Just looking at the miles of sand through the window made Finn’s mouth feel parched. She could still feel the sun beating down on her—Nora’s neck; sweat collecting on her forehead, her chest, between her legs; her inner thighs raw and goose-pimpled. It’s getting worse. I don’t have much time.

Time. Finn turned to her sister in the driver’s seat. “You know how when people claim they were abducted by aliens, they say it felt like they lost time?”

Zadie squinted. “Uhhh … where are you going with this?”

“You know … like they wake up in a field and don’t know how they got there?”

“Yes, I’ve seen movies, Finn. If you tell me you think Mom was abducted by aliens—”

“No! I mean … I don’t think so.”

“Ha!”

“What I’m trying to say is that whatever was going on with Mom, whether it was a sixth sense or something else … she was losing time. There were gaps.”

“Okay, Mulder,” Zadie said dryly.

“Who’s Mulder?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“What kind of sense would make you lose your car and forget your own name?” Finn wondered out loud.

“A shitty one.”

She ignored the unhelpful comment and thought back to the blank tape she’d found in her mother’s collection. In it, Nora had stated her name, her age, her address. What if the reason she’d kept the tape was not sentimental? What if she’d needed it to remind herself of details of her own life? Because she was starting to forget. I don’t have much time.

Finn didn’t have much time, either. This was their fourth day on the road, and she was only supposed to be gone for seven. That meant she had just three days—two if you included the drive home—to find their mom. She would likely have to ask Kathy and Steve if she could extend their trip, a request that her foster mom wouldn’t be thrilled about, but Finn also knew she couldn’t face her foster parents without an answer to their question. She couldn’t face them before she’d answered it for herself.

But despite her eagerness to keep driving, Finn felt guilty. Ever since she’d seen the tired look on her sister’s face as she crawled out of their tent that morning, Finn had been feeling bad about canceling their vacation. Zadie looked like she could use a night in a comfortable bed and a belt-compromising quantity of room service. They could spare one evening.

“I have an idea,” Finn said.

“Yeah?”

“What if instead of sleeping at a campsite tonight, we got a hotel? My treat.”

Zadie looked surprised. “Seriously?”

“I think we’ve earned it.”