For a while, I don’t pay attention to what Kimmie and Adam are saying. I’m thinking about Sophie, wondering how her day at school is going, but then Adam turns toward me. Staring at me with narrowed eyes, he folds his slice in half and takes a big bite. “Are you okay, Matt?” he asks as he chews. “You’re quiet today.”

“Yeah,” I answer quickly. Maybe my attempt at acting normal isn’t as successful as I thought it was. Or maybe he and Kimmie know me too well for me to be able to hide anything from them. Either way, I somehow manage a smile. “I just didn’t sleep well last night.” Even as I say it, my eyelids twitch, threatening to close. I take a bite of my pizza, trying to think of a way to change the subject. “So what did they ask you to prepare for the callback?”

Adam’s face lights up, but while he answers my question, I only half listen. And as the truth about what happened to my parents boils inside my chest, I just keep eating without saying anything at all.

5

I PICK UP SOPHIE FROM MARIA’S APARTMENT right before three, just as I said I would. I thank Maria countless times for taking care of my sister, trying to avoid her stare at all costs, and we get out of there as quickly as possible.

While we’re making our way home, I debate whether or not I should go to the bodega. I know Nelly, another one of the girls who helps us out, must’ve opened it this morning and been shocked to find my dad gone. In the last ten years, he hasn’t missed a single day of work. I also know Erika must be there already, in time for the start of her shift. I just don’t know if I can do it—if I can go in there and take responsibility for all the things my dad would usually do. I don’t know if I want to face Erika and explain to her that I haven’t even heard from my parents yet.

As we turn onto Avenue A, I decide to stop by after all. It’s what Pa would want me to do. And what excuse am I gonna have if he ends up returning one day and I have to explain to him that the bodega went out of business because I wasn’t looking after it?

The second we walk in, Erika stares at me with wide eyes.

“Has anyone come by the store?” I ask her.

She shakes her head. “It’s been quiet around here.”

“Has anyone called?”

She shakes her head again, and the weight I’ve been carrying in my stomach becomes a little heavier.