“We just have to wait,” I say to her. “We have to wait and see what happens with Ma and Pa… but, Sophie, it might be a long time before life feels normal for them in Mexico. And even then, it might still not be the best thing for us to go live with them.”

“So we’re just gonna keep living at Jorge’s?” she asks, her voice breaking.

“We have no other choice, Sophie.”

“Things are just gonna keep getting worse if we stay there.”

I don’t even know what to say. I don’t know how to convince her otherwise, because I know she’s right, and when things do blow up at Jorge and Amy’s, we’ll have nowhere to go.

Thunder rumbles again, louder than last time. The air seems to be getting heavier. It’s gonna start raining any minute, but neither of us moves. My heart beats fast and my legs shake as I try hard not to break down crying in front of my sister.

“Sophie, we also have to think about our futures,” I say when I finally find my voice, and I hate how much I’m starting to sound like Pa. “I know how badly you wanna be with Ma and Pa. But in the long run, being here is gonna be better. One day, we’re gonna look back and know it was worth it.”

“I don’t care,” she says, big tears sliding down her face. She wipes them away, but more come, even as her tiny chest starts trembling so bad that she’s having trouble breathing. “I—don’t—care.”

A few drops start falling from the sky, and I reach for Sophie, trying to bring her into my arms, but she steps away from me.

“I don’t wanna do this anymore. I don’t wanna hear the baby crying all night, or worry about what Jorge and Amy are gonna say or do,” she says. She draws in a deep breath, her chest shaking more than before. “I… am… tired. I just… want… Ma and Pa.”

No matter how hard I try, I can’t use my voice again. Sophie turns around and starts walking away, leaving me frozen with nothing but the sound of thunder still ringing in my ears.

“Oh my God,” Amy says as soon as we walk into the apartment. “Hold on—let me get towels.”

She runs off down the hallway while Sophie and I remain still by the entrance, dripping water onto the hardwood floors. It started pouring the minute we left the park, but we didn’t even care. We didn’t bother to run or to seek shelter until the rain slowed down a bit. We kept walking in the direction of Jorge’s apartment, putting one foot in front of the other, while our conversation replayed in my mind.