"Jake. Dean's little brother. He's missing, and we think Dean's dad took him."
I tell her the story.
"Jake doesn't know how dangerous his dad is," I say. "His dad could've told him anything and Jake would probably believe it. If Jake trusts him, he'll tell him stuff, maybe even stuff about me."
"We're going to have to move." My mom gets up and paces back and forth as she takes out her phone.
"Mom, we're not moving." I follow beside her, trying to see what she's looking up on her phone.
"We could go live with your grandparents. My mother will drive me crazy but it's only for a few months, just until you graduate." She swipes through her phone.
"Mom, no. I'm not going. Nothing's going to happen to me. Dean's dad doesn't want me. He wants Jake. The police said he's probably already left the state with him."
She turns to me. "I don't trust that they're right. I can't risk anything happening to you. I'll quit my job. I'll drop you off at school and pick you up. You won't leave my sight until that man is caught and back in prison."
"You're not quitting your job. This has nothing to do with me." I take a breath. "This is why I don't tell you stuff. You always overreact."
"I'm overreacting?" She points down the hall toward the ICU. "There's a young man down there, clinging to his life, because his sociopath father decided to break out of prison and beat up his son. If he'd do that to his own flesh and blood, what do you think he'd do to a girl he doesn't even know?"
"He's not going to come after me. He doesn't even know what I look like. I can't talk about this. I'm going back to the waiting room." I storm off, furious she's reacting like this. The last thing I need right now is for her to be ordering me around, lecturing me, and making me feel stupid for dating Dean. If she wants to be that way, she can leave.
"Brook!" I hear Eve's voice, then see her running down the hall, a shopping bag on each shoulder, the bags swinging as she runs.
"Eve, what are you doing here?"
"I came as soon as I found out." She hugs me. "Kendrick told me as I was leaving school. Why didn't you call me?"
"Sorry. I've been so caught up in everything that's going on I didn't even think to call."
"It's okay. I'm here now." She holds out the bags. "Here."
"What's all this?"
"Supplies." She points to one of the bags. "This one is snacks, mostly chocolate but also some energy drinks Evan recommends, and some packs of gum. My mom says chewing gum relieves stress, although I've never found that to be true. The other bag has stuff to distract you. Word puzzles. Adult coloring books. A really dirty romance novel."
I smile. "You bought a romance novel?"
"It's my mom's. She has tons of them."
"You must be Eve," my mom says, coming up behind me.
"Yeah." She smiles at my mom. "I'm Brook's friend."
"Yes, she's told me all about you. It was nice of you to come by."
"Oh, I'm not just stopping by. I'm here for as long as Brook needs me."
"What about work?" I ask.
"I called in. Told her I had a family emergency. She was totally cool with it."
"Eve, you didn't have to do that."
"Um, yeah, I did," she says like I'm crazy. "Your boyfriend's in the hospital. You really think I'd let you sit here all alone?"
"Boyfriend?" my mom says.
Eve's eyes bounce between my mom and me. "I mean, friend. I didn't mean boyfriend. I don't know why I said that."
