22
RILEY
Age 13
“Okay, now here’s the fun part,” Tracy said with a smile. “You sprayed the pan, right?”
I nodded.
“Good. First you’re going to pour some of the sauce onto the bottom of the pan with the ladle.”
“How much?”
“Just enough to cover it. Spread it all around and get the sides too. Great. Okay, now you need to layer the noodles. Make them overlap a little, so they stick to each other and form a layer. I usually go about halfway, but you do what’s comfortable for you.”
I did as she instructed, layering each lasagna noodle down over the middle of the previous one.
“Now the sauce, right?” I asked.
“Yes, and then cheese, and another layer of noodles. Keep going until the dish is full.”
Tracy and I talked while I finished preparing the dish. Cooking was just the thing I needed after Beckett leaving to live with his sister. I was going to make salad while it baked, too. I’d already made the brownies that were cooling on the counter for dessert when I got home after school. I felt happier than I had all week.
Harold came in through the backdoor just as I was adding the cheese to the top. His eyes went wide when he saw what was on the counter. “Ooh, lasagna! My favorite!”
“Made entirely by Riley, too,” Tracy beamed. “Every step. I haven’t touched a thing.”
Harold wasn’t as surprised as Tracy that I wanted to help in the kitchen. In fact, he clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Of course, he did. Riley can do anything he puts his mind to. Oh! I got that blue paint you wanted. It’s in your box, in the barn.”
I nearly jumped on my toes. “Really?”
“Yup. Half gallon. All for you.”
He snuck a pinch of cheese before walking off. Tracy put her arm around me and kissed my head. “Great job, Ry. I meant what I said earlier. You just let me know what else you want to learn how to cook, and I’ll teach you, okay?”
I gave her my best smile, which took little to no effort. I smiled a lot around the Henrys. “Thank you.”
***
The closer I got to Atlanta, the more the knot in my stomach grew. My palms were sweaty on the steering wheel, but I tried to keep my mind on the goal. Getting to Beckett. That was all I cared about right now. I could do this. Iwoulddo this.
Once I reached the city limits, I took the first exit and pulled to the side of the road. I used my phone’s map to look up hospitals in the area, which turned out to be a daunting list in a city this size. I had no idea where to start, so I tried the first one I ran into, right off the interstate.
“I’m looking for a little girl named Harper. I don’t know her last name, but she’s seven and was admitted for her appendix,” I told the attendant at the front desk, who was quickly becoming annoyed with my vague description. I was about to give up when I heard my name in a voice that sent a chill down my spine.
“Riley?”
Hesitantly, I turned, not wanting to believe I still knew who that voice belonged to.
Beckett’s sister was standing near the sliding glass doors leading to the patient rooms, one hand hovering near her mouth in shock. Beside her was a man with graying brown hair and tattoos on his arms. Her husband Ben I presumed.
I’d never gotten along well with Tosh. We were like oil and water, two personalities who just didn’t work well together. She’d never really accepted me in their home or approved of my friendship with Beckett, though I never knew why. Seeing her now was conflicting, to say the least. I wanted to be relieved, since she’d likely have some way to get in touch with Beckett, but at the same time, I didn’t entirely trust her.
I didn’t know how to respond, so I gave her a small, tight-lipped smile.
She took several hesitant steps toward me. “Is… is it really you?”
I ignored her question and asked one of my own instead. “Where’s Beckett?”
