room. Which one is it?”
Eva looked at her gratefully. “First door on the right. I’ll be right up.”
She hurried up the stairs as Eva put a hand on her mom’s back and guided her into the kitchen.
“But your friend … ” her mom murmured.
“She’ll be fine. I wanted to get a snack for myself anyway.”
The hallway at the top of the stairs was dismal—windowless and littered with boxes and random objects. It was less chaotic than the disaster downstairs, but the gloom here was even more oppressive. A single light flickered on the ceiling—the bulb was so dim that Alice was amazed it hadn’t burned out.
The door on the left was the only one open; she hurried inside and closed the door behind her (anything to block out that awful, pale light). Then, turning around, she took in Eva’s room, exhaling a long, relieved breath.
It was the first part of the house Alice had seen that looked remotely habitable.
The room was definitely sparse, but other than the boxes stacked neatly in a corner, it looked almost normal. It was less than half the size of Alice’s room at home, but there was plenty of room for the twin bed, desk, and dresser. Everything was made of the same pale wood; it could have been a furniture set straight from a store showroom. Alice ran her hand across the plain, light blue comforter, which was pulled neatly over the bed. She would never have connected this lackluster room to the girl with a hundred buttons on her backpack. The walls were entirely bare.
Maybe Eva hadn’t had the chance to decorate yet. Or maybe she didn’t have the heart.
Alice’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out immediately, grateful for the distraction. But when she looked down at the message, she wished she had just ignored it.
Tony: You coming over today?
Maybe he hadn’t seen the text. She knew she should have tried again when he failed to reply. Grimacing, she flipped the phone over, rubbing the screen against her pants. Tony was probably sitting out on his porch right now, waiting for her to show up. Frankly, she wished she were there—sitting in the sun with her head against Tony’s shoulder—not standing in this house where the air was heavy as mud.
She was tempted to call him and tell him everything. He would have something comforting to say, she knew it. Even his voice would be comforting. But if Tony found out what she and Eva were planning to do, he would be upset. Tony had made his opinion on magic perfectly clear, and he certainly wouldn’t understand why she wanted to learn how to use it after it had nearly killed her.
She flipped her phone back over and typed.
Alice: Had to go home. Mom needs me.
Thinking for a second, she added:
Alice: She binged on cheesecake, is a total mess. Trying to talk her down.
Since this very thing had happened only a couple weeks earlier, Alice felt little guilt over pulling it out now.
This time, Tony texted back almost immediately.
Tony: Nice of you to take care of her. See you tomorrow.
No harm done. Proud of herself for handling the situation, Alice put the phone back in her pocket just as Eva opened the door, holding two cheese sticks and a bag of tortilla chips.
“How’s your mom?” Alice asked.
“Fine. Why did you have the door closed?” Eva glanced suspiciously around the room, as though she expected to see something out of place.
“I just … ” Alice hesitated. She didn’t have a really good explanation, but Eva’s glare made her nervous, so she continued. “It was dark in the hallway.”
“Are you scared of the dark?”
“Sometimes?” Alice said. It came out as more of a question. Eva’s eyes narrowed, and Alice nervously dropped her own gaze.
Eva must have taken this as a sign of submission because a second later she said, “Don’t worry about my mom. She’s fine. Just a little down, you know.”
Alice breathed easier.
“Yeah, I understand.”
She dared to
Eva looked at her gratefully. “First door on the right. I’ll be right up.”
She hurried up the stairs as Eva put a hand on her mom’s back and guided her into the kitchen.
“But your friend … ” her mom murmured.
“She’ll be fine. I wanted to get a snack for myself anyway.”
The hallway at the top of the stairs was dismal—windowless and littered with boxes and random objects. It was less chaotic than the disaster downstairs, but the gloom here was even more oppressive. A single light flickered on the ceiling—the bulb was so dim that Alice was amazed it hadn’t burned out.
The door on the left was the only one open; she hurried inside and closed the door behind her (anything to block out that awful, pale light). Then, turning around, she took in Eva’s room, exhaling a long, relieved breath.
It was the first part of the house Alice had seen that looked remotely habitable.
The room was definitely sparse, but other than the boxes stacked neatly in a corner, it looked almost normal. It was less than half the size of Alice’s room at home, but there was plenty of room for the twin bed, desk, and dresser. Everything was made of the same pale wood; it could have been a furniture set straight from a store showroom. Alice ran her hand across the plain, light blue comforter, which was pulled neatly over the bed. She would never have connected this lackluster room to the girl with a hundred buttons on her backpack. The walls were entirely bare.
Maybe Eva hadn’t had the chance to decorate yet. Or maybe she didn’t have the heart.
Alice’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out immediately, grateful for the distraction. But when she looked down at the message, she wished she had just ignored it.
Tony: You coming over today?
Maybe he hadn’t seen the text. She knew she should have tried again when he failed to reply. Grimacing, she flipped the phone over, rubbing the screen against her pants. Tony was probably sitting out on his porch right now, waiting for her to show up. Frankly, she wished she were there—sitting in the sun with her head against Tony’s shoulder—not standing in this house where the air was heavy as mud.
She was tempted to call him and tell him everything. He would have something comforting to say, she knew it. Even his voice would be comforting. But if Tony found out what she and Eva were planning to do, he would be upset. Tony had made his opinion on magic perfectly clear, and he certainly wouldn’t understand why she wanted to learn how to use it after it had nearly killed her.
She flipped her phone back over and typed.
Alice: Had to go home. Mom needs me.
Thinking for a second, she added:
Alice: She binged on cheesecake, is a total mess. Trying to talk her down.
Since this very thing had happened only a couple weeks earlier, Alice felt little guilt over pulling it out now.
This time, Tony texted back almost immediately.
Tony: Nice of you to take care of her. See you tomorrow.
No harm done. Proud of herself for handling the situation, Alice put the phone back in her pocket just as Eva opened the door, holding two cheese sticks and a bag of tortilla chips.
“How’s your mom?” Alice asked.
“Fine. Why did you have the door closed?” Eva glanced suspiciously around the room, as though she expected to see something out of place.
“I just … ” Alice hesitated. She didn’t have a really good explanation, but Eva’s glare made her nervous, so she continued. “It was dark in the hallway.”
“Are you scared of the dark?”
“Sometimes?” Alice said. It came out as more of a question. Eva’s eyes narrowed, and Alice nervously dropped her own gaze.
Eva must have taken this as a sign of submission because a second later she said, “Don’t worry about my mom. She’s fine. Just a little down, you know.”
Alice breathed easier.
“Yeah, I understand.”
She dared to
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