Rosalie retrieved the pills from the kitchen counter and handed me one along with a glass of water. “Would you like me to help you to your room?”
She held my elbow and guided me down a hall that was lined with beach photography. She stopped and opened a door. “Here you are.” We looked into the room. The bed was huge and white, and I felt a little thrill just seeing it. “I’ve put some pajamas in the bathroom that’s just through that door, and you should find everything else you might need in there as well.”
“Thank you.” I was tempted to say more—something about how much nicer she was than I’d expected her to be, perhapsnicer even than I deserved, considering how I’d trespassed into her life. But before I could speak, the strangest thing happened. Ever so briefly, Rosalie lifted her hand to the side of my face just as she had done with Emma.
“Good night, Merrow,” she said.
“Good night,” I said quietly. As she turned and walked away, I touched my face and swallowed away the lump that had formed in my throat.
Alone in the bedroom, I stood still and listened but could not hear any sound except my own breathing. The carpet was thick below my bare feet. I limped into the bathroom and shut the door. I lifted the blue dress over my head and carefully folded it. The pajamas Rosalie had left for me were made of white flannel and trimmed with blue silk. On the counter there was a toothbrush still in its packaging and a bar of face soap. Three jars of lotion sat in a pretty row on the vanity. I dipped the tips of my fingers in each of them and rubbed the lotions onto my face and neck. I loosened my hair from its plait and brushed it with a large-toothed comb that I found in one of the drawers of the vanity.
When I finally slipped into the cool white sheets, my thoughts turned again to Amir. I hated not knowing exactly where he was at that moment in time. Was he in his room? Had Bear forced him out to the shed again? Was he hurt? Worried for Amir, I was sure I would toss and turn all night.
Instead, I fell into a restless sleep that I awoke from with a start. The sheets were wet and cold; in my dream, I’d been drowning in a freezing sea, my own limbs unfamiliar and weak. It was aterrible dream, with my oldest friend, the sea, betraying me. I sat up, shivering and shaken, and tried to remember where I was, but for a long, fearful moment I could not. I blinked against the black room, searching for something familiar. I heard a noise.
Someone was in the room with me. I was sure of it. My tongue was thick in my throat, choking me. When the figure moved in the darkness, I began to scream.
