Was that why she was crying? Should I call for an ambulance first?
“No. No, not like that. I’m fine.”
Fuck. That was good. “Is there somewhere you can go where you can wait for me?”
“Y-yeah. I think so.”
The boys finally all hustled up, Rue holding Hawk, who was crying, confused, his hands tangled tight in his hair, a big sign of distress for him. It broke my heart, but I couldn’t do anything to help ground him right now. The boys, however, were all surprisingly good at it, and I hoped they could at least keep him settled till we found Wynter.
“Okay, stay there. Is your phone charged, Wyn?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Good, that’s good. Stay on the line with me, alright? I’m coming.”
“Please hurry, Riot. I’m scared.”
We ran out of the house, and I got the little ones strapped in their car seats faster than I ever had in my life. Hawk kept signing for home.
“Cruz, can you grab his spare headphones?”
“Y-yeah.”
I jumped into the driver’s seat and took off as soon as everyone was buckled in. “Keep talking to me, Wyn. It says you’re forty-five minutes away, but I’m coming, sweetie. Okay? I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
“Good. I-I messed up,” she repeated, her voice cracking.
“Don’t worry about that now. We’ll talk once I get you. Just hang tight. What did you do at school today? You had advanced art, right?”
“What?”
“Just talk, Wyn. Tell me about your art class.”
So she did. In starts and stops. I could hear other people around her, but no one seemed to bother her. When she ran out of things to say, I started talking about my visit with Cara. Then Rue chimed in, talking about a kid in his class’s birthday and how he’d brought in pretzels instead of cupcakes, and most of the kids had been upset except Bel because he hated cake and loved soft pretzels. By the time Rue finished describing every detail of the kickball game they’d played in recess, we were pulling up on the street.
I turned into the parking lot at an outrageous speed, almost ran over a mom and her two toddlers, but somehow managed to not commit vehicular manslaughter and park safely. Then it was the matter of getting the kids out. I could’ve had Wynter come to meet me, but I didn’t want her leaving her spot of safety until I had eyes on her.
“We’re here, Wyn. Give me a minute.”
I carried Storm while Cruz held Hawk’s hand. The twins stayed close to me, and we all ran inside.
I had no idea what to expect when I first laid eyes on my sister. She’d said she wasn’t hurt, but what if she’d been lying?
I found her sitting in a booth in the corner. Her knees were up to her chin, and she was looking down at the table. I breathed. She did look uninjured.
We all ran to her. “Wyn.”
She looked up and immediately started crying again.
I moved Storm to my other arm, slid in the booth, and grabbed Wynter.
She buried her face in my chest, her shoulders shaking. For a second, I froze. When was the last time Wynter had willingly hugged me? It had to have been a couple years.
“I’m here, sweetie. You’re safe.”
All I could do was hold her while she cried for a while. We were getting looks, but I ignored them. Once she calmed down some, I was able to dig out my wallet and send Cruz to the counter to order some food for the boys. I could tell Wynter wanted some privacy before she told me what had happened.
With Hawk coloring on one of those paper menus from the trays with a pen from my pocket and the boys ordering, I hoped Wynter would finally talk.
