How to Make Friends with the Dark

Content Warning: This section discusses themes of grief, parental loss, and trauma. It also mentions underage drinking, suicide, and panic attacks.

Tiger learns that Shayna’s car broke down in Utah, where she was visiting some friends, and she had to take a bus from there to Tucson. Their initial interactions are awkward and stilted, and as she says her goodbyes to everyone at LaLa’s, Tiger wonders if Shayna will be able to care for her.

Karen drives Shayna and Tiger first to a grocery store and then to the house Tiger lived in with June. A food card has been set up for them temporarily, and after the paperwork is done, they will be eligible for benefits. A case worker will be by for home visits over the next few weeks, and Karen suggests that both sisters would also benefit from counseling. Tiger learns that Shayna had come because Dustin asked her to save Tiger from the foster care system. Shayna also reveals that June and Dustin’s affair blew up Shayna and her mother’s lives; Tiger thinks that Shayna probably hates her.

Shayna spots the dirty running water in the house, and despite Tiger’s assertions that the landlord, Pacheco, will not help, Shayna expertly manages to convince him to fix it, citing June’s recent death.