It’s gotta be the sugar, Zadie thought. That’s where all her energy comes from. “Well, we’re not all as motivated as you,” she said mid-yawn. “Speaking of doing stuff, do you have any idea what we’re supposed to be doing now?” Gas and coffee weren’t the only reasons the sisters had pulled off at Exit 258. There was also the small matter of not knowing where the hell they were going. They had started driving west only because that was the direction Finn saw on their mom’s compass. Two hours later, it was starting to look like they’d need a lot more to go on than just a cardinal direction.

“Not yet. Don’t worry. It’ll come to me.”

“Well, while you’re waiting for Mom’s memory ghost to give you directions, I’m gonna get some coffee.” That came out sounding more bitter than Zadie had intended, but she was tired and wasn’t particularly interested in engaging in talk about Mom before she had some caffeine in her.

As Zadie disappeared through the automatic sliding doors of the gas station, Finn half sat on the hood of the car and craned her face toward the light like a flower. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been awake from sunset to sunrise. It was dizzying, as if she could actually feel the rotation of the earth beneath her feet. She should have been tired, but all she felt was this propulsive energy coursing through her the way she did before a big track meet. It wasn’t just the possibility of finding her mom that excited her. It was the journey ahead. It was waking up every morning to a new sky, exploring new places. She had been on vacations before, but never anything she would consider an adventure. This was an adventure.

It would likely only be a matter of minutes before Steve and Kathy woke up and found her missing. She winced, imagining Steve knocking on her bedroom door and saying something like “Finn, I made pancakes! Better hurry before Milly decides to jump up onto the table again.” When she didn’t answer, he would let himself in and find her bed messy as usual, but unoccupied. Thirty more seconds would pass before he found her note, thirty seconds that would feel like an eternity to him, each millisecond unfurling in slow motion like a new leaf. Finn could picture his face in those moments, as confusion quickly metamorphosed into panic.