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rest of her new home, carefully avoiding Skunk and Ace’s room like the plague. Considering how late—or early—she’d heard them come in last night, she felt fairly certain they must still be passed out in there, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She didn’t know them at all, but she knew how the world worked well enough not to trust them. Not to trust anyone .
    She’d even made the unavoidable trip to the bathroom. It wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d expected. Someone had obviously made an effort in there. She’d seen public restrooms dirtier than that, but the smell . . . That was enough to knock her for a loop. She went about her business as quickly as possible, holding her breath until her lungs screamed for oxygen and then took the bucket outside to dispose of like Jay told her to.
    Going back in had been a challenge. The sun and fresh air were a welcome change from that stuffy little room she’d been trapped in all day. She even risked a short stroll down the sidewalk to stretch her legs before turning around and scurrying back inside when her nerves got the better of her. She didn’t know Jay that well, either, but she’d agreed to follow his rules and she wasn’t about to risk blowing the one and only break she’d managed to catch by not staying in like he told her to.
    Her stomach made a low rumbling noise and Em’s gaze drifted back to the muffin sitting on the floor beside her folded blanket for about the billionth time. It had just been sitting there when she woke up. No Jay to be found, but sure, a bedside pastry. Why not?
    The last thing she wanted to do was take what wasn’t hers and overstay her welcome before she could even feel welcome at all, but the more time that passed, the better that muffin was starting to look just sitting there like a sweet, sugary taunt. He wouldn’t have left it beside her if he hadn’t meant for her to eat it, right?
    Her plan had been to ask him when he got back, but so far there hadn’t been a single sign of him and she had no idea how much longer it would be until he returned. Finally deciding that if she was wrong about his intentions, she’d have to make it up to him later, Em peeled off the wrapping and a took a bite of banana nutty goodness. It was cold and slightly stale, but it was food.
    She’d just shoved the last of it into her mouth in a disgustingly large bite, when the door burst open and in strode Jay. She nearly choked, forcing it down her throat but he barely even glanced in her direction.
    “Here. If you’re staying another night you’re going to need a bed. Use these.” He thrust a stack of newspapers at her. “Keep it away from the window so you’re not sleeping in the draft and make it as small as possible. The more layers of paper between you and the floor, the warmer you’ll be.”
    “Wait!” He was already heading back out the door and the word just sort of popped out because she could stop herself. “Where are you going?”
    Jay sighed like he was being forced to explain why the sky was blue to a two year old. “To get something to eat. Aren’t you hungry?”
    Em didn’t answer. The muffin had barely made a dent in her obscene appetite. She was still starving.
    “You eat that muffin I left for you?”
    She nodded, uncomfortably conscious of the fact that there may still be some remnants of it on her face. At least, it had been hers to eat. “Thank you.”
    Jay’s head bobbed briefly. “Now I’m going to get us something for dinner. I shouldn’t be long.”
    Em didn’t protest when he turned to leave the second time. He had to do what he had to do. And so did she. Even if that were just sitting around in an empty room by herself all day.
    After Jay was gone, Em kept herself occupied with building a small newspaper nest. She followed Jay’s advice keeping it small—just big enough for her to curl up in—and thick. When she finished, she tested it out. The papers didn’t provide much in the way of padding, but