“Spill it,” I say, feeling my pulse quicken.

He works his little fingers back and forth in the blanket holes. I know he’s pretending they're worms poking out of the dirt. If I were feeling more playful, I’d pretend to pluck them out for some hungry baby birds. But playtime’s done.

He sighs heavily. “Last night I went to get my stuff from the van and I heard Clay talking to his daddy. I didn’t really mean to easedrop.”

“Eavesdrop. What were they saying?”

“I wasn’t listening good until I heard them say something about Mama.”

I haven’t told Ethan about Mama yet. I just couldn’t. Now, the hairs on my neck stand up. “What’d they say?”

“They were talking about how Mama is stuck in the same hospital you were in. Is that true, Riley?”

I bite my lip. “Yeah, bud. She was there.”

“She was?” He leans in closer, his eyes widening. “Did you talk to her?”

God, help me get through this without crying. I tighten my jaw. “She was in another part of the hospital, but she’s okay.” I shift my eyes from his. Lies. All lies.

He sinks back into the mound of blankets, his eyes distant as his mind works this over. “I’m glad she’s okay,” he says quietly. He goes back to working his fingers into the blanket.

I lay my hands over his. “She is. Now what did Clay and his daddy say?”

Ethan frowns. “Clay told his daddy that you wanted to get Mama outta the hospital. He asked if we could go get her. Clay’s daddy said no. A deal’s a deal, or something like that.” He shakes his head, trying to get it right. “Clay said we need to go, but then Clay’s daddy said if he kept bugging him, he’d leave you and me here and drag Clay’s ass back to town hisself. Then when Clay left, his daddy said something to Hatch about they’re getting rid of the plan B patients in two days anyways. Something about it ain’t working? I don’t know.” He frowns, then looks up at me. “What’re we going to do, Riley? We have to get Mama.” His wide eyes search mine.

When I pull my hands off my knees, I’ve left white indents where my fingers dug into the skin.

Ethan asks again. “What’re we going to do?”

I dig through the pile of clothes next to me, looking for shoes. “What’d you think? We’re going after her.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two