Cover

Dedication

— For —

Meadow & Brayden,

Kahliel & Caleb,

Jordyn, Josiah,
& Benjamin

Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves,

and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.

—ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY, LE PETIT PRINCE

Chapter One

Bridget was gone.

And Nova was broken.

Nova hadn’t wanted to run away from the last foster family. They were nice enough. Sure, it wasn’t easy sharing one bedroom with four other girls in three sets of bunk beds. There was no privacy for Bridget, who liked her space, and there was no room for hand flapping or bouncing, which Nova liked to do while pretending she was in space.

Plus there was a rule no shower could last more than eight minutes.

And they weren’t allowed to watch TV, listen to records, or drink anything with caffeine.

But there had been hot oatmeal in the mornings. Cold lemonade with lunch. Warm blankets at night. Nobody yelled bad words or spanked them. Nobody made Bridget scrub floors like Cinderella. Nobody called Nova Dumbo because she couldn’t speak. Most importantly, they were together.

Bridget hated it anyway.

“I’m out of here,” she kept saying. “I can’t stand it another day. I’m losing my mind.”

Nova wasn’t worried then. She knew they’d end up somewhere else eventually.

When the time came, though, leaving was different. No social worker to transport them. No paperwork for adults to sign. Bridget didn’t even glare at the failed foster parents and say goodbye. Nova and Bridget just piled into a car and drove away. This was not their routine, which made Nova’s tummy hurt because she hated goodbyes, but she hated deviating from the routine even more.

“Don’t worry!” Bridget had kissed Nova’s forehead. “I’ll take care of you like I’ve always taken care of you!”

Now Bridget was gone.

And Nova was worried.

She rocked back and forth on her knees, hugging NASA Bear to her chest, and glanced around her newest bedroom. The first room she’d ever had all to herself.

Diagonal from the door was a double bed with a fancy carved headboard. The mattress was soft, the pillow was softer, and the blanket was plush and purple, covered in tiny silver stars.

It was too big.

The bedroom was long but narrow. It had two windows, one facing the front yard and the other facing the back. Out back there was an in-ground pool, covered up for the winter. Out front a pathway leading up to the door was guarded by two giant stone lions. At midnight the town switched off the streetlights, which made Nova happy because total darkness meant she could see the Big Dipper lurking along the horizon, where the sun set shortly before dinner each night.

It was too nice.