A deadly silence hung in the air as Phoebe considered the question. She was trapped for sure. Her rush to get Lila the care she needed had placed her in a precarious position. She couldn't regret any of the decisions that she'd made in the heat of the moment, but this was definitely going to get awkward.

"Well, Phoebe?"

"Well…?"

"How did you know which room was mine, and from the outside of the building? And how did you break into the skylight so easily?"

The girl stared from Lila's sleeping face to Arnold's narrow-eyed stare. His emerald eyes burned into her hazel. Don't let him intimidate you, Phoebe thought, take your time and think this through. Okay, you can't tell him the truth... and you can't make up a good enough lie… think, Phoebe!

Phoebe's Brain Presents: Imaginary Interlude!

Scenario 1: The Straight Shooter

"Well, Arnold, the truth is that Helga has a secret crush on you, and we used to break into your room on the regs. In fact, I'm pretty sure Helga's the one who attacked Lila and left her for dead! Cuh-rayzee, right?"

Scenario 2: Gambler's Luck

"I… I just guessed!"

"You… guessed?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, how many rooms could there be in this place, anyhow?"

"So, you guessed that my room was on top of the building and, instead of going through the front door, you decided to risk your neck and sprint up an icy fire escape?"

"Yep!"

"What about the skyli-"

"I'm a jewel thief. I break into mansions and steal diamonds in the night."

Scenario 3: Phoebe Heyerdahl and the Curse of the Wizard's Hangnail

Okay, shut up, brain! This isn't helping!

"I'm sorry, Arnold, but the truth is, I just can't tell you that."

Arnold regarded Phoebe suspiciously. "You can't tell me?" He was getting more than a little sick of Phoebe's secrets and this wasn't helping one bit. "What are you hiding, Phoebe?"

The Asian girl was resolute. She simply turned her gaze to Lila. "It's… complicated. See… there's this secret, right?" Arnold nodded. It was truly remarkable. He could actually feel his patience stretching thinner, as though he were trying to support a barbell atop a piece of warm taffy. "Well, it's a big one. Imagine the biggest secret you could possibly keep about anything. And that secret ties into a whole mess of other secrets like a bunch of threads that make a sweater. Now I made a very serious promise to never tell ANYONE about the big secret, but that means I can't tell anybody about the little ones, either, or the whole sweater falls apart. You follow me?"

"Not even a little," Arnold replied.

Phoebe grunted in frustration. "Look, it doesn't matter. What matters is that your room is one of the little secrets. If I told you how I knew the things I know, you'd be able to figure out the big secret and that can't happen."

"Hmm? Whuh?"

Phoebe and Arnold snapped their gaze in Lila's direction, the argument forgotten immediately.

"What is this? Where am I?"

"You're in Arnold's room, Lila," Phoebe offered cautiously. "We brought you here after we found you."

"Arnold's room," Lila repeated. Her voice had taken on a very far-away quality, as though she were unsure whether she was still dreaming. A trace of a smile crawled across her broken lip before the pain forced her to stop. "Seems… bigger than I remember it."

Sitting at the foot of his bed, Arnold could feel his lifespan shorten by several years as the stress of the day left him in a strong and steady exhale. When he breathed again, he was laughing. Without warning, he leaned in and hugged Lila around her midsection. He felt her tense up and quickly pulled back. "Sorry!" he stammered. "Sorry! I forgot!"

Lila tried again to smile despite herself. Even when he was worried sick about her, he was the same old loveable goofball. "It's okay, sweetie," she said. "But maybe just hold my hand for a little bit. I feel like I spent a night in a wheat thresher."

Arnold's hand flew to Lila's in an instant. The two sat in silence, lost in each other's presence. At that moment, Phoebe knew it was time to go. She bade her farewell quickly, with instructions on how to treat the leftover wounds. Then, seemingly as abruptly as she had entered the boarding house, Phoebe made her exit, though it was through the front door this time.

Returning to his girlfriend's side, Arnold took her hand in his once again. "Hey," he whispered, beaming down at her. "Do you mind… I mean… would it be okay if we…"

Lila nodded. "I think so, just be really careful, okay?"

He nodded and gently leaned in to Lila's face, brushing aside a lock of her perfect red hair. Her lips parted and he gingerly placed his own over them, applying the most delicate kiss he could. "How was that," he said breathlessly."

"Perfect," she reached her hand up to touch Arnold's face. Her warm hands felt burning hot against his cold cheek. Lila moved her hand further along Arnold's head to tangle her fingers in his hair. She frowned a bit and wrinkled her nose. "Umm… sweetie," she said. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you could really use a shower."

Arnold cracked into a grin, then snickered a bit, then collapsed fully into peals of laughter, with Lila joining him soon after.