I nodded, forced a little laugh, and walked back down the hall like I hadn’t heard anything.
Something felt off.
That night, I barely slept.
What truth? Why couldn’t I know it? Was it really about a poster board… or?
***
The following afternoon, right after school, Ryan grabbed his keys.
“We’re gonna run out for that poster board,” he said calmly. “Maybe pick up pizza too.”
Avery slipped on her sneakers without looking at me.
“You want me to come?” I asked.
“No, it’s okay,” Ryan said. “We’ll be quick.”
Avery slipped on her sneakers without looking at me.
As soon as they left, my phone rang.
It was Avery’s school.
“Hello Ma’am, I’m calling about Avery’s absences on Wednesday and Friday last week. We didn’t receive a note, and I wanted to make sure everything’s okay.”
I froze.
Wednesday and Friday last week? Avery had gone to school on both those days. I’d watched her leave with Ryan.
“Oh, um, yes. She had some appointments. I’ll send a note.”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
“I’m calling about Avery’s absences on Wednesday and Friday last week.”
I hung up and stared at the phone.
She missed school? Why? What’s going on?
I looked out the window. Ryan’s car had already pulled out of the driveway.
Something was very wrong.
I grabbed my keys.
I told myself I was being ridiculous. That I was overthinking. That there was probably a perfectly reasonable explanation. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong.
I grabbed my keys.
So, I followed them.
And to my horror, Ryan didn’t drive toward Target.
He turned the other way, away from the shopping center.
I stayed a few cars behind, my heart pounding.
Ten minutes later, their brake lights lit up as they pulled into a parking lot.
It wasn’t a store. Not a restaurant.
It was… the local hospital.
