Trish woke up with her limbs stretched out across the bed. Cool air pumped out of the vents. Her hair was still a mess, but no longer sweaty. She rolled over and wiggled her toes.

"Time for a pedicure," she said to herself.

She smacked her lips and looked around the bedroom. It was a quarter of the size of her own room back home and not at all her style. The walls were plain, painted a pale yellow. The vanity was antique, brown. The drapes were white and thin.

"Not that I'm getting one here," she grumbled.

The girl hopped out of the bed and her stomach let out a fierce growl. She tapped her fingers on her pajamas as she looked into the mirror across from her. She had traded her bottoms with the cupcake print for faded black shorts before Austin switched on the air conditioning last night, and she wore an old Miami Heat t-shirt that she had stolen from an ex-boyfriend.

Do I really need to get dressed for breakfast? She thought. Nope. It's not like there's anyone down there to impress.

She fought her hair into a ponytail then headed down the stairs.

I hope there are pancakes. Or bagels. Or anything! I am starving!

As she walked down the hall she heard hushed voices in the kitchen. She stopped before the entrance and leaned her ear closer to the doorframe.

"Ally, come on!"

"Austin, Ally knows this is what's best."

"But I promised to keep him in the loop, Mr. Dawson."

"Honey, my dad is right. Dez has already been through so much."

"This is ridiculous!"

"Don't you think I know that, Austin! I care about him too."

"Everyone just calm down…You two have to follow the rules. I'm sorry."

"But it's his sister!"

Trish leaned her body against the wall as Austin stormed out of the kitchen. He didn't seem to notice her. But Trish noticed the way his hands were clenched into fists and his cheeks were burning red.

"What's going on?"

Ally's palms were pressed on the countertop and she stared down into the green liquid in her teacup. Mr. Dawson held a cookie in his hand at the round kitchen table.

They both looked over at Trish when she spoke.

"What's going on with Dez's sister?" Trish repeated the question.

Ally lowered her big, brown eyes to gaze at the floor tile.

"You can't have cookies for breakfast, Dad. Trish, there are muffins in that basket," Ally said, pointing to a brown basket full of muffins by the stove.

"Ally, answer my question," Trish said, stepping farther into the kitchen.

Ally still wouldn't meet Trish's eyes. She rushed past the girl, mumbling, "I can't do this," as she passed.

Trish turned to look at Mr. Dawson. He had put the cookie down and covered his face with his hands.

"Tell me what is…" Trish started, feeling her chest tighten with anxiety and her face heat with impatience.

"Good morning, all!" Dez said happily from the doorframe.

He had a big grin on his face to match the smiley face graphic on his tie-dye shirt.

At that moment, Mr. Dawson's phone rang and he hurriedly excused himself and left the kitchen.

"Yum, muffins," Dez said, picking out a small plate from the cabinet and loading it up with blueberry muffins.

Trish stood frozen, unsure of what to make of everything she overheard.

Dez bit into a muffin and stared down at the girl.

"You don't look so good," Dez said. Crumbs fell on his shirt.

The girl snapped out of her thoughts and looked down at her pajamas.

"I don't have to get dressed up for breakfast, jerk," she said, tugging her shirt over her shorts.

Dez licked blueberry off his thumb and said, "I mean your face. You look upset."

Trish sighed, threw her head back, and said, "I shouldn't haven't to deal with this kind of stuff in the morning!"

She blew out a breath then motioned for Dez to follow her to the round table. The boy sat across from her and offered her the cookie Mr. Dawson had left on the table, which she refused.

"Freckles, look. I have to tell you something about Austin and Ally, and you can't freak out."

Dez stopped munching on his muffins and said, "Trish, if this about the bathroom. I already know."

Trish tilted her head to the side and asked, "What are you talking about?"

He reached his hand across the table and patted her shoulder.

"They don't spring for the good toilet paper. I know the stuff they have in the guest bathroom is practically sandpaper, but they're our friends."

"No, stupid," Trish said, shrugging his hand off her shoulder. She scooted her chair closer to him and explained, "They are hiding something from us. Mr. Dawson won't let them tell us something really important…about our families. They are not our friends, Freckles."

Dez leaned away from Trish and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why do you have to take everything away from me?" He said.

"I'm not," Trish started, but Dez cut her off.

"First you stopped being my friend in middle school, then you picked on me in high school and took away Carrie. Now this?" Dez said, standing up and glaring down at her.

"Listen to me, Dez," Trish tried again, but Dez shook his head and stomped out of the kitchen.

"Just leave me alone for good!" He shouted as he left.

Trish looked all over the large house, but found no signs of Austin or Ally or Mr. Dawson. In her frustration, she gave up looking and opted for a shower instead, wanting to wash off the sweat from the summer night's heat. After her shower, she realized she was still starving since the morning drama left her without breakfast.

She made a turkey sandwich and decided to eat outside.

I'm going crazy in that house she thought.

There was a bench she could see from her bedroom window that she wanted to check out.

As she walked to the bench, she saw Mr. Dawson sitting there with a glass of lemonade. She debated turning back, but was too stubborn to leave her choice spot.

"I want to sit here and eat lunch," Trish said awkwardly.

Mr. Dawson didn't say anything, just slid over and made room for the girl to sit.

They both stared out at the mountains in the distance while Trish ate.

"Good job avoiding me all day," Trish said.

Mr. Dawson picked lint from his button up and said, "You ask too many question that I can't answer, young lady." He cleared his throat, "Plus, you scare me a little. I'm still a little achy from that greeting you gave me."

"Not a greeting. I beat you up," Trish chuckled.

"Yes, you did."

"All of this is really crazy, Mr. D," Trish said seriously. She put her hands in her lap and looked down at them. "I'm not supposed to be playing 'Little House on the Prairie' with your daughter. I should be throwing pool parties, driving my car, shopping."

She looked up at Mr. Dawson and added, "And Dez's sister should be too."

Mr. Dawson groaned and rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger.

"No," he whined. "This job comes with such good dental benefits. And the retirement plan. Ugh, listen. I'm not supposed to do this. And you have to respect Ally and Austin's job. If they can't tell you something, they just can't…"

Trish looked up at Mr. Dawson with her dark eyes wide.

"Alright. Go on," she prodded.

"My department is keeping a close eye on your family," Mr. Dawson began, pulling his hand away from his face, "And an even closer eye on your adversaries. I don't know how long you all will remain in hiding, but we are working as hard as we can. But I promise you, Didi will be safe."

"Is that all you can tell me," Trish sighed.

Mr. Dawson didn't say anything more. He gave her a weak smile and his phone rang again.

"Enjoy your lunch," he told her before he got up and left.

"Thanks," she murmured.

Trish decided to spend the rest of the day in her assigned bedroom. She had run into Austin and Ally earlier in the sunroom, but the tension in the air was too much. Obviously, the couple was still angry with each other and they didn't seem too excited to have her around. She had seen Dez in the den too, but he left as soon as she walked in.

She painted her nails. She painted her toenails. She removed the paint. She painted again.

At night, she lay in bed and stared at the high ceiling. Thoughts of Didi played in her mind. Didi was two years younger than Trish and Dez, and the complete opposite of her brother. She was popular and considered fashionable at Marino High. Her long, thin legs and bright, red hair guaranteed her a date for all of Trish's parties, the ones Trish would have on long weekends when her parents were away visiting her abuelos. But Didi was also funny, and loyal, and friendly, a free spirit like her brother.

Trish remembered when she was ten and Didi was eight and they both wanted Dez to push them on the swings in the playground down the street from their neighborhood. Even then, Dez had long limbs. He ran back and forth to push both girls, making it each time as the swings swung backward. All three of them laughed until their stomachs hurt. Unfortunately, Didi clutched her stomach during the laughter and fell off her swing.

The little girl cried in her big brother's arms as he rocked her back and forth and Trish inspected her booboo. It was just a little scrape. No blood, just red irritated skin near the elbow. Trish said as much, but Didi continued to cry and cling onto her brother.

And then he did it. Over seven years later, thousands of miles from the only home she had known, Trish still remembered the feeling she got when she watched Dez kiss his little sister's bruised elbow and Didi's tears promptly ceased. Warmth and security washed over her, as if she could feel the love radiating off the siblings in front of her.

"But it's his sister," Austin's angry words rang in her head.

Trish didn't sleep at all that night.

"So, you're just not going to come to bed," Ally said.

A stack of pillows was propped behind her back as she sat in the bed. She pulled the blanket over her torso and crossed her arms as she stared at her husband.

Austin didn't respond. His legs were stretched out on the seat in the bay window, and he looked out the glass to the stables. There were tons of stars twinkling above them and he could make out the outlines of trees in the moonlight.

"My mom and dad met at a summer camp. So they were always big on star gazing, which meant I was big on star gazing," Austin said quietly. "Sometimes I think it's not fair that those same stars get to be up in the sky, but people aren't allowed to stay and watch them from down here."

Ally hung her head low and fiddled with her thumbs. Her husband turned his head from the window and his eyes traced over every detail of her face.

"I love you, Ally. And you've done so much for me. I could never make you as happy as you make me. But I feel wrong keeping things from Dez," Austin said.

"It's our job, Austin," Ally said quietly, still not looking up from her hands.

"I know. It's just, I know what it's like to lose family."

Ally shot her head up and said, "And I don't?"

"That's not what I'm saying," Austin said, getting up from the window and sitting on the edge of the bed. "You know that's not what I'm saying."

She nodded and bit the bottom of her lip. Her hands stopped fidgeting and she slid one across the blanket and intertwined her fingers with his. Austin lifted her hand to his lips.

"No longer mad," he said before pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

She smiled and said, "No longer mad."

He squeezed her hand and swallowed, asking, "But what are we going to do?"

"Honestly, I don't know. But things will work out," Ally said.

She lifted the blanket and scooted over.

"Now, come to bed."

"Wake up, Freckles!"

Dez yelped at the shout and tumbled off his bed, taking the blanket and stuffed bear with him.

"Ugh," he groaned, lifting his head off the floor.

He looked around the room and saw that it was mostly dark but had a weird orange glow from the slowly rising sun. Trish stood above him with her hands on her hips. Her curly hair was down and she had on the pajamas from the morning before.

He eyed her legs in the black shorts then turned his face away and said, "Go away, Trish. I'm mad at you; I think. It's too early."

He began to drift back to sleep but Trish bent down and shook his shoulders.

"Dez! It's important!"

When she says my name, the thought bounced around in his sleepy brain.

Her hair tickled his face as he shifted back to face her.

"What is it?" he whined.

She stepped away and demanded he get up. So, of course, he stood up, swaying a bit, and pouted.

"This better be…" he started, but Trish grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the bedroom.

Austin was drooling right above Ally's head, and Ally was snoring right into Austin's chest when their bedroom door was flung open.

"Tell Dez the truth! Right now!"

The Moons woke up, stretching and grumbling. They both propped themselves up on their elbows and with half-closed eyes glared at the intruders.

Trish was in the doorway, still latched onto Dez's wrist.

"Go on," Trish said. "Tell him."