Ruby woke up under the scratchy wool motel blanket David had draped over her. Thoughtfully he'd turned on the bathroom light and cracked the door, so the room wasn't entirely pitch black. Shrugging the blanket off, she realized he was already gone. It didn't alarm her; she was used to him taking off when he felt like it. Probably out feeding. Ruby rose, stretched, and eyed the TV. She tried to remember if she had some quarters in her backpack.

The door squealed on its hinges as David pushed it open, returning with a plastic bag of takeout food. "Good, you're up."

"Good evening to you, too." Ruby rubbed her head and yawned, finger combing the tangles from her hair. David kicked the door shut with his heel, placing the bag on the tiny round table in the corner of the window.

"I thought you might want something to eat before we headed over to your parents'." David started removing Styrofoam boxes from the sack. Ruby blinked, momentarily having forgotten where they were.

A rush of realization flooded her brain and temporarily short-circuited her. She sat back down on the edge of the bed, leaning forward and staring blankly at the worn brown carpeting. David watched while munching a wonton, washing it down with one of the Cokes he'd snagged from the motel vending machine.

"I went by. They're home."

"Of course they're home. It's what… after eight?" Ruby glanced over at the clock, but it was still flashing 12:00. "Did they see you?"

David shook his head. "No."

"Dad should be home; He usually got off work around six. Mom… well, mom was always home." Ruby lapsed into trying to remember home life, the routine of her parents. It couldn't have changed too much since she'd left, right?

David got up from the vinyl-covered chair, an egg roll in hand. He leaned over Ruby a bit, until she looked up at him. Without a word, he pressed the egg roll to her mouth, continuing to press it there until she gave in and accepted it, chewing it quietly. "It'll be all right, Ruby. I can guarantee they'll be more then happy to see you."