“I’m trying to find her … I know … Look, I’ll get her to you, but Maddy’s smart, so we gotta play it smart.” My mother’s voice floats through the house.
“She’s talking to Drew,” I whisper through a gulp.
My throat feels tight. It’s stupid after all these years of her being a terrible mother, but it still hurts knowing she’s helping Drew try to get a hold of me.
River places his hand on my back and urges me toward the window. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
“I’ll do it, okay?” my mother says, her voice sounding close to my door now.
I snap out of my trance, quietly glide the window open, toss my bag out, and then move to duck outside. As I grip the windowsill, the sliver becomes lodged deeper into my flesh.
I let out a string of curses underneath my breath but disregard the pain and duck out. My boots land on the gravel with a soft thump as I stumble. I regain my balance and scoop up my bag right as River climbs out.
He grabs my uninjured hand and tows me with him as he heads toward the back of the building.
I slam on the brakes. “Hold on. I want to close the window so she won’t suspect anything’s been going on.”
He opens his mouth, I think to protest, but then the bedroom light flips on. The curtains are wide open, and my mother is standing in the room, looking directly at me.
It’s clear by her stunned expression that she didn’t expect to find me.
“What the hell?” she mutters, blinking a few times.
“Run,” I hiss at River as I start to take off.
He takes off with me, grabbing the backpack from my hand as I do. I throw him a what-the-hell look, but he merely slips it on. Always the gentleman, even in a time of crisis.
And that crisis worsens as we round the back of the building and find our Uber is gone.
“Shit,” River curses as we both come to a halt where the SUV was parked.
He frantically peers around at the back of the building, the street behind us, and then to the trees. “He took off.”
“I thought he might.” I’m panicking, my mind moving too fast for me to process a plan.
I need to calm down.
I need to think.
Breathe, Maddy. Just breathe.
Weirdly, my aunt’s voice fills my head.
It snaps me out of my fear enough that I can move my feet.
“Come on. There’s a path through the trees.” I yank River with me before he can even respond and guide him into the trees.
Light slips away from us the farther we get into the branches and bushes. The sounds of twigs snapping underneath our shoes fill up the silence sweeping around us.
“Maddy!” my mother shouts, her voice slicing through that silence.
I quicken my pace. So does River while digging out his phone.
“What’re you doing?” I whisper as his screen illuminates.
“Calling for a car to pick us up,” he replies in a hushed whisper. “Do you know a place where one can pick us up?”
I rack my brain for a place. “Yeah … I think we should be okay in the grocery store. We can hide out there until the car arrives.” I give him the address, and he punches it into the app.
