Dad shook his head. “Here, take my cell phone. I’ll use Raven’s until we can get you a new one. That way, if you need anything, you can get to us.” He handed me his phone. I unlocked it with my sister’s birth year. The font was huge and he had four apps. The battery was at eighty-eight percent.

“Thanks. I’ll keep you posted. Can you get Austin this number? So he and I can text?” I set the phone on my chest.

“If he’s still downstairs.” Dad stood and shifted his weight between his feet.

“What’s wrong?” I smoothed out my blanket with my hand and dad’s phone.

“I don’t like him. I don’t like Austin, and I’m not afraid to say it.” He folded his arms over his chest.

This was the version of my father that I was used to, not the wide-eyed awestruck version I had been dealing with for the last few hours.

“Okay. I don’t have any fight in me now, Dad. I’m just exhausted.” I closed my eyes.

He wasn’t done. “I’ve never been more scared than I was earlier today, not knowing where you were and then finding out you had been taken. His friends were involved, that roommate was involved. You should've stayed home, gone to online school, and helped with your sister. That’s where you should've been.”

I opened one eye.

Nurse Mayborn stepped next to my father. “That sounds like a ball of fun for a twenty-year-old girl.” She touched his elbow. “All right, Dad, let’s save this for a different day. Tell her you love her and get home safe. That’s what she needs right now.”

My father stared at the nurse and then nodded. She had a commanding way about her. Maybe she was part therapist or something because that was exactly what my dad did.

Nurse Mayborn closed the hospital door behind Dad and turned to me. “Honey. Rest. I see this kind of thing all the time—with trauma, people wanting to retain control so the scary part can stop being so scary. He’ll come around. You didn’t do anything wrong. This isn't your fault, and living in the past with decisions you didn’t make changes nothing for anyone.”

She pulled the covers up as if she was a mother tucking in a child.

“Tonight, we thank God and all the things that happened to get you here. You’re safe and I’m going to see you stay that way tonight, okay?”

I didn’t even get to thank her for her kind words—I was asleep.

* * *