A FEW HOURS LATER, Nelly heard a knock on her bedroom door. She sat up and glanced at the woman who stood in the doorway. Aunt Shayla’s face was bathed in shadows, but Nelly could feel the sensation of her gaze.
“Can I come in?” Shayla asked.
“Sure.”
She flicked on the light and Nelly winced, shading her face from the sudden glare. Her aunt plopped on the bed and sighed. “Erik’s been blowing up my phone since I came home. He’s worried about you. He says you didn’t even want to stop and buy a burrito?” Shayla’s face crinkled. “What’s that about?”
Nelly shrugged. “I wasn’t hungry.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“You heard?”
“Only that you’d been held hostage.” Shayla winced. “I have no idea how I’m going to spring that on your parents.”
“Do they have to know?”
“I think it’ll be hard to k
