“I have to give it back. And the last bus into town will leave close to ten.” With any luck, Andy was asleep by now. She couldn’t bear the thought of having another confrontation with him tonight.

“Hey, you all right?” Ms. Fielding asked.

“Yeah, sure. I just have to—”

“Take the car back. Got it. Listen, I will follow you in my car and bring you back to the hospital. This way you have some minutes to spare to have a bite and think about my offer.”

To be followed by this woman was not at all what she wanted, but she had to be realistic. It would be almost impossible to catch the last bus into town even if she broke the speed limit.

“Come on.” Ms. Fielding pushed her toward the elevator. “We’ll grab a bite and—”

“I can eat at home.”

“Ah, why not eat in one of the fast food places around?”

Sherry stepped away from her.

“Jeez, let’s go. Your boy is waiting. And he will wait much longer if you get into an accident because you forgot to eat.”

Forgot? She would have laughed at the absurdity of it all. Yet she had to face the truth; Ms. Fielding was right. She didn’t feel good, so eating something before driving home was the right thing to do. Sherry’s two credit cards were maxed out. That left the contents of her wallet. She got it out and peeked in. Three dollars. That would have to do the trick. There had to be a vending machine nearby. “Okay, just give me a minute, and I—”

“Don’t even think about getting a chocolate bar or something like that. You need real food in your stomach. Now stop making this complicated. The food’s on me.”

They were staring at each other while the time ticked.

Thinking was hard, so despite hating it, Sherry gave in. “Let’s go.”

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Whenever traffic allowed, Madison looked over to Sherry, who was sitting in the passenger seat staring down at her knees, some strands of hair flying in the cool late-summer air. What if she collapsed again, as she had in the hospital?

Not that Madison would ever admit it, but she had been shocked to learn that Sherry hadn’t eaten all day. And she had two jobs? That couldn’t be true. Because if it were, surely Sherry would have jumped at the chance to earn such easy money, wouldn’t she?

Madison turned into the drive-in of the fast food place. She extended her elbow over the driver’s door, waited for the greeting from the loudspeaker, and placed their order.

“Oh, no,” Sherry interrupted her as soon as she had ordered. “That’s too mu—”

Madison stopped her by raising her hand. As thin as this waitress was, she could use every ounce of food.