As exhausted as I was, I didn't sleep at all that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Dimitri's shocked expression as he looked from me to Dad, then back again. I heard the former's voice, hushed with disbelief, his accent so thick it was almost impossible to understand. "'She's your daughter?'"

I wondered if the latter and Dimitri had already known each other; if that was another secret Dad had kept from us, or if they'd met briefly just before we had. After tossing and turning for hours, I glanced at the clock on the bedside table—12:51 A.M.—and let out a breath before getting up. I crept downstairs, grabbing a throw and pulling it over my legs as I sat on the couch in their living room.

I stared at the silent, dim fireplace as images and words flickered through my mind. I heard Mom and Dad's argument as clearly as if I were back home eavesdropping on the staircase again. "'You've already lost me; if things keep going the way I think they're going, you'll lose Malia, too!'"

"'What's to stop me from taking her with me? You've made it clear you don't want anything to do with me, so why shouldn't I? She's my daughter, too!'"

My chest hitched as a silent tear slipped down my cheek. I knew I had to get up and go to school tomorrow, but I also knew I couldn't go back to sleep. I felt like I was being pulled in two opposite directions. I couldn't imagine going back home and trying to mend things with Mom, but I also didn't know if I could return to Unknown Paradise and risk coming face-to-face with Dad again.

When I heard the barely audible whisper, I flinched as I whirled around. "Malia? Sweetheart, are you okay?" Mrs. Callahan walked into the living room wearing a fuzzy blue robe.

"Sorry I woke you, Mrs. Callahan," I whispered, my voice tired. It felt as though I had used all my energy to scream at Dad back in Unknown Paradise; uttering that quiet response sapped what little remained inside my body, leaving me simultaneously heavy and hollow. I tipped my head back to rest on the couch, feeling as though I'd been crying for days on end and had finally run out of tears.

She came around to sit beside me, wrapping a gentle arm around my shoulder. "Oh, honey, don't apologize. You've been through a lot in the last few weeks, and, understandably, you're shaken up. And please, call me Julie. There's no need to be so formal when you're staying in my house. Besides, you're here so often that you're basically family at this point."

Emotion clogged my throat at her words, making tears blur my vision. I coughed and rubbed my eyes, trying to disguise the glassiness in them.

The words I'd shouted at Dad rang through my head, making me feel as dazed as when I'd hit my head on the concrete back in Montgues. "'Explain what, Dad? How you've been lying to me and Mom for months? How could you hide a huge part of your life from your wife and daughter without any consideration of how we'd feel when we eventually found out?'"

When Mrs. Callahan—Julie, I gently reminded myself—spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper. "I know you probably don't want to talk, but I just want you to know, I'm here for you. We all are. You're not alone, sweetie. You'll always have me, Will, and Olivia in your corner. We all love you, and we hate to see you hurting."

She sat beside me on the couch and pulled me into her arms a heartbeat before I broke down again. Silent, painful sobs wracked my body as I clung to her, finally able to unleash all the pent-up anger, shock, grief, and pain from the past two days. The sobs eventually subsided, leaving a gaping hole the size of my fist inside my heart.

"My parents are getting a divorce." The words were hardly a push of breath, yet I felt as though I had to force every syllable out. It was the second time I'd said those words aloud since hearing the news, but it still felt like a fist squeezing my heart.

Neither Julie nor Liv knew about Unknown Paradise (nor did Skye, for that matter); it just never seemed like the right time to bring it up. Too many things kept popping up. But after Mom and Dad's fight, the latter's shocking revelation, and running into him in Unknown Paradise, I knew I had to tell someone else.

I had to force myself to get out of Julie's embrace, off the couch, and walk to the guest room, where Unknown Paradise sat closed on the dresser. I hesitated slightly before grabbing it, my hands trembling. Keeping my expression neutral took all of my concentration as I walked back into the living room. I made a mental note to tell Will about my conversation with his mother at breakfast before school.

I took a shaky breath when I sat back down on the couch. Julie looked from me to the book, then back again. "I found this in the attic a few weeks ago," I began, my voice barely a whisper. "I had gone up there to get a camera for the Photography Club, but I made a mental note to take the book back to my room along with the camera. That was when I heard Mom and Dad arguing."

Summoning my courage, I told her everything: beginning with the faint laughter I'd heard coming from inside the book, overhearing my parents' argument, showing up here unexpectedly, and finally ending with Will's and my unexpected "jump" into the book. I described "jumping" into the book and hitting my head, meeting Dimitri and his sister, and appearing back in Will's guest room before the latter "jumped" into the book with me. My voice wavered, cracking slightly when I got to the part about my dad.

When I finally finished, my voice was nearly gone. Julie's eyes were wide as she stared at me. "Have you told your mother about any of this?" Her voice was soft—not accusatory, merely curious.

I stared at my lap, then shook my head, unable to meet her gaze. "No," I whispered, the sound barely audible. "I don't know how—or if—I'm going to be able to face her again. I know she has to be worried about me, but it's all I can do to focus on going back to school and getting back into my Photography Club routine before and after school. I'll see how I feel after school before deciding whether to go to work or call in sick. If I didn't have school, Photography Club, and work, I wouldn't leave the guest room. I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you guys like this, but—"

I took a shaky breath when my voice broke off. "I didn't know where else to go." No sooner had the last syllable left my lips than pain clutched at my throat whenever I tried to speak again.

Julie shook her head, touching my arm. "As I said, sweetie, you never have to apologize for anything."

A knot of guilt formed in my stomach as realization slammed into me. I'd kept her up nearly half the night, knowing she had to work an early shift this morning.

I looked at her, but she waved me off as I did, already sensing my unspoken words. "Never apologize, remember? Not to me." She glanced at her watch, eyes widening. "Wow. Is it morning already?"

At her words, I glanced out the window across from the couch, indeed surprised to see early-morning sunlight streaming through the windows. "Since you're awake, I'll go ahead and make you something to eat before I leave," she continued, rising from the couch. "I'll leave some for Will and Liv to eat when they get up."

Knowing Will, it wouldn't be much longer before he, too, was up. He, like me, often got up early for swim practice, leaving well before Liv awoke. As if he'd sensed my thoughts, I heard the pipes groan as his shower turned on. Julie chuckled, shaking her head. "Along with being an early riser, he's also a creature of habit. Likely gets it from me."

I shot her a fleeting grin as I grabbed Unknown Paradise. I ran up to the guest room, changed into a clean pair of leggings and a T-shirt, and hastily pulled my hair into a sloppy bun before coming back downstairs. No sooner had I stepped out into the hallway than Will emerged from his room, hair still damp, the sweat-and-chlorine smell of him after an early-morning swim replaced by the faint woodsy scent of his soap.

He smiled as he saw me, but it faded as quickly as it had come. I watched his gaze flick over my face, noticing the dark circles under my eyes, the dried tear streaks on my cheeks, and the overall pallor of my complexion. Even with makeup, I knew I wouldn't be able to hide the visible indicators of my sleepless night. "Are you okay?" He asked, stepping closer and gently running a thumb under my eyelid to wipe any residual tears away.

I nodded, swallowing hard. I had no intention of keeping the conversation with Julie from him and was gathering the strength to speak again when I felt a warm hand touch my shoulder. I glanced at Julie, who shot me a soft grin before walking into the kitchen to get breakfast started. "I am now," I rasped, melting into him a heartbeat before he pulled me against his chest.

Like Will and Skye, I was also fiercely driven by routine—often waking up before the sun to squeeze in an early-morning photography shoot before heading to school and Photography Club. And I knew that if I allowed myself to go back into Unknown Paradise again, that routine would crumble before my eyes. However, I reminded myself—smiling at Will as we shared a quick meal before school—that I was establishing a new routine with him, Julie, and Liv.

The possibility of reconnecting with, or even reaching out to Mom, remained a decision to be made well into the distant future. Maybe a month from now, maybe six months from now—I didn't know. But I knew one thing with all my heart: that Will, Julie, Liv, and Skye would have my back when and if I eventually made that decision.

And for the first time since I arrived at their house, I felt as though I no longer had a weight constricting my chest. I no longer lived in fear of the future. With my loved ones by my side, I knew I could keep putting one foot in front of the other. And that was good enough for me.