“Mateo?” she says just as I turn around to walk out of her room. She never calls me by my full name. Only Ma and Pa do that.

I stop to look at her. For a moment, she stares at me with a frown on her face, but then she lets her head fall back on the pillow.

“Good night.”

I press my lips together into what I hope looks like a smile. “Buenas noches, Sophie.”

After closing her bedroom door softly, I slip into my own room. I grab fresh underwear and head into the shower.

I don’t even know how long I stand under the stream of water, pressing my hands against the tile on the walls and letting my tears fall freely. When my eyes start feeling dry and I have no more tears left to cry, I reach for the shampoo. I see the one Ma uses, which is meant for long, curly hair. I see Sophie’s, which comes in a bright pink bottle. And then there’s the one I share with Pa—the no-frills kind.

My heart hurts when I think about the fact that they might never come back. They might never shower here again, never have to hear desperate knocking on the door. We always complained about having only one bathroom for the four of us. Now I’d give anything to go back to a time when waiting for the bathroom was one of our biggest concerns.

I don’t turn any lights on after I finish showering. I walk quickly across the dark apartment and sneak into my bedroom. It’s almost time for Pasiones, but I don’t feel like watching tonight. I don’t think I’d be able to get through the entire episode without collapsing on the side of the couch where Ma should be.

I crawl into bed and close my eyes. The sounds of the city outside my window are there to comfort me, but I already know I won’t be able to get any sleep tonight, so I resign myself to just lying there quietly.

I’m breathing slowly, trying to push away the image of my parents being put into handcuffs, when I hear soft knocking on my bedroom door.

I jump into a sitting position, my heart beating fast. Sophie’s silhouette walks in.

“Sophie, what’s wrong?” I ask.

“I couldn’t sleep.” She takes a few slow steps toward my bed. “Can I sleep here?”

I nod, even though she probably can’t see me. I move over to make room for her, and she curls up near the corner of the bed, the way she used to when she was younger and she’d ask if she could sleep next to me because she was having nightmares.