up for you.” She stood and turned to face Peter. “And I’ve got—” Wendy’s hands flew up to cover her open mouth. “Oh my god.”