Maybe Kaitlin should have left well enough alone. Nevertheless, she had gone snooping, and it was a little after three in the morning by the time she was standing in the attic, reading through Sam's journal. She'd started to piece it all together before she found the journal, of course. The school note about her sneaking off with this "Lonnie" girl, the necklaces, the collage, the nudie mag, the Allegra stories, to say nothing of the notes she'd found passed between the two of them. Kaitlin had sort of brushed it off at first, but the evidence had been pretty strong by the time she confirmed it in the journal: Sam was gay.

Not just that, but she'd run away with Lonnie, the pink-haired girl from the photos. Thinking about it, Kaitlin figured it was better than some of the alternatives; "I won't be needing it anymore" had been pretty ominous. Two teenagers on the lam wasn't a great situation, but at least Sam was alive and probably safe. Besides, most runaways came home pretty quick, right?

Maybe it wouldn't have come to that if Mom and Dad hadn't been so shitty about the whole thing, though. Sure, it sounded like Sam hadn't really been a model of good behavior, what with the sneaking out, cutting classes, and getting all angsty, but those were kind of separate issues to this Lonnie business. Hell, even if it really was "just a phase," talking down to a teenager about her feelings sounded like the dumbest possible way to approach things. Then again, Kaitlin had to admit, she'd just gotten off a year of youth hostels and cosmopolitan European cities. Maybe she wouldn't have been so understanding before her trip…

Closing the journal, Kaitlin took a deep breath. There wasn't anything she could do for her sister right then, she knew. Even if she could get in contact with Sam, all she really had was a pretty lean bank account and a purse full of European change. It sucked, but Sam was on her own.

At the very least, though, Kaitlin was resolved to tidy up the house. She'd slept for most of the flight from London, and with the time difference it was really more like noon for her just then, anyway. She couldn't have slept even if she'd wanted to. Switching off the lights as she went, Kaitlin left the attic and locked the trap door behind her.

The first thing she did was gather up all of Sam's papers, all the notes, all the stories, all the maps, and hid them in the locker. Next she cleared the trash out of the hidden room Sam and Lonnie had been using as their clubhouse, then turned off all the lights in there, too. There was no way she could hide that Sam had up and run away, but she could at least guard some of her sister's secrets.

The secret passages and hidden panels had all been things that Sam and Lonnie had found together, it had sounded like. If Mom and Dad didn't already know about those things, Kaitlin was determined to keep them hidden. They were Sam's stuff, so far as she was concerned, and Mom and Dad had surrendered the right to know about them by being so shitty.

At some point while she was cleaning, the storm stopped, and the sky was starting to lighten to grey when she finally flopped down onto the couch in the den. Unsurprisingly, nothing good was on at five thirty in the morning, so she popped in a video to kill time. Glancing at the spot where she'd found the empty pizza box, she found herself wishing that Sam and Lonnie had left her a slice, although she really couldn't hold it against them that they hadn't thought of her.

At length, her grumbling stomach got the better of her, and she got up to head for the kitchen. Based on the state of it, Kaitlin doubted she was going to be cooking up a hardy breakfast of bacon and eggs, but she hoped she could at least find some cereal. Sure enough, there were some Frosted Flakes in the pantry, and some okay-smelling milk in the fridge. Shrugging, Kaitlin filled a bowl and sat down to eat her breakfast. Or maybe more like an early dinner? International travel was weird…

As she rinsed out the bowl, Kaitlin heard the garage door opening, and a car pulling in. Her heart skipped a beat, and she dropped the bowl and spoon to clatter in the sink, turning to dash for the garage. Was Sam back? Was she okay?

As she rounded the corner and entered the garage, though, she found the family car, not whatever Sam was driving these days, pulling in. Mom saw her and waved, smiling. Dad glanced over and flashed a smile, too, but parked the car before actually giving her his full attention. In a few seconds, though, both were out of the car and running over, pulling Kaitlin into a hug.

"Oh, Katie, it's so good to see you!" Mom exclaimed once she and Dad finally released Kaitlin, "I can't wait to hear all about your adventures!"

"We've been enjoying your postcards!" Dad added, "It sure sounded like you had a good time." Neither of them seemed to have quite realized yet that Sam's car was gone.

"I, uh, yeah, I did," Kaitlin mumbled, "Europe was great." Both Mom and Dad gave her a weird look, apparently at least noticing that something was up for her. After studying her for a moment, they both started glancing around. Mom put it together first.

"Where's Sam?!" she demanded, panic in her voice, "Kaitlin, where's Sam?!"

"Sam?!" Dad called, pushing past Kaitlin to get further into the house, "Sam?!" Kaitlin heard him walking hurriedly away out of the kitchen and down the hall, still calling out. Mom stayed put, looking around the garage one last time before turning back to Kaitlin.

"Katie," she breathed, eyes wide and voice so even it had to be forced, "What happened to Sam?" Mom and Dad were obviously really worried about Sam. After all, it sounded like things had been pretty stressful for the last couple of months, and those dumb parenting books Kaitlin had found lying around probably meant they thought Sam was acting unstable and erratic. Coming home from their long weekend to find Sam's car gone and Kaitlin looking haggard and troubled was probably like the sum of all fears for them or something. It would probably be nicer to be gentle or careful with them, Kaitlin thought. But then again, if they hadn't been so shitty, this wouldn't even be happening. She took a deep breath.

"Mom, Sam ran away," Kaitlin replied. Before her mother could respond, she turned on her heel and walked out of the garage.