Mary Ellen hugged herself, wondering if it was actually safe to spend the night with this stranger in the house. She tiptoed downstairs and pushed open the door to Rose’s room. Lost among the blankets and pillows, the girl’s head was so small she could almost be five or six years old. She breathed wetly through her open mouth; her eyes moved stealthily under tissue-thin eyelids. Mary Ellen backed away, starting to close the door, then changed her mind. She left it open a crack and turned on the hall light, in case the girl woke up having to go to the bathroom, or wanting a drink of water, or feeling scared.
• • •
Mary Ellen parted her eyelashes, her pulse drumming hard at the sight of movement at the end of her bed, on the other side of the glass. Long legs, flicking tail, black nose. Mary Ellen exhaled and opened her eyes the rest of the way.
She’d never been so close to a deer, much less while she was still in bed. She was astonished by its size, by the solid, heavy fact of it right there, in the spot where, in any other house, there would be a dresser or an upholstered bench. She knew the glass separated her from the animal, but she couldn’t help feeling unsettled, lying there in her pajamas so close to its hard, nervous feet and muscular, breathing body. After a few moments, she sat up and raised her arms. The deer lifted its head and fixed her with an affronted stare, then leaped away.
Mary Ellen dressed and went upstairs to find the girl rummaging in the refrigerator, a half-eaten banana in her hand.
“Can I help you find something?”
Rose backed guiltily out of the fridge, lowering the banana and half hiding it behind her hip. “You can have the banana,” Mary Ellen said. “Why don’t I make some eggs too? Then I’ll take you into town.”
The girl nodded slowly.
“You’re feeling better?”
“Those pills,” Rose said. “They made my bones stop aching.”
“Good,” Mary Ellen said. She took some eggs out of the fridge. “Numbitol. It’s my secret weapon.” The girl laid the banana peel on the counter, and Mary Ellen picked it up and threw it away. “How long has it been since you’ve had a meal?”
“I forget. I don’t know how long I was sick.”
“Well, you seem like you’re going to be okay.” Mary Ellen agitated some eggs in a bowl, shook in some salt. “The police will probably want to take you to the hospital, though. To make sure.”
“The police?”
Mary Ellen poured the eggs into a hot pan; they tensed up almost immediately. She fumbled with the dial on the stove. “I don’t know where else to take you. I mean, you broke in here. And what about your parents? Someone needs to call them. My phone doesn’t work here.”
“So you haven’t…called anyone yet?”
“No, not yet.”
Rose backed away from the stove, then turned and hurried out of the kitchen. Mary Ellen switched off the burner and watched the girl go downstairs. “Do you want these eggs?” she called, but got no answer. She sighed, pushing the eggs around with a wooden spoon. They wouldn’t be any good cold.
A few moments later, the girl reappeared, dressed in layers topped with a jean jacket and a backpack, wearing the rain boots Mary Ellen had found the day before. Without looking at Mary Ellen, she crossed the room and went out the front door. Mary Ellen stood for a moment, a plate of eggs in her hand, wondering where Rose was going. She went to the window and saw the girl trudging up the driveway, hands shoved in her jacket pockets.
So she was leaving—just like that—with nothing but a banana in her system, and no winter coat. Mary Ellen shook her head. On the one hand, her problem had just solved itself. On the other hand…
She hurried downstairs and pulled on her coat and boots, then took her car keys and went outside. She could just see Rose, halfway up the hill, walking slowly. Mary Ellen got in the car and drove up to meet her, lowering her window as she pulled alongside.
“Where are you going?”
“Away.”
“You’ll freeze to death. You’ve been sick. Get in the car.”
Rose stopped and looked at Mary Ellen. She was breathing hard; her face was pale. “Can you take me to the bus station?”
“No.” Mary Ellen shook her head. “The hospital, maybe. Or the police station.”
The girl turned and walked off the driveway into the woods, headed uphill through the trees, stepping high over the tangles of vines and branches that poked out of the snow. She pulled a hand out of her pocket to steady herself, then shoved it back in.
“Rose!” Mary Ellen got out of the car. It wasn’t right, letting this sick girl wander into the snowy woods. Mary Ellen could drive into town to get help, but she wasn’t sure how far it was, and the girl might disappear in the meantime, lost among the dying hemlocks. “Come back!”
When she got no answer, Mary Ellen threw up her hands and stepped into the woods. It wasn’t hard to catch up with the girl, who was pausing occasionally to lean against trees and catch her breath. “Come with me,” Mary Ellen said, grasping Rose’s thin forearm. Rose pulled away. “You have to get in the car.”
“No.”
Mary Ellen reached for her again, but the girl stepped backward. Her face was frightened, and seeing this sent a jolt of regret through Mary Ellen. “Okay,” she said, holding up her hands. “Just come back to the house. Have some breakfast. Then we’ll figure out what to do. All right? You must be feeling terrible. At least have some food.”
Rose brushed some hairs from her face, squinting at Mary Ellen.
“Do you like bacon?” Mary Ellen asked. “I think I have some. I’ll make bacon and some more eggs.”
“You’re not going to call anyone?”
“I told you… My phone doesn’t work here.”
The girl looked
