“That we’re okay here.” I thought about it briefly—asking Adam if we could stay at his place instead of imposing on Kimmie’s family, but his apartment is already crowded enough as it is. “Thanks again, Kimmie. I—”

“Stop,” she says, holding up a hand. “I would do anything for you. My parents would, too. They know how much you mean to me.”

My heart softens in that moment. I almost feel like crying, but then I swallow hard, and the urge goes away. My insides harden again, because no matter what, I know we can’t stay here very long. I’ll need to figure out what to do soon—about Sophie, about our future. I feel like somewhere in the background, a clock is ticking, and it won’t stop pulsing in my ears.

“What’s gonna happen now?” Sophie asks me in the morning.

It must be six or seven. The first rays of sunlight are coming into the living room through a small gap in the curtains, and we’re both lying awake, with the springs of the couch pressing uncomfortably into our backs just as they did all night long.

“We’re gonna have to wait a little while longer, Sophie,” I say. “Pa will help us figure out what to do. We just have to be patient.”

Almost at the same time, Sophie and I both let out long breaths, filling the air around us with all the fear, all the pain that we’re feeling inside.

“I still don’t get why he left,” Sophie says softly.

“He’s trying to fix things. He’s trying to see if there’s a way that we could all be in Mexico City.”

“But why didn’t he ask Ma to come with him?”

I hear a sound coming from somewhere down the hallway. I’m not sure if Mr. and Mrs. Reid are awake yet, but I try to lower my voice as much as possible just in case they aren’t.

“You know how Ma and Pa have always seemed so perfect for each other? How we’ve always said that they’re like—”

“Pan con mermelada,” Sophie says. Bread and jam—or Abuela’s way of saying that they were inseparable, a perfect match.

“Exactly.” I press my lips together. “It… it’s just that, sometimes, things don’t always work that way. Sometimes things get hard. That’s what’s happening with Ma and Pa right now, but they’re still doing everything they can for us—for you and me.”

“So are we gonna be able to go be with them soon?”

Turning sideways to face her, I see hope in her eyes. I don’t want to steal it away from her. I don’t want her to withdraw into herself again, the way she has during the past few weeks, but I also can’t lie.

“I’m not sure, Sophie,” I say.

“Why not?”