Astor looked up slowly again, frowning. "You're not?" she asked, a little uncertainly. She looked away again, chewing her bottom lip before looking back at him. "You can't tell anybody," she said solemnly. "I'm not supposed to tell about the Inside Shadow. Do you promise?"
Could she trust him? What if he told everybody and then nobody wanted to talk to her or play with her anymore? As if this place wasn't lonely enough...
"I don't know what to do," she pouted, putting on the brave face again and willing herself not to cry. "It keeps getting worse. Ever since Mom caught Cody and me with the neighbor's cat...it just keeps getting worse and sometimes it gives me headaches and makes me really grouchy...I hate it," she admitted. That was something she'd never told anyone. Not even Dexter. Not even Cody.