Peter shook his head. “First of all, she works the swing shift, and usually doesn’t get home until almost one in the morning. And, second, she never comes back here, always leaves her car in the driveway. She’d never even know you were here.”

“Well, if you’re sure she won’t mind, then that would be great. Thanks, Peter. It’s definitely a lot better than what I’ve been doing.”

“There’s more.” He hesitated for a few seconds. “It’s possible that the bathroom in the in-law unit might still be functional. I mean, the electrical system got fried but I don’t know about the plumbing. We – you and I – could try checking it out to see. If the plumbing still works, and we give the place a good cleaning, then you could at least have the bathroom and shower to use when you needed it. Where have you been showering these past couple of months anyway?”

Tessa gave a little shrug. “During the week at school after gym class. Weekends are a little tougher. I have to, uh, get creative.”

He frowned. “I’m not sure I even want to ask. And I’ll warn you right off the bat. We’d have our work cut out for us getting the bathroom in decent shape. Provided we can even find our way in, that is.”

She looked at him curiously. “What does that mean?”

Peter rolled his eyes. “You’ll see. Let’s go have a look. We’ll have to use a flashlight so keep close.”

He took a flashlight from inside his car before unlocking the door to the in-law unit and carefully easing it open. “Watch your step. It’s more of a disaster in here than I would have imagined.”

Tessa’s eyes widened as she tentatively followed him inside the darkened room that positively reeked of mold and mildew. It wasn’t, however, the odor that caused her jaw to gape open in shock. Rather, it was the stacks and rows of cardboard boxes, plastic storage bins, and overstuffed shopping bags piled on every square inch of the floor, all the way up to the water stained ceiling.

“What is all this stuff?” she asked in bemusement.

Peter looked revolted. “This is part of my mother’s little shopping compulsion. The compulsion that turned into full-on hoarding a few years back. And this is nothing. You should see the main house and the garage. She’s got way more stuff crammed in there. In fact, the only two rooms in the place that aren’t overloaded with her junk are my bedroom and bathroom. And that’s only because I’ve put locks on both doors and she doesn’t have a key.”

Tessa stopped in her tracks as Peter impatiently moved a stack of boxes aside so that they could walk through. “What does she buy? I mean, to have this much stuff, plus what sounds like three times as much inside the house, she must shop constantly.”

“Yep, that pretty much sums it up,” agreed Peter, sounding both resigned and disgusted. “And she buys everything from toilet paper to socks to books. She spends her weekends hitting up every garage sale and flea market she can find, and brings back boxes of junk each time. She visits several thrift stores on a regular basis, and spends hours every week shopping at Walmart and Target and the dollar store. She used to order stuff constantly from those home shopping networks on TV until they shut down her accounts.” He made a sound of disgust. “She’s maxed out all of her credit cards, probably owes close to a hundred grand on them, and still she keeps shopping. You see, while your mother had a bona fide mental illness, my mom is just nuts. Here. This is the bathroom.”

With the help of the flashlight, Tessa was able – just barely – to make out the outlines of a toilet, sink, and shower stall within the tiny, darkened room. The bathroom, too, was piled from floor to ceiling with more of Mrs. Lockwood’s junk, and Tessa realized it would take a good amount of physical labor just to clear the room out. She could only imagine the poor condition the bathroom fixtures must be in after years of neglect.

But the hard work would be worth it if she didn’t have to rush through a shower after gym class at school, or make do with a hurried sponge bath on the weekends in a bathroom stall at the mall.

“It would definitely take some work to clear all this stuff out, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” she told Peter firmly.

He gave the room a grim onceover. “You might have second thoughts about that once we can actually get inside here and start scrubbing the place down.”

Tessa shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to do some major cleaning after moving into a place. Some of the rooms and apartments we lived in over the years were pretty awful.”

“If you’re willing to help, then we can get started right away. Not tonight,” he amended. “It’s too dark, and we’ve still got to rig something up for your car window. Plus you said something about having to study. But if you can spare a few minutes tomorrow morning we can try to clear out at least a few of the boxes. Knowing the kinds of things my mom tends to bring home, more than half the stuff in this place will need to be junked.”

“Count me in,” agreed Tessa eagerly. “It would be awesome to have a bathroom to use when I need one. I’ll do whatever is necessary to get this one in order.”

Peter shifted a bit awkwardly from one foot to the next, looking down at the ground as he muttered, “Like I said, it isn’t the greatest but at least a little better than what you’re dealing with now. And, well, I would have invited you to stay inside the house instead of sleeping out here in your car, but – well, things are – difficult with my mom. She – she’s not a very nice person, Tessa, and I don’t want to subject you to her meanness.”

She placed a hand gently on his arm, frowning when even that light touch caused him to jerk away abruptly. “No, it’s okay, Peter. What you’re offering to do is way more than I could have asked for, hoped for. Especially considering that you and I aren’t exactly close friends. I mean, not that - “

“I get it,” he assured her gently. “We’ve known each other almost a year now, but I think I’ve learned more about you in the past hour or two than I have in all that time. But you’ve always been nice to me, always said hello, and you’re one of the few people who doesn’t make me feel like some freaky weirdo. So even though it isn’t much I’d like to help you out when I can. I just wish things were different with my mom so that I’d feel comfortable inviting you inside.”