Tyler immediately scrambled away from Josh, his heart hammering in his chest. Josh was on the other side of the bed immediately, looking terrified.

"Sweetie, can I come in?"

Of course it was his mom.

"Uh...just a second!" Quickly, Tyler grabbed Josh's arm and half carried, half dragged him to the closet, pushing him in. "Hide in here!" he whispered urgently, and despite the shocked look on his face, Josh backed into the closet, seeming to have understood.

After closing the closet door, Tyler opened the door to his bedroom to face his mother.

If she'd heard what had just occurred in the room, she didn't show it. "Just stopped by to say goodnight and let you know that Jay's sleeping in our room tonight." She sighed a bit, shook her head. "He's getting too old to sleep in his parents' bed during a storm."

Tyler's mother held one of the candles from earlier as a light source; Tyler hoped it was still dark enough to hide the bruises Josh had no doubt just given him. "I guess I'll go to bed then, too." He tried not to glance over at the closet.

She kissed his head, even though he was too old for it. "Goodnight, sweetie."

Tyler didn't argue. "Night, mom."