My bed had never sounded so good to me, until we got to my house and I actually had to try to picture sleeping in it without Alice. I knew I was being ridiculous and that it wasn’t going to be for much longer, but it still hurt as much as it had before. No matter what I told myself, the knowledge that I wouldn’t be able to wake up in the morning to her adorable grumbling about it being too early for anything to be awake made me sad.

Jenny seemed to sense how melancholy I was. It shouldn’t have surprised me; she had disturbingly accurate insight into everyone else’s feelings. Still, I wasn’t prepared to have her hug me. It was nice, but unexpected. Jenny’s never been a very huggy person, unless of course it was with Shane, whom she always seemed to be touching. But I couldn’t blame her; it didn’t really seem like a conscious thing. It actually reminded me a lot of the way I was with Alice.

I hugged her back and tried as hard as I could to keep myself from bursting into tears. It wouldn’t do any good, and I knew all of my friends felt horrible enough for me as it was. I didn’t want them to feel any worse; they couldn’t help the situation any more than I could. Still, I wasn’t able to keep myself from sniffling a little bit in spite of myself. Jenny didn’t say anything, but she hugged me a little tighter.

“I’m sorry,” I told her softly as I finally managed to let go. It seemed I’d been needing a hug more than I’d suspected.

“Don’t apologize,” she replied with a shrug. “Can we get you anything?”

“No, I’m all right,” I told them. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“I think maybe we should stay tonight, if you don’t mind,” Shane said carefully. I could understand her hesitation; I hadn’t been too kind in the past to people trying to take care of me, unless it was Alice, and even then it had only been because we both knew there was no use in me protesting to begin with. Tonight, though, I appreciated the offer.