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flopped them this way and that, but there was no trace of blood. She swore it had been there a second ago—a deep, wet stain. She picked up the pillow—it was silky white, the duvet rosy pink. She let them fall from her hands. She blinked hard and rubbed her eyes. Her mind was hazy. She must have been dreaming.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with you?” said Kara.
    Quinn took a deep breath and exhaled. “Your mom’s gone.”
    Kara frowned. She stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes. She looked over at the empty bed, then at Quinn’s confused expression, and shook her head. “Don’t worry. She’s probably in the next room.”
    The door between the two rooms was shut. The overnight bag Mrs. Cawston had brought was gone. So was her purse. Only Quinn’s shorts, Kara’s skirt, and their T-shirts were left—all folded neatly in two piles on top of the dresser. The room key was placed between them.
    Quinn wandered toward the window and pulled open the drapes. The sky was still dark, but a hint of blue crept over the horizon. She wondered what time it was. Probably very early, judging by the position of the sun. “Why didn’t she wake us?”
    Kara stepped out of bed and stretched. “I guess she wanted to let us sleep in.”
    Quinn grabbed her clothes and entered the bathroom to change—just in case Josh decided to barge into the room. Her whole body felt achy. She tilted her neck side to side and rubbed her arms and thighs.
    She got dressed as quickly as she could. The new blue T-shirt she’d bought for the trip was wrinkled from the car ride. She didn’t like the idea of wearing the same clothes two days in a row, but she could think of worse things. Like having no toothbrush. Both Kara’s and hers weren’t there. Mrs. Cawston must have forgotten to leave them out. Where had she moved the overnight bag?
    Quinn dragged her fingers through the tangles in her hair. That’s when she noticed the skin around her wrist had healed. Not scabbed over, but mended. Good as new. Like she’d never been cut at all. She slid the bracelet higher on her wrist and rubbed the spot. The wound hadn’t been nearly as bad as she’d thought.
    When Quinn exited the bathroom Kara was already dressed. She was slow waking, but once she got going she fizzed with energy. She had a huge smile on her face and her brown eyes sparkled.
    â€œCan you check if your mom’s in the other room? If she’s there, ask her for the toiletry bag. I wanna brush my teeth.”
    â€œOkeydokey, artichokie,” said Kara. She moved toward the adjoining door, threw it open, and passed into the next room. Quinn didn’t follow, just in case Josh or Mr. Cawston wasn’t quite ready.
    Quinn thought Kara’s dad was great. Like Kara, he always wore a huge smile. He loved to tell funny stories and often surprised Kara and Josh with tickets to some ball game or movie or amusement park.
    Quinn’s parents used to be like that, too—happy, smiling, full of energy and fun. Now their voices were somber, their movements slow. Their words were guarded, like they could never really say what they meant. They were ghosts pretending to be people. They looked real and sounded real, but Quinn was sure if she reached out to touch them, her hand would slice through thin air.
    Kara emerged from the archway. “Josh is still asleep, but my parents are gone.”
    Quinn gasped. “What do you mean gone?”
    â€œAs in not there , silly.”
    Quinn stared at her for a moment, calculating explanations. “Do you think they went to get breakfast?”
    â€œMaybe,” said Kara. “Or maybe they’re getting some stuff from the car.”
    â€œYeah. I’m sure that’s it.” Quinn smiled. “They probably went to get the charger. Your mom said she’d charge the phone in the morning.”
    Kara moved back toward the archway.