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“What?” Maddie’s heart stuttered. She peered around Suzanne.
Ahead of them in the gloom, a figure stood outside Hailey’s bedroom. She had blonde hair, just like Hailey’s. And she wore what looked to be a sleek nightgown.
“Lift your phone up,” Maddie whispered.
Suzanne obeyed, the flashlight highlighting the woman.
“It’s Jenna,” Maddie murmured.
“Are you sure?” Suzanne squinted.
“Yes.” Maddie’s breath exhaled in a whoosh. For a second there, she really thought she’d seen a ghostly Hailey, just like her friend had.
“Thank goodness.” Suzanne laid a hand on her chest. “The way she’s dressed though, in that nightgown, I thought she was Hailey.”
“Me too,” Maddie replied. “But that would be impossible – unless it was Hailey’s ghost.”
“Don’t.” Suzanne shuddered. “I don’t want to think about that tonight – not after the awful weather, and we’ve only got this little light to get to the bathroom.”
“What is she doing?” Maddie peered at the blonde woman. Jenna stood at the Hailey’s bedroom door, appearing to be waiting for something.
“This is so weird,” Suzanne muttered.
“Do you think she’s ... sleepwalking?”
“That must be it,” Suzanne said in relief. “What should we do? I know you’re not supposed to wake up sleepwalkers.”
“We could try guiding her back to her room,” Maddie suggested softly.
“Good idea.”
They looked at each other, as if neither of them wanted to be the first to walk up to Jenna.
“Together?” Maddie whispered.
“Yep.” Suzanne’s ponytail swished in the gloom.
They tiptoed toward the soccer mom.
“Jenna,” Maddie murmured. “It’s time to go back to your room.” She glanced at Suzanne, silently saying “Now what?”
The sleeping woman didn’t seem to register their presence.
“Bed time,” Suzanne said in a soothing voice, gently taking one of Jenna’s arms.
Maddie took the other, and together they carefully turned Jenna around so she faced the direction of her room.
Maddie and Suzanne shuffled forward, Jenna copying their motion. Her eyes were open but looked glazed, and her breathing was even.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Suzanne hissed to Maddie.
“I know,” Maddie whispered. Was this why Trixie hadn’t wanted to come to the bathroom with them? Maybe she didn’t want to get in the way as they brought the soccer mom back to her bedroom.
Maddie opened Jenna’s door and maneuvered herself, Jenna, and Suzanne into the room.
“We should put her to bed,” Maddie suggested.
“Okay.”
They guided Jenna to the bed.
In the light afforded them by the flashlight app, Maddie could see Jenna had a pillow on her bed and a pushed back sheet and blanket.
They eased Jenna down onto the mattress, and covered her with the bedclothes.
“There,” Suzanne murmured in satisfaction.
“Let’s go.” They tiptoed out of the room, gently closing the door behind them.
“What about locking the door?” Maddie asked.
“Oops.” Suzanne scrunched her nose. “I know!” She opened the door, pulled out the key in the lock from the inside and quickly shut the door again. A faint click sounded as she locked the door from the outside.
“I’ll push the key underneath.” Suzanne bent down and shoved the key under the crack between the floor and the old wooden door.
“Good thinking.” Maddie was relieved that Jenna was safe in her bedroom.
“Phew!” Suzanne mopped her brow dramatically as she headed toward the bathroom. “I can’t believe we did that.”
“I’m just glad the whole thing went smoothly – especially with securing her room.”
“We’ll have to ask Jenna about her sleepwalking tomorrow.” Suzanne entered the bathroom and turned on the light switch. Welcome yellow light flooded the room.
“I wonder what she was doing at Hailey’s door,” Maddie mused as she looked at herself in the mirror. There were faint purple shadows under her brown eyes and her shoulder length brown hair looked a little untidy. She yawned, surprising herself.
“I can’t wait to go to bed,” Suzanne said with a yawn of her own.
A few minutes later they returned to their room.
“Thank goodness you’ve got that flashlight app,” Maddie said. “With everything that’s happened, I haven’t had time to download that app for myself.”
Trixie lifted her head as Maddie slipped into bed.
“Mrrow?” she asked sleepily.
“Jenna is all tucked up,” she told her familiar, but she wasn’t sure if Trixie was listening as her eyes had closed again.
Maddie felt herself drift off to sleep, too tired to wonder anymore about Jenna’s appearance at Hailey’s bedroom door.
